Modern Prejudice

Question 1

Define stereotyping (cognition).

Answer 1

Stereotypes represent oversimplified generalisations about groups and its members.

Question 2

Define attitudes (prejudice).

Answer 2

An aversive or hostile attitude toward a person in a group just because they belong to that group.

Question 3

Define behaviour (discrimination).

Answer 3

Instance when people/groups are denied equality and treated differently because of their group membership/stigmatised status.

Question 4

What are the three levels that prejudice can occur at?

Answer 4

Institutional level, individual level + group level.

Question 5

What is in-group favouritism guided by?

Answer 5

Positive distinctiveness.

Question 6

What is out-group derogation?

Answer 6

Treating out-group badly. Linked to perception that out-group is posing a threat to in-group.

Question 7

Define stigma.

Answer 7

An inferior status and powerlessness that society accords to people who have a particular characteristic/belong to a certain group.
Two main elements - perpetrator + target.
Target groups: races, gender, sexuality.

Question 8

What is the overall % of racist prejudice?

Answer 8

30%.

Question 9

As immigration rates decrease…

Answer 9

Negative cultural + economic impact increases.

Question 10

What is the overall % of people that said that sexual relations between two people of the same sex is always wrong?

Answer 10

22%.

Question 11

How have societal norms changed?

Answer 11

Very focused on political correctness + anti-discrimination laws now.

Question 12

What were the 3 beliefs underlying modern forms of prejudice identified by Sears?

Answer 12

Denial of continuing discrimination.
Antagonist toward stigmatised group’s demands.
Resentment about special favours.

Question 13

Name one old and one modern way of measuring prejudice.

Answer 13

Old: modern racism scale (1983, McConahay).
Modern: modern homonegativity scale (2002, Morrison & Morrison).

Question 14

Explain old-fashioned and modern racism.

Answer 14

Old-fashioned: ‘it is bad for whites + blacks to marry each other’.
Modern: ‘discrimination against blacks is no longer a problem’.

Question 15

How do prejudice levels change when ethnicity is salient vs not salient?

Answer 15

High scores in modern racism showed more prejudice when ethnicity was NOT salient (McConahay).

Question 16

Explain old-fashioned sexism (overt) and modern sexism (subtle + covert).

Answer 16

Old-fashioned (overt-sexism): ‘women are not as smart as men’.
Apparent, easily documented.
Modern (subtle + covert): ‘women + men have equal opportunities for achievement’.
Subtle - difficult to perceive events as sexist.
Covert - unnoticeable, hidden.
E.g. preferences for male rather than female senatorial candidate (Swim).

Question 17

Explain both sub-types of ambivalent sexism - hostile + benevolent.

Answer 17

Hostile: women seek to gain power by getting control over men.
Benevolent - in a disaster, women don’t necessarily have to be rescued first.

Both are related to ‘gender empower measure’ in USA.
Both lead to system justification. Men report higher system justification beliefs than women. Women exposed to benevolent sexism report higher system justification beliefs - status quo.

Question 18

Give examples of how sexual prejudice measures have changed.

Answer 18

Old - ‘I think male homosexuals are disgusting’.

Modern homonegativity scale - ‘gay/lesbians use their sexual orientation so that they can get special privileges’.

Question 19

Did pps high on the homonegativity scale prefer discreet or explicit gay couples (Buechel & Hegarty)?

Answer 19

Discreet.

This was only true for gay not heterosexual couples.

Question 20

Explain blatant and subtle sexual prejudice.

Answer 20

Old fashioned: Blatant - threat, rejection, anti-intimacy.
Modern: Subtle - defend traditional roles, denial of positive emotions, cultural differences.
New scales needed to be developed as these have difference concepts and outcomes.

Question 21

Explain the difference between explicit and implicit measures of prejudice.

Answer 21

Explicit - old-fashioned, open discrimination, deliberate, easy to inhibit.
Implicit - spontaneous, non-verbal behaviour, implicit association test, physiological reactions, hard to inhibit.

Question 22

Describe the implicit association test (Greenwald).

Answer 22

White people or good, black people or bad…
IAT effect = difference between speed in those conditions.
These are statistically significant.
Can be used to test other stereotypes (e.g. women in science vs women at home).

Question 23

Describe one subtle form of prejudice.

Answer 23

Automatic + often unconscious categorisation of people due to the way they speak.

Question 24

What are language attitudes?

Answer 24

Evaluative reactions to different language varieties.

Question 25

What are the 3 important aspects considered wen people hear accents?

Answer 25

Cognitive (beliefs) - standard British seen as more prestigious that regional accents.
Affective (feelings) - American speakers more positive toward American than Japanese accented speakers.
Behaviour (intentions/actions) - less willingness to interact with non-standard accented people.

Question 26

Describe a study + results which show stereotyping in accents.

Answer 26

Dragojevic.

More positive ratings for standard accented than non-standard accented speakers. Affected by status + solidarity.

Question 27

Describe a study + results which show discrimination in accents.

Answer 27

Rakic.

Non-standard accents perceived as less competent + less employable.

Question 28

What are the two subtle forms of prejudice within a non-standard accent.

Answer 28

Accent.

Voice (e.g. age, sexual orientation).

Question 29

Name some unconscious biases.

Answer 29

Beauty bias, voice bias, age-gap bias.

Question 30

What did Swim’s studies into everyday prejudice show?

Answer 30

Pps kept a daily diary on prejudiced events.
Everyday racism - verbal comments, bad service, 58% anger; direct and indirect responses.
Everyday sexism - very few behaviours, verbal comments, 75% anger; depression, anxiety, self-esteem.
Sexual prejudice - verbal comments, behaviours (e.g. poor service), ANGER; depression, anxiety, negative private evaluation of LGB identity.

Question 31

Name 4 different types of verbal comments.

Answer 31

Derogatory comments - disparaging jokes.
Stereotypes - gay men being feminine.
Hostile comments.
Sexual objectification.

Question 32

Name the 3 aspects of Meyer’s minority stress model.

Answer 32

Stress - physical, mental or emotional pressure.
Social stressors - events that require the individual adapt to new situations.
Stigma as social stressor - stress that leads to mental health problems in people who belong to stigmatised minority groups.

Question 33

Explain Frost’s process model of social stigma and its consequences.

Answer 33

Perpetration - experiences - responses - outcomes.
Perpetration: stigma, stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination.
Experiences: stressors.
Responses: coping strategies, meaning making (which usually leads to position outcomes).
Outcomes: negative (e.g. health, performance) or positive (e.g. social creativity, social change).

Question 34

Name some negative outcomes of social stigma (Meyer).

Answer 34

Alienation, lack of integration, depressive symptoms, suicide ideation.
Minority stress model tries to explain why minority groups report poorer well-being.

Question 35

Describe some studies which have shown the effects of social stigma.

Answer 35

Dane, Short & Healy: 80% upset by the no campaign materials.
Frost & Fingerhut: Gay marriage made legal in US. Mass media - increase in negative effect, decrease in positive effect and decrease of relational well-being.
Frost - Brexit. Migrants living in leave areas experienced more stigma - more anxiety + more generalised anxiety disorder symptoms over time.

Question 36

What are the two main coping strategies when dealing with social stigma?

Answer 36

Approaching strategies - confronting, engagement in fighting inequality (e.g. collective action), try to restructure + redefine group dynamics.
Avoidance strategies - ignore issue, try to forget, try to hide group membership.