Psychology A2 - concept three - social Flashcards
3. in-groups and out-groups
social categorisation
-divide people into social groups depending on shared characteristics, appearance
-perceive people in a category as similar, at the same time we perceive people in one category to be different from others (Tajfel, 1979)
in-groups and out-groups
-most people have strong desire to belong, easy to think of ourselves as a member of a category – in-group (us)
-draw strict boundaries between categories, part of one group, there will be another group you aren’t part of – out-group (them)
-identify with in-group, brings a sense of belonging, self-esteem and status
-increase by exaggerating differences and minimising similarities with out-group
-stereotype out-group
stereotypes
-fixed view we hold of a person based on their social category
-assume the person represents the social category
-danger = assumptions may be wrong and unfair
formation of stereotypes – social categorisation
-increasing the psychological distance between the in-group and out-group
formation of stereotypes – social learning theory
-learn stereotypes by observing sources of social information (parents, media)
-example, child hears a parent telling a racist jokes, may enjoy reaction (laughter) received, child will be likely to repeat the stereotype
effect of stereotypes – positive effects
-simplify our interactions with other people in complex social world
-assume the individuals share the stereotyped characteristics of a social category, saves time and cognitive processing effort
effect of stereotypes – negative effects
-influence our behaviour as they are self-fulfilling
-end up behaving towards other peoplle in line with stereotype of them
-also affect our memories, tend to remember positive information about in-group and negative information about out-group (Lacozza et al., 2019)
-they distort and bias our social judgements, can lead to prejudice and discrimination
prejudice
-result of stereotyping out-groups, becomes easier to form negative attitudes about its members
-perceive out-group members as inferior, makes us feel good about our in-group
-way of increasing in-groups self-esteem
discrimination
-the outcome of prejudice of an out-group
-excluded because they share a characteristic such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality
-faced by people in less obvious ‘everyday’ ways
evaluation: practical applications (+)
-can take steps to reduce prejudice
-one way = encouraging people to perceive themselves as part of a bigger social category instead of smaller ones
-emphasises similarities and lessens psychological distance between in-groups and out-groups, reducing influence of stereotypes
-second way= challenge stereotypes by creating opportunities for the groups too mix/meet
-several ways we can counteract negative effects of social categorisation and stereotyping to reduce prejudice
evaluation: research support (+)
-psychological research showing the effects of stereotypes on memory
-Allport and Postman (1947), showed pps a drawing that reversed a well known stereotype
-image was viewed by a pss who described it to another and so on for 6/7 pps (carried out many times)
-50% of sequences, pps wrongly recalled the razor being held by the black man
-shows racist stereotype can bias memory in a way that supports the stereotype
evaluation: alternative explanations (-)
-social approach may not give best explanation of stereotyping and prejudice
-evidence that some people are prejudiced because of personality not social factors
-develop an ‘authoritarian personality’ – result of harsh upbringing (Adorno et al., 1950)
-blame out-groups for own perceived failings, more likely to be open to prejudices
-means prejudices cannot be explained by social factors alone
