Prejudice Flashcards
define prejudice
a preconceived opinion or attitude abt others based on stereotypes
define discrimination
acting upon prejudice attitude, leading to unfair treatment of individuals/groups
What are 3 components of Prejudice (ABC)
1.Affect (emotional responce): feelings of dislike, hostility towards a group
2.Behaviour (discrimination): what you do, insults-avoiding-excluding
3.Cognition (stereotypes): what you think- knowledge based on generalised/false beliefs
what is social identity theory by Tajfel and Turner
prejudice occurs by creating groups (no conflict needed)
ppl strive for positive self esteem which is enhanced by viewing their (in)groups as superior to outgroup
what are the 3 cognitive processes of SIT
- social categorisation- we classify ourselfves into groups (race, nationality, gender) leads to an us-vs-them mentality
- social identification- adopt the identity of our in-group, comform to its norms and attatch our sense of self esteem to the group (football fans wearing jersey to show affiliation)
- social comparison- compare against other (out) groups and to maintain our self esteem we favour our ingroup and may discriminate against outgroup
what was the aim of Tajfels minimal group studies
To investigate whether merely dividing ppl into groups leads to prejudice
explain the procedure of Tajfels minimal group studies
1- school boys randomly assigned to groups (based on arbitrary factors like painting preference/coin toss)
2- asked to allocate points to members of their own group and other group
2- found that boys favoured their own and maximised difference between in-group and out-group
concl: even tho no conflict, presence of groups create prejudice
what was Sherif’s key idea underpinning realistic conflict theory 1966
prejudice arises over competition over scarse recources eg money, jobs, food
what does conflict lead to
- negative stereotypes
- increased in group solidarity
- discrimination and hostility
aim of Sherif’s robbers cave experiment
to investigate whether competition creates intergroup conflict
describe the sample [Sherif] used for robbers cave experiment 1954
22 white middle class boys all aged 11-12 similar backgrounds in terms of socio-economic status and ethnicity
what were [Sherif]’s 2 groups
RATTLERS & EAGLES
describe 3 phases [Sherif]
Phase 1 (In-Group Formation) established strong group identities.
Phase 2 (Intergroup Competition) led to conflict when competition was introduced. (zero sum sitch where one groups gains is another groups loss-incr hostility/competition
Phase 3 (Conflict Resolution) showed that intergroup hostility could be reduced by having groups work together by introducing subordinate goals.
what leads to prejudice [sherif]
competition leads to prejudice
name calling, fights, destruction to property
what was introduced to reduce hostility
subordinate goals
what is a key strength of robbers cave (EV)
Ecological Validity
-naturalistic environment (real summer camp in Oklahoma) so boys act as they would in real world setting
-boys formed genuine social bonds and did not know they were being observed
-reduces demand charecteristics
how does sherifs study provide strong supporting evidence for realistic conflict theory
sherif clearly demonstrated that competition for recources leads to prejudice eg
phase 1: before competition boys had no hostility and did not know other groups existed, during competition
phase 2: competition arises- they insult each other ‘‘cheaters’’ ‘‘stinkers’’, burn each others flags and raided cabins
-this supports RCT and has real world use
real world application sherifs study
shows prejudice can be reduced (subordinate goals)
-study didnt just show conflict but in phase 3 when subordinate goals were introduced hostility decreased and co operation increased
(some boys asked to travel home on same bus)
–> practical ways to reduce prejudice
explain for sherif how he controlled variables
-pre-screened to ensure they had similar backrounds (white, middle-class, protestant, no behavioural issues)
-groups matched for athletic ability and intelligence
-randomly assigned to groups to eliminate pre-existing friendships affecting results
this increases internal validity as it reduces chance that prejudice occurs cos of pre-existing biases rather than conflict
explain ethical weaknesses of sherifs study
-deception
boys were unaware they were in an experiment so they did not give their informed consent
-emotional distress
researchers deliberately causing conflict leading to emotional distress eg boys showed aggression (burned flags, raided cabins)
—> deliberately exposed to harm or manipulated into conflict, modern ethical guidelines would not allow it today
weakness in terms of generalisability of robbers cave
22 white male boys
all middleclass, protestant and american
ages 11-12
–> cross-cultural findings suggest prejudice differs eg collectivist cultures less prone to intergroup conflict
also doesnt full explain discrimination based on race, gender, or age
explain how their could have been demand charecteristics
-exaggerated hostility bc they believed it was expected of them (summer camp)
-quickly accepted the ‘rattler’ ‘eagles’ groups despite not meeting
-influenced by structure of study rather than developing hostility on their own
—> demand charecterics lower ecol valid as real conflicts are more complex
how does the competition being artificial influence sherifs findings
in real world conflicts groups have political, historical, cultural reasons for competition not just competition.
Racial discrimination- deep rooted societal structures not just comp for recources
–> reductionist
how does personality affect prejudice
adorno et al- prejudice linked to personality, specifically authoritarian traits
charecteristics:
-rigid beliefs in hierarchy
-hostility towards minorities
-harsh upbringing
PROCEDURE:
-developed questionair F-scale to measure authoritarian traits
-higher score = more prejudice
explain how situational factors impact prejudice
-Social norms influence prejudice, if discrimination is accepted its more likely to occur
- perceived threat incr prejudice
islamaphobia after 9/11
Cultural influences on prejudice
Collectivist cultures (china) show more in-group bias but less open discrimination
Individualistic cultures: tend to have more explicit prejudice but emphasise personal responcibilty
