situation and culture - factors affecting prejudice (and discrimination)

Question 1

how do social norms influence prejudice within social identity theory ?

Answer 1

people follow in-group norms because violations may lead to rejection and then lowered self-esteem due to loss of identity

Question 2

what did Cantril (1941) argue ?

Answer 2

argued group identity is essential to the formation of prejudice - people are increasingly prejudiced, as they internalise a group’s ‘frame of reference’

Question 3

what did minard (1952) study ?

Answer 3

white and black US coal miners

Question 4

what did minard (1952) find ?

Answer 4

the miners were all friendly and cooperative below ground (identified with being miners), but then held negative views of each other above ground (identified with the white and black social groups)

Question 5

what is competition and resource stress derived from ?

Answer 5

realistic conflict theory

Question 6

what is realistic conflict theory ?

Answer 6

when groups are in competition for limited resources (situational factor) the result is prejudice

Question 7

what does esses et al. (2001) claim ?

Answer 7

claims ‘resource stress’ occurs when people believe commodities (e.g. jobs, money) are limited

Question 8

based on competition and resource stress, how does prejudice arise ?

Answer 8

it arises if the in-group members see themselves in direct competition for scarce resources with another group (e.g., immigrants) - this is heightened if the situation is seen as ‘zero-sum’ (provision for the other group costs the indigenous population)

Question 9

therefore, why does prejudice occur from competition and resource stress ?

Answer 9

the in-group tries to demonstrate the out-groups’s lack of ‘worthiness’ due to the perceived threat they pose

Question 10

what do the norms of intolerance promote ?

Answer 10

prejudice and discrimination

Question 11

what does Baldwin (2017) suggest ?

Answer 11

that all cultures are ethnocentric to some extent (believe themselves superior)

Question 12

what is benevolent intolerance ?

Answer 12

some cultures may appear unprejudiced but it’s benevolent intolerance - in-groups behave positively towards outgroups but justify this as a kindly attempt to support people with a lower status (e.g. give money to a homeless person) but are still prejudiced (oppose a homeless shelter on their street - i.e. micro-aggressions)

Question 13

what is an example of a culture where they accept or even encourage outward expression of prejudice ?

Answer 13

prejudice and discrimination shown by white minority to black majority in the apartheid South Africa after 1948

Question 14

what can reduce prejudice ?

Answer 14

the norms of fairness

Question 15

what did Wetherell (1982) do ?

Answer 15

replicated tajfel’s minimal group experiment in a New Zealand school

Question 16

what did wetherell (1982) find ?

Answer 16

immigrant Polynesian children were more generous (fairer) in allocating points to outgroup members than their caucasian classmates

Question 17

what type of culture is New Zealand and Polynesia ?

Answer 17

an individualist culture (79% if Hofstede’s continuum) - whereas Fiji (vey close to Polynesia) scores just 14%

Question 18

what are collectivist cultures more focused on and how does this affect prejudice ?

Answer 18

they are more focussed on sharing and cooperation, thus reducing their level of discrimination

Question 19

what is a strength of situational factors ?

Answer 19

it is supported by Akrami et al. (2009)

Question 20

what did Akrami et al. (2009) do ?

Answer 20

manipulated social norms - some ppts heard confederate express scepticism that anyone could agree with the statement: ‘discrimination of women is no longer a problem in Sweden’

Question 21

what were the findings of Akrami et al. (2009) ?

Answer 21

mean sexism levels were significantly lower for a group who heard the statement compared to a control groups who did not hear the statement

Question 22

what does Akrami et al. (2009) show ?

Answer 22

shows that prejudice can be affected by situational factors such as perceived social norms and social threat

Question 23

what is the competing argument to the strength support by Akrami et al. (2009) ?

Answer 23

although mean levels of prejudice differed between experimental and control groups, Akrami et al. also reported that personality variables (e.g. RWA and SDO) had an influence - so both situational factors and individual differences are important

Question 24

what is an application to the research for these factors ?

Answer 24

the research provides ideas about how to combat prejudice - e.g., Esses et al. (2001)

Question 25

what did Esses et al. (2001) suggest (part of the application) ?

Answer 25

suggested targeting the zero-sum beliefs that lead to prejudice against immigrants - an effective strategy in their study

Question 26

what else did Esses et al. (2001) find (part of the application) ?

Answer 26

they found reactance in high SDO participants created negative attitudes - so an indirect approach is needed to address prejudice in some people

Question 27

why is Esses et al. (2001) critical research (part of application) ?

Answer 27

this is critical research if we are to move successfully towards a ‘truly harmonious global village’, as described by Esses et al.

Question 28

what is a strength of cultural norms ?

Answer 28

it is supported by research like Orpen (1971)

Question 29

what did Orpen (1971) find ?

Answer 29

1) found that f-scale scores were not significantly correlated with prejudice in a group of white South African ppts
2) BUT - measures of social conformity, susceptibility to cultural pressure and adherence to cultural norms correlated significantly with prejudice to black South Africans

Question 30

what does Orpen (1971) suggest ?

Answer 30

suggests conformity to cultural norms may be a critical determinant of intolerant attitudes towards specific out-groups

Question 31

what is a competing argument to Orpen (1971) ?

Answer 31

a problem with this evidence is that ppts were 16-year-old school children - young people may have a stronger desire to fit in with their social group