Lecture 7

Question 1

What is terror management theory?

Answer 1

2 contrasting human characteristics resulting in terror- 1) Self-preservation instinct and 2) knowledge that death is inevitable. This is universal. Trying to avoid the unavoidable leads to terror

Question 2

How do we deal with terror?

Answer 2

By identifying strongly with cultural and social institutions that transcend time and death-creates a motivation to defend culture.

Question 3

Why does a motivation to defend culture result in prejudice?

Answer 3

Due to the fact that we feel a need to reinforce our own culture while also invalidating others.

Question 4

What happens if we induce mortality salience manipulations in a lab?

Answer 4

Christians evaluated Jews more negatively
Americans evaluated a Japanese company more negatively
Whites stereotyped Germans more

Question 5

What types of people did the people in the mortality salience manipulation prefer?

Answer 5

Stereotype consistent minority group members (due to cognitive shortcut)

Question 6

What was Bassett and Connelly’s study on mortality?

Answer 6

Evaluations of undocumented immigrants under mortality salience.
Independent variables: fear of death or personality scale
Target nationality: Culturally similar (Canadian), or dissimilar (Mexican).
DV: attitudes towards immigrant target (in both conditions the immigrants were undocumented to America)

Question 7

What were the results of Bassett and Connelly’s study?

Answer 7

Reactions to Canadian immigrants did not differ between conditions. Reactions to Mexican immigrants were more negative after mortality salience due to the fact that they are a culturally dissimilar outgroup.

Question 8

What is empathy?

Answer 8

An other-oriented emotional response congruent with anothers perceived welfare; if other is oppressed or in need, empathetic feelings include sympathy, compassion, and tenderness.

Question 9

Does empathy lead to an increase or decrease in prejudice?

Answer 9

Decrease

Question 10

What are the 4 components of empathy?

Answer 10

1) Perspective taking
2) Empathic concern
3) Personal distress
4) Fantasy

Question 11

What is perspective taking?

Answer 11

The ability to adopt the psychological perspective of another

Question 12

What is empathic conern?

Answer 12

Tendency to feel sympathy/compassion for others

Question 13

What is personal distress?

Answer 13

Tendency to experience distress in response to others distress

Question 14

What is fantasy?

Answer 14

Tendency to imaginatively transpose oneself into fictional situations

Question 15

What happens if you’re higher on one measure of empathy?

Answer 15

You’re typically higher on the others

Question 16

What is higher empathy associated with?

Answer 16

Lower sexism, racism, prejudice to gay men, lesbians, disabled people, aboriginal people. Lowered prejudice in general.

Question 17

What happens if you experience empathy on a group level?

Answer 17

Lower prejudice on interpersonal and group level, but stronger on an intergroup level.

Question 18

What did Batson et al look at with regards to how empathy affects prejudice?

Answer 18

Perspective taking generates empathic feelings, leading us to value the individual more-greater group value means there are more positive attitudes about that group.

Question 19

How do we experimentally induce empathy?

Answer 19

Listen to an interview with a stigmitized group member and either try to imagine taking their perspective OR imagine nothing. Another way is to write about a day in the life of an outgroup member

Question 20

What is old-fashioned prejudice?

Answer 20

More socially acceptable to be prejudiced in general-segregation, sexist ads, more blatant discrimination. Nowadays it is more subtle.

Question 21

What type of prejudice is more so studied?

Answer 21

Controversial prejudice- some think they are acceptable, others do not

Question 22

What groups make up the area of controversial prejudice?

Answer 22

Women, racial minorities, immigrants.

Question 23

What are the historical trends of prejudice?

Answer 23

Prejudice mobves from acceptable, to controversial, to unacceptable.

Question 24

What is symbolic prejudice (more specifically, symbolic racism)

Answer 24

Beliefs portraying black people as morally inferior to whites-black people supposedly violate traditional white American values like hard work and self reliance.

Question 25

How are symbolic prejudices expressed?

Answer 25

Behaviourally (voting against black candidates, opposing affirmitive action, opposing desegregation, thinking racism is a thing of the past).