situation and culture - factors affecting prejudice (and discrimination) Flashcards
how do social norms influence prejudice within social identity theory ?
people follow in-group norms because violations may lead to rejection and then lowered self-esteem due to loss of identity
what did Cantril (1941) argue ?
argued group identity is essential to the formation of prejudice - people are increasingly prejudiced, as they internalise a group’s ‘frame of reference’
what did minard (1952) study ?
white and black US coal miners
what did minard (1952) find ?
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)
what is competition and resource stress derived from ?
realistic conflict theory
what is realistic conflict theory ?
when groups are in competition for limited resources (situational factor) the result is prejudice
what does esses et al. (2001) claim ?
claims ‘resource stress’ occurs when people believe commodities (e.g. jobs, money) are limited
based on competition and resource stress, how does prejudice arise ?
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)
therefore, why does prejudice occur from competition and resource stress ?
the in-group tries to demonstrate the out-groups’s lack of ‘worthiness’ due to the perceived threat they pose
what do the norms of intolerance promote ?
prejudice and discrimination
what does Baldwin (2017) suggest ?
that all cultures are ethnocentric to some extent (believe themselves superior)
what is benevolent intolerance ?
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)
what is an example of a culture where they accept or even encourage outward expression of prejudice ?
prejudice and discrimination shown by white minority to black majority in the apartheid South Africa after 1948
what can reduce prejudice ?
the norms of fairness
what did Wetherell (1982) do ?
replicated tajfel’s minimal group experiment in a New Zealand school
what did wetherell (1982) find ?
immigrant Polynesian children were more generous (fairer) in allocating points to outgroup members than their caucasian classmates
what type of culture is New Zealand and Polynesia ?
an individualist culture (79% if Hofstede’s continuum) - whereas Fiji (vey close to Polynesia) scores just 14%
what are collectivist cultures more focused on and how does this affect prejudice ?
they are more focussed on sharing and cooperation, thus reducing their level of discrimination
what is a strength of situational factors ?
it is supported by Akrami et al. (2009)
what did Akrami et al. (2009) do ?
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’
what were the findings of Akrami et al. (2009) ?
mean sexism levels were significantly lower for a group who heard the statement compared to a control groups who did not hear the statement
what does Akrami et al. (2009) show ?
shows that prejudice can be affected by situational factors such as perceived social norms and social threat
what is the competing argument to the strength support by Akrami et al. (2009) ?
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
what is an application to the research for these factors ?
the research provides ideas about how to combat prejudice - e.g., Esses et al. (2001)
