Prejudice Flashcards
Categorization
- How does learning from our past help with everyday situations?
Short cut that is necessary to reduce the complexity of the social world
Helps us learn what’s good and bad to quickly learn what to approach and avoid
Social categorization
- It can create what kinds of attitudes?
- Major ways to categorize? (4)
Categorization based on perceived groups in society
- Can create attitudes which influence individuals to react to a situation in a similar way they did previously
- Race, gender, age, sexual orientation
How do we perceive outgroups and ingroups?
Ougroup homogeneity
Ingroup bias
- Why do we do these?
Outgroup - Share similar characteristics, motives, features
Ingroup - Unique individuals who share 1-2 common features
Outgroup homogeneity - Idea that all outgroup members are alike
Ingroup bias - Idea that all ingroup members are distinct
- Simplify our social enviro + enhance our self-concept
What are the problems of categorization? (4)
We form categories automatically and use them automatically
We over-categorize
We can often do it wring
We can misinterpret categories
Stereotypes
Belief or association that links a whole group if ppl with certain traits
- Automatic activation
- Can affect people even if they don’t endorse them
- Is associated w/ emotional responses
Discrimination
- Social reproduction
- Institutional bias
Inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people based solely on their group membership
- Many societal institutions can transmit bias, which can impact social norms
Institutional bias: Discriminatory practices and policies in large institutions
Sexism
Gender stereotypes
How do they differ?
Bias and discrimination based on a set of beliefs claiming real or alleged diffs between women and men
Suggests humans can be understood or judged on the basis of essential characteristics of the individual’s gender
- Usually based on traditional roles
- Exaggerates diffs between and overlooks diffs within gender groups
Gender stereotypes are more prescriptive than descriptive
- Indicates what may ppl in a given culture believe men and women should be
Ambivalent sexism
Hostile sexism
Benevolent sexism
What is the correlation between hostile and benevolent sexism?
Contradictions in stereotypes
- Ex: Stereotypes of women are more positive than men but are less valued in important domains
Negative, resentful beliefs and feelings about women’s abilities, value, and ability to challenge men’s power
Affectionate, chivalrous, but potentially patronizing beliefs and feelings that women need and deserve protection
They tend to be positively correlated
Where is discrimination most likely to be used?
- Does it tend to be direct or indirect?
In private settings (to avoid embarrassment or loss of social standing)
Used indirectly
Social norms study (Crandall, Eshleman, O’Brien):
- Asked participants to rate 105 groups of people
- Group 1: Rated how acceptable in society it was to have negative feelings toward each group
- Group 2: Rated their own feelings towards the groups
Found reported level of prejudice was correlated to normative appropriateness of prejudice
Motivations to respond without prejudiced
- Internal motivation
- External motivation
What was found about non-prejudiced high external motivation people on how they’re influenced?
Internal - Strongly held beliefs
- Results from standards that are personally important and non-prejudiced
External - How motivated you are to act based on what everyone else is doing
Were the most likely to be influenced by stereotypes in public
Indirect/Implicit measures
- Advantage?
(Prejudice)
Measure attitudes by subtle behavioural and physiological indicators
Advantage: Doesn’t require self reports (which are under control of the respondent)
Measure of the implicit association test:
- Response latency
- Congruent vs Incongruent
How long it takes to decide if something is good or bad
- Looks at automatic/unconscious associations
- IAT measures strength of association between social category and valence
Congruent: In line w/ stereotype
Incongruent: Opposes stereotype
Why are stereotypes activated?
Difficult to give up, especially bcuz they’re often under conscious awareness
Cognitive dissonance is activated bcuz:
- We want to perceive we’re correct
- And a stereotype helps us perceive that we are
Illusory correlation
Joint occurrence of two distinctive events
- Attracts more attention and causes faulty impressions
4 basic social-psychological causes of prejudice:
- Economic + political competition/conflict
- Displaced aggression (Realistic conflict theory, Scapegoating)
- Maintenance of status or self-image (Social identity theory)
- Conformity to existing social norms
Prejudiced attitudes tend to increase when groups are in conflict over mutually exclusive goals
Realistic conflict theory: Resentment can arise because of a perceived zero-sums fate; Only one group wind and the other loses
Scapegoating: Process of blaming innocent and powerless outgroups for our troubles (Especially seen in demagogues (political leaders who seek power by exploiting ppl’s prejudices/fears/resentment and channeling them onto scapegoats))
When a person’s social status is low or declining, they are likely to be prejudiced
- Social identity theory: We’re motivated to maintain a positive self-concept so we compare ingroups favourably to outgroups
Law and custom of a society’s institutions can foster prejudice by impacting social norms
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Stereotype threat
When we expect something to happen, it often does
Experience of anxiety or concern in a situation where person has potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group; Usually results in them doing it
How do people tend to blame targets of prejudice?
Attribute personal responsibility to the target for any inequitable outcome that’s difficult to explain
Why do information campaigns to reduce prejudice usually not work?
What are other ways to reduce dissonance?
- Contact hypothesis
Ppl are not inclined to sit still and take in info that’s dissonant w/ their beliefs and attitudes
Contact hypothesis: By bringing prejudiced ppl in direct contact w/ real human beings, they encounter them instead of the stereotypes instead, leading to greater mutual understanding and friendship
- Must make sure they’re in a situation with equal status, equal goals, are cooperating successfully, and is supported by society/law/customs + is understanding to each other
Interdependence
- Benefits of the jigsaw classroom?
Situation in which individuals need each other to succeed in reaching a mutual goal
Since it promotes interdependence, it reduces need for competition, reducing stereotyping and prejudice
- Motivated students to help others in their small, racially mixed, cooperative groups bcuz it helps them instead
