Prejudice and discrimination Flashcards
Stereotypes
Beliefs about the typical characteristics of members of a group or social category
Prejudice
Perceived belief not based on first hand experience
Discrimination
Negative behaviour towards individuals after acting on stereotypes
Positive discrimination
Some stereotypes are favourable however they can be used to justify holding negative stereotypes
When are stereotypes more likely to be used? (Kunda & Sherman-Williams, 1993)
When information about an individual is ambiguous or inadequate
Social categrisation
We perceive the world in social categories which activates schemas
Schemas
Mental frameworks that give structure and reduce complexity
Hamilton’s cognitive basis for stereotypes
Distinct events may be paired together and be overrepresented in memory, leading to an availability heuristic where the memories (stereotypes) can be brought on with ease
Linguistic intergroup bias
Stereotype consistent actions are described in more abstract terms than stereotype inconsistent actions
Implicit association tests
Provide new insights in stereotypes and prejudice and demonstrates subtle stereotypes that people would otherwise deny
Devine (1989) dissociation model of stereotyping
Knowledge of stereotypes is culturally shared and the activation is automatic, but the activation doesn’t always lead to stereotypical responding
Robbers cave study
No prior history is necessary for hostility, sometimes all it takes is competition
Economic perspective
Stereotypes and discrimination result from competition over scarcer resources
Motivational perspective
Prejudice results from motivations to view one’s ingroup more favourably than outgroups
Social identity (Tajfel, 1978)
Maximum differentiation reveals antagonistic intergroup relations even at the expense of the ingroup
