MIDTERM 1 Flashcards
TRUE or FALSE.
There is a single unified theory of prejudice and discrimination.
FALSE.
Prejudice and discrimination has many different causes and explanations.
When was scientific racism most prominent, in what context, what was the focus of it and how was prejudice viewed?
Time period: Before 1920s
Context: Scientific research to justify white cultural domination.
Focus: Identifying exotic and negative differences in non-white people
View of prejudice: Justified by data
What was the most common type of scientific racism?
Phrenology (when people were looking for scientific justification to continue slavery)
When were psychodynamic theories most prominent, in what context, what was the focus of it and how was prejudice viewed?
Time Period: 1920s-1950s
Context: Prevalence of explicit racism, aftermath of the holocaust.
Focus: Identifying why individuals are prejudiced.
View of Prejudice: Irrational and unjustifiable, rooted in individual differences (personality, unconscious defense mech., projection of frustrations onto minorities)
The idea of the time was that prejudice was a negative personality trait and some people were more susceptible to being prejudiced than others. Ego is not able to properly control the Id. Authoritarians.
TRUE or FALSE.
Psychodynamic theories state that when an individual is angry, they will internalize it until they blow up.
FALSE.
People experience frustration when their goals are blocked, following this they feel aggression which creates intention to harm. This aggression is usually displaced because their source of frustration is too powerful. So, they put this aggression on a weaker target.
What is the state of psychodynamic theories for prejudice today?
People who are prejudiced may share similar personality traits but there is no “psychodynamic” explanation.
Ex: Authoritarians have increased sensitivity to societal threats.
When were sociocultural theories most prominent, in what context, what was the focus of it and how was prejudice viewed?
Dominant Time PeriodL 1960s-1970s
Context: Civil Rights Movement
Focus: Social and cultural influences on prejudice
View of Prejudice: It is a manifestation of cultural norms
What study is a good example of the sociocultural theory of prejudice?
The Clark & Clark 1947 study with the white and black doll. Children asked questions which end up reflecting internalized societal values.
When were cognitive theories most prominent, in what context, what was the focus of it and how is prejudice viewed
Dominant time period: 1980s to present
Context: Prejudice appears to be a universal phenomenon that emerges from low-level mental processes
Focus: Arises from ordinary aspects of cognition
View: It is a feature of the mind, not an unintended “bug”
TRUE or FALSE.
Stereotypes and Schemas are essentially a way that we organize information by unconsciously creating categories and scripts through experiences.
TRUE.
Schema theory explains that stereotypes are schemas gone wrong, as we end up categorizing people and making generalizations about groups.
When were evolutionary theories most prominent, in what context, what was the focus of it and how is prejudice viewed?
Time period: 1990s to present
Context: Prejudice appears to be a universal phenomenon that emerged from challenges in evolutionary history.
Focus: How it may have been evolutionarily adaptive
View of Prejudice: It helped address social problems in our evolutionary past (may or may not now in the present).
According to evolutionary theories of prejudice, why would is be advantageous to be prejudiced towards outgroup members?
Outgroup members (especially men) may have posed a greater threat because of increased likelihood of intergroup violence.
This prediction may not completely be supported by evidence today though.
Ex: Lower wages in black women then black men even though women are less “threatening”
According to evolutionary theories of prejudice, we are selective with our trust. So, in this case, what would our response be in terms of approaching or avoiding those in our ingroups or outgroups?
In the approach or avoid computer task, people were much faster to approach ingroup members and faster to avoid outgroups members. When reversing, they were slower at approaching outgroup and avoiding ingroup.
TRUE or FALSE.
There is no real evidence that the evolutionary approach studies really reflective evolutionary processes. Rather, they may be a reflection of sociological factors for all we know.
TRUE.
When were intergroup relations theories most prominent, in what context, what was the focus of it and how is prejudice viewed?
Dominant time period: 1970’s
Context: Persistence of group conflicts in the U.S. and around the world
Focus: How social structures reinforce prejudice
View of prejudice: It is a manifestation of relationships between groups.
