Prejudice and Discrimination Flashcards
What is the definition of prejudice?
Prejudging an individual based on their group membership
What does most of the research on predudice focus on?
Focuses on the experiences by minority groups
What are the three components of prejudice?
- Cognitive: Stereotypes
- Affective: Emotions
- Behavioural: Discrimination
What in the meaning of prejudice stereotypes?
Beliefs about a specific social group and its members. A rigid set of simple, frequently incorrect and overgenralisation of particular groups
Can be negative or positive
Stereotypes are:
- socially and culturally given
- Automatic
- Widely shared/pervasive
- Persistant
What is the stereotype content model by Cuddy, Fiske et al?
Stereotypes vary along to dimensions
1. Perceived warmth: Influenced by groups competitiveness
2. Perceived competence: Influenced by a groups status
what are the 4 components of the stereotype content model?
Pity: High in warmth and low in competence e.g elderly, people with a disability
Contempt: Low warmth and low competence e.g poor people, welfare recipients
Admiration: High on warmth and competence e.g Middle class, in-group, Christians
Envy: Low in warmth and high in competence e.g rich people
How can stereotypes influence interpretations and attributions of behaviour?
The illusory correlation
What is the illusory correlation?
The tendency to overestimate the relationship between two things when distinctive/unusual information is presented e.g minority groups + criminal behaviour
What were the results of the Duncan study on stereotype prejudice?
Participants were more likely to see the push as violent when the pusher was black vs white
What is the doll experiment?
Minority children shown white and black doll asked which doll is good. Most answered white doll in good.
What are emotions in prejudice?
Feelings towards a group and its members, on the basis of their group membership. Can range in positive or negative feelings
What is intergroup anxiety known as in prejudice emotions?
Anxiety people experience when interacting with out-group members
Due to:
1. Fear of psychological or behavioral consequences
2. Fear of negative evaluations
What is high level of intergroup anxiety associated with?
- Low levels of contact with out-group members
- Greater stereotyping of out-group members
- Assumed dissimilarities to out-group members
What is prejudice discrimination known as?
Behaviours towards a group and its members on the basis of their group membership. May be individual or structural/insitutional
What are the different forms of discrimination?
Direct - Obvious discrimination and behaviours e.g name calling, tone, confrontation,
Indirect - less obvious behaviours (covert)
Verbal behavious
Non-verbal behavious
Physical behavious
What are three types of behviours that don’t look obvious in discrimination but might conceal underlying prejudice?
- Reluctant to help: passive or actively failing to assist the efforts of other groups trying to improve
- Tokenism: Publicly making small concessions to a minority group to deflect accusations of prejudice
- Reverse discrimination: Publicly being prejudiced in favour of the minority group to deflect accusations of prejudice against them
What are the psychological consequences of prejudice on victims?
- Elevated stress
- Lowered self-esteem
- Diminished life satisfaction
- Poorer mental health
What is the stereotype threat effect?
Performance on a task being undermined due to concerns about possible confirming negative stereotypes about ones group
What is structural discrimination?
A network of rules and practices that disadvantages less empowered groups while serving to advantage the dominant group
What were the results of Booth et al study on discrimination?
Fake applications were sent to employers with the racial origin of the applicant’s names. Results those with anglo-saxon names had higher call back rates
What are the three explanation theories of prejudice?
- Individual explanation
- Group-based explanation
- Cultural explanation
What are the two types of individual explanations theories?
- Right-wing Authoritarianism
- Social dominance orientation
What are the characteristics/attitudes of right-wing authoritaranism?
- Belief in power of authority
- Adhere to conventional values
- Hostile towards those who deviate from conventional values
- Associated with high levels of prejudice
What are the characteristics/attitudes of social dominance orientation theories?
- Prefer hierarchy in a social system
- Desire for dominance over other groups
What is the realistic conflict theory in group-based explanations of prejudice?
Explains that the relationships between groups is due to goal relations
Inter-group competition = inter-group conflict = Higher prejudice
Inter-group cooperation = Harmony
What is the two components of integrated threat theory in group-based explanations of prejudice?
- Realistic threat - competition with another group, can have negative based on the resources available = threat to existence, power and well-being
- Symbolic threat - Targeted toward morals, values, and beliefs e.g that immigrants should fit into said country
What is the intergroup contact approach/contact hypothesis in reducing prejudice?
Assumes that hostility between groups is fed by unfamiliarity and separation
therefore
reduce prejudice by bringing groups together
What are the optimal conditions that need to occur when bringing groups together according to Allport, 1954?
- Equal status
- shared/mutual goals
- inter-group cooperation and interdependence
- social and institutional support
- friendship potential
What were the results of Pettigrew et al., 2006 meta-analysis research?
- Inter-group contact typically reduces prejudice = findings universal. Intergroup friendships especially important
