Psych Of Prejudice: Midterm Review Flashcards
What are the ABC’s of prejudice?
A- Affect
B- Behavior
C- Cognition (beliefs)
What is the A of prejudice?
A - Affect is the prejudice
What does the B of Prejudice stand for?
B- Behavior
-discrimination
-often infer prejudice from discrimination
What is the C of prejudice?
C - Cognition (beliefs)
-stereotypes
-Lipman (1922) “pictures in our heads”
Define implicit prejudices
-reactions toward groups/individuals that are outside conscious awareness
- modern prejudice
Ex: (I’m not racist but…) SUBTLE
Define Explicit Prejudice
-attitudes that ppl are aware of and can control
(Old prejudice, superiority beliefs)
Define Discrimination
-treating ppl diff from others based on membership in a social group (treatment based on social group/status)
Occurs on various lvls (interpersonal, organizational, institutional, cultural)
Define Stereotypes
Beliefs and opinions abt the characteristics, attributes and behaviors of members of various groups
Define Scientific Racism
-interpretation (misinterpretation) of research results to show minority groups in negative light
-tried to “prove” superiority of dominant group
-natural response to backward ppl’s
Psychodynamic Theory
-prejudice viewed as a social problem caused by irrational/unjustifiable beliefs
-motivated (defense mechanisms)
- scapegoating
- personality (authoritarianism)
Sociocultural theory
-driven by changes in prejudice observed following large cultural shifts in US
-argued: cultural provides stereotypes and norms
-social role theory
Define Social Role Theory
Stereotypes can emerge from our observations abt society
Define inter group relations theory
Prejudice derives from perceptions of competition w/ other groups
-zero-sum beliefs
-relative deprivation theory
Define Relative Deprivation Theory
Prejudice comes from resentment when ppl believe their group has been deprived of a resources another group receives
Social Identity Theory
Ppl develop a positive self-identity by feeling positively abt the groups to which they belong
Define Cognitive Theory
-prejudice is viewed as universal + inevitable result of normative cognitive process
-stereotype is just another basic cognitive process
Define Evolutionary Theory
-behaviors stem from psychological mechanisms that evolved to allow survival
-suspicion + fear of strangers protects ppl + communities from harm
-Kin Favoritism
Define Kin Favoritism
Kin: cooperation among relatives to ensure mutual survival protects them from being exploited by strangers.
•Strangers: physical similarity and proximity
Define a variable
a measured characteristic on which people differ
Define a Hypotheses
proposed relationships between two variables that can be tested in research
Define hypothetical constructs
-abstract concepts used in theories and studied in research
•Not directly observable
Define operational definitions
-concrete representations of hypothetical constructs
•are directly observable
Correlational studies
2+ variables measured (examines their relationship)
-probability sampling
-convenience sampling
Probability Sampling
•All characteristics of the population in the same proportion as found in the population
•External validity
Convenience sampling
•People the researchers can easily collect data from.
•Not very representative
•Low external validity = caution when generalizing
Correlation coefficient
Describes strength + direction of a relationship
Closer to 0 = weak
Closer to 1 = strong
P<.05 indicate statistical significance
Independent variable
Proposed cause
Dependent variable
Proposed effect
Laboratory experiment
-highly controlled environment
-high control but high artificiality
Field experiences
-natural setting while maintaining as mush control possible
-high naturalism (low artificiality) low control
Exact replication
Redoing the study using the same procedures
Conceptual replication
-Redoing the study with changes in procedures
-Perhaps with slightly different method or dependent variables
What are the measures of prejudice?
- Self report
- Behavioral
- Biological/physiological
- Implicit cognition
Self report measures
•Asking people about their attitudes, opinions, and behaviors
•Most commonly used method of assessing Stereotypes and Prejudice
Pros of self report
•Easy to use (affordable, easy access, no special equipment)
•Can give to large groups quickly
•Can cover multiple topics and behaviors in a variety of situations
•Most direct way to find out what people truly are thinking
Cons of self report
Easy for people to edit what they say and to conceal their true attitudes and opinions.
Behavioral measures
-assessing what ppl do
•Examples of behavioral measures
•Seating distance
•Symbolic distance
•Eye contact and leaning toward or away from another person during conversation
•Giving and asking for help
•Aggression
Judgement measures
ses participants’ evaluations of other people in a context that appears to be unrelated to prejudice
Ex: Reviewing resumes of job applicants and deciding who should be hired
Physiological measures
•Assess changes in body’s responses to a stimulus
•Can distinguish between positive and negative emotional reactions to a stimulus
•Can indicate the intensity of the reaction.
Ex: Heart rate and blood pressure
•Electrical conductivity of the skin
•Eye blink rate
•Cortisol
•Brain imaging
Implicit Cognition measures
Assesses the degree to which concepts are associated with one another in memory
•Works without participants’ awareness of what is being measured, so it is difficult to control
Priming
exposing a prime or stimulus that activates concepts associated with the category
Faster response = stronger association
Implicit Association Test
Tests extent to which unassociated concepts makes responding more difficult
•Response competition
•Two responses compete against one another, a habitual response and an opposing response
•The stronger the habitual response, the longer it takes to suppress it and make the opposing response
Self report vs other measures
Self-report measures and Implicit measures/Physiological measures are only weakly correlated
●Can control responses on self-report measures when motivated
●Little control over automatic responses, like physiological and implicit
●Measure different things: controlled vs. uncontrolled expressions of attitudes
Define Categorization
-simplifies the environment by classing objects/ppl into groups based on shared characteristics
-necessary BEFORE stereotypes can be activated or applied
Define Social Categorization
People place others (and themselves) into categories called social groups
Consequences of categorization
Stereotypes
-type of schema
What are two important aspects of categorization?
- Content of stereotypic beliefs
-implicit vs explicit
-positive and negative
2, process by which ppl form and use social groups
Ppl use social categories when recalling info abt a person
What are the basic social categories
Categories for which a wealth of info is available and easily observable
Gender, race, age
-used to draw conclusions abt persons traits, social roles and physical characteristics
(Imp in initial interactions)
Define intersectionality
-ppl are members pf more than one category
-researchers focus on 1 or 2 basic categories at a time
-
Subtypes of intersectionality
- Ppl are part of 2 or more basic categories at once
- When basic category info is combined with additional role or trait info
Hypo-descent
someone is ambiguous or not “prototypical” of one or the other, more likely to be categorized as minority group
Situational Influences
●intervene in the categorization process to emphasize one category over another
●people may need motivation to subcategorize on the basis of other non-basic characteristics
Ppl high in prejudice tend to?
- Pay more attention to race than other characteristics
2.Take longer to classify racially ambiguous faces (care more about being accurate)
3.Rely on stereotypes to help classify ambiguous faces
Define in groups
us (groups you are part of)
Define outgroups
them (groups you are not part of)
Define minimal group paradigm
Ingroups and outgroups can be created from the most minimal conditions:
●Groups can be created by random assignment based on an unimportant variable:
●Number of dots counted on screen
●Liking for abstract art
Define in group over-exclusion
-●Drawing a tight circle around ingroup to avoid treating outgroup members as if they belong
●Safer to misclassify ingroup members as outgroups rather than extend ingroup privileges to the “wrong” people
●More likely among highly ethnocentric people
What are origins of stereotypes?
●Parents
●Peers
●Media
●Their own observations of the world
Outgroup homogeneity effect
People see members of their group as very different from one another
•Underestimate differences among members of other groups
•Believe outgroup members:
●Have similar traits
●Occupy similar social roles
Define the ultimate attribution error
●Behavior of a single minority group member may also significantly influence how members of the entire social group are viewed
●Observing a single instance of a negative behavior involving a member of an outgroup led people to evaluate all members of that group negatively
Define correspondence bias
Misjudging demands of situation. People give little weight to situational factors, and believe actions reflect personality traits.
Define illusionary correlation
●Perceiving correlations (co-relations) between uncorrelated variables.
●E.g., Women are warm, College professors are absentminded.
●Occurs when information is distinctive
Define linguistic inter group bias
Descriptions of ingroup and outgroup behavior vary in level of abstraction
Risks of assuming stereotype accuracy
-justification for segregation and inequality
-stereotype will be applied perceptively to all individuals
-serious methodological (ethical issues)
Define Stereotype activation
◦A dormant stereotype becomes active, ready for use, and capable of influencing a person’s thoughts and behaviors
Automatic Stereotype Activation
Triggered simply by observing stimuli associated w/ stereotyped groups
Motivated Stereotype Activation
Rooted in goals and needs
Define Prototypically
-facilitates activation
-the more pro typical a person is of their social category the easier it is for stereotypes abt social group to be activated
Define cognitive busyness
-disrupts activation due to lack of space in working memory
Define Comprehension Goals
need to form clear impressions of others and understand behavior to know what to expect
Self-enhancement goals
need to see oneself in a positive light
Define Social Adjustment goals
need to see oneself in a positive light
Define motivation to control prejudice
desire to avoid acting prejudiced because of personal values or of not wanting others to think of them as prejudiced
What are factors that interfere with ability to inhibit stereotype application?
Cognitive resources
◦Simply, the cognitive capability to block stereotype use
◦Cognitive busyness inhibits stereotype activation, but once a stereotype has been activated, cognitive busyness facilitates stereotype application
Bartholow, Dickter & sestir (2006)
Found that the more alcohol.participants consumed the more they stereotyped black targets
What are the functions of stereotypes?
Ego defense- protect self concepts against real and external threats
Social adjustment- fit in w/ out social groups
Define old fashioned prejudice
-also called ji crow laws
-yt ppl’s beliefs in their superiority (biological too)
-belief in the rightness of segregation
-use of laws+gov to establish social segregation and other forms of discrimination
Example of old fashioned prejudice
•“It was wrong for the United States Supreme Court to outlaw segregation in its 1954 decision.”
•“Black people are generally not as smart as whites.
◦Hate groups, hate crimes, overt hostility
Modern-symbolic Racism
◦Conflict between White American’s
•General endorsement of racial equality (in the abstract)
•General opposition to government laws that would create racial equality.
•Affirmative Action
•Equal Employment Opportunity
•Equal Housing
Characteristics of Modern-Symbolic Racism
1.Discrimination is a thing of the past.
2.Remaining inequality is due to low work ethic.
3.Black people’s anger over inequality is not just.
4.Rather than working hard, Black people are seeking special favors from the government.
5.Black people get more than they deserve economically.
How is Symbolic Racism Measured?
•Symbolic Racism 2000 Scale
•Self-report scale
•Participants rate their agreement with eight statements.
•Higher-values indicate greater symbolic racism
Define Aversive Racism
Support for egalitarianism
•Implicit bias, lack of meaningful experience with outgroup members
•Leads people who want to be non-prejudiced to feel uncomfortable and AVOID CONTACT.
Ambivalent Prejudice
-egalitarianism
-individualism
-pro black attitudes
Anti-black attitudes
Ambivalent Prejudice (egalitarianism)
1.One should find ways to help others less fortunate than oneself.
2.Those who are unable to provide for their basic needs should be helped
by others.
3.A good society is one in which people feel responsible for one another.
Ambivalent prejudice (pro-black)
Black people do not have the same employment opportunities that Whites do.
5.Many Whites show a real lack of understanding of the problems that many Blacks face.
6.Sometimes Black job seekers should be given special consideration in hiring.
Ambivalent prejudice (Protestant ethic)
Most people who don’t succeed in life are just plain lazy.
2.People who fail at a job have usually not tried hard enough.
3.Our society would have fewer problems if people had less leisure time.
example of aversive racism
A form of prejudice where a person tries to avoid an interactions with Black people, but will behave politely when forced into an interaction.
Example of old fashioned racism
Beliefs that Black people are biologically inferior to White people and that discrimination is appropriate.
Example of modern symbolic racism
Beliefs that Black people are morally inferior to White people that are used to maintain the status-quo.
High SDO
Maintain status quo inequalities
Low SDO’s
Reduce inequality
Group based dominance
belief that one’s group ought to be at the top of the social ladder above other groups
Opposition to equality
belief that groups on the bottom of the social ladder ought to stay there
Incidental emotion
general mood or emotional reaction
Integral emotion
emotions sparked by thinking about outgroup members
