social psychology -predjudice

Question 1

aim of sherif

Answer 1

to test the development of in-group behaviour to include related out group hostility and how this can be reduced

Question 2

sample of sherif

Answer 2

22 boys aged 11 from protestant families in Oklahoma -matched in IQ and sport ability

Question 3

procedure

Answer 3

-phase 1 was in-group formation ,boys were placed in a summer camp in Robbers Cave Oklahoma where they were divided into 2 groups, they spent a week bonding as a group

-phase 2 was the friction phase where they discovered each-other and competitions were set up between them like baseball, tug of war and counting beans task.

-phase 3 was the integration phase , this was designed to reduce tension between groups .They were given superordinate goals like fixing truck and water supply.

Question 4

results

Answer 4

-phase 1 each group has given a name ,the eagles and rattlers, to further help strengthen their group identity

-phase 2 the competitions started in good spirit but soon the boys were calling each-other things like ‘cheat’ ‘sneak’.This then lead to scuffles and raids(where the boys would steal each-others flags and set fire to them)

-phase 3 by the end of camp the boys were actively seeking out opportunities to mingle and entertain the other group and the boys made far fewer negative ratings of the opposing group

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

superordinate goals can help relieve prejudice in competing groups. Prejudice occurs due to competition for scarce resources

Question 6

strengths of sherif

Answer 6

-superordinate goals can be useful for reducing prejudice in society

-boys didn’t t know they were being studied so low chance of demand characteristics =more valid

-study is high in ecological validity as it is a field study so interactions are valid and results can be used to explain real life examples of prejudice

-high in mundane realism as activities were done in line with the summer camp location e.g baseball, tug of war

-there was a number of standardised tasks e.g bean counting ,so procedure is easily repeated =high reliability.

-matched pairs design reduced ppt variables that may have influenced their behaviour like iq so results are more valid

Question 7

weaknesses of sherif

Answer 7

-issues with the sample(ethnocentric&andocentric)=low generalisability due to unrepresentative sample

-breaches multiple ethical guidelines=informed consent not given and protection from harm

-sherif is a field experiment so some extraneous variables like how the councillors interacted might of influenced the boys conflict.This reduces validity

Question 8

describe realistic conflict theory

Answer 8

-states intergroup conflict is caused whenever there are two or more groups that are seeking the same limited resources this will lead to conflict and discrimination, this discrimination can be things like name calling.This conflict can cause increasing animosity and lead to a feud like the race riots in American where there was belief African Americans were stealing jobs and women from the whites

-there may be a zero sum game where there can only be one winner which increases prejudice

-superordinate goals are mutually desirable goals that require two groups to work together to achieve the goals.

Question 9

strengths of rct

Answer 9

-supported by sherif as competition for resources increased intergroup conflict.For example boys became more prejudice during and after competition.Furthermore superordinate goals the boys were given also reduced conflict&prejudice

-useful as explains prejudice between groups like Israel and Palestine but also how to solve it

Question 10

weaknesses of rct

Answer 10

-boys were hostile towards each-other in sherif even before competition .Prejudice can therefore be better explained by SIT which says the formation of a group is enough to cause prejudice

-ignores individual differences so we don’t know why some individuals are more prejudice than others e.g those with authoritarian personality

Question 11

describe social identity theory

Answer 11

-tajfel&turner argue self-esteem is at the core of social identity.We want to feel good about ourselves therefore we need to feel good about the groups we belong to.We tend to show in-group favoritism.Social identity theory states group formation goes through 3 stages and just the existence of groups causes prejudice

Question 12

describe the 3 steps of group formation

Answer 12

-social categorisation , this is seeing yourself as part of an in-group e.g social identity may involve belonging to groups based on class, gender, school and friends ect

-social identification ,once you have your social identity, you automatically perceive everyone else you meet as part of your in-group or the out-group.You pay attention to in-group members and adopt their views , attitudes ,behaviour and appearance

-social comparison, this is exaggerating differences between groups.This tends to be viewing your social identity as superior to others(to boost self esteem).This can lead to prejudice and discrimination through out group bias(putting down the other group)or in group favouritism .

Question 13

strengths of SIT

Answer 13

-supporting study jane elliot blue eye brown eye.A teacher created categorisation by blue eyes and brown eyes.Students took on the behaviours of these groups including internalising what they were told about their intelligence(blue yes preform better on tests) this is social identity.Finally they were prejudice towards each-other including psychical and verbal aggression.This shows being put in a group can affect behaviour toward those not in the group showing the theory to be credible

-supported by sherif robbers cave .Boys categorised themselves and showed strong social identity (names:eagles and rattlers, flags ,motto and behaviour ).This resulted in in-group favouritism as the boys felt superior to the out-group shown by name-calling like ‘sneak’.This strong identity resulted in raids and violence.

-useful as it can explain the escalation of group behaviour to violence and indicates we need to break down categorisation and identification to prevent violence

Question 14

weaknesses of SIT

Answer 14

-this theory only factor causing prejudice is the formation of a group however rct emphasises the importance of competition and how this intensifies prejudice.

-ignores individual differences e.g authoritarian personality where it is a trait about them which makes them look down on those they see as inferior.SIT only looks at situational factors so is not a complete explanation of prejudice

-sherif can conflict this theory as groups had competition present which may have caused the conflict not just the formation of the groups .When the groups were broken down this did not relieve the prejudice superordinate goals were needed.

Question 15

what situational factors influence prejudice

Answer 15

-competition over resources
-in group formation
-social norms - an agreed way of behaving ,these differ between cultures and groups they can change overtime and govern our behaviour

Question 16

what was sechrist and stangors study

Answer 16

-selected white college students who were either high or low in prejudice toward black people
-gave them info indicating whether their beliefs were shared or not
-students were asked to take a seat in the hallway
-a black confederate was sat at the end of the hallway
-high prejudice students who were told their beliefs were shared sat further than students who were high in prejudice and were told their beliefs were not shared

Question 17

how can cultural factors affect prejudice

Answer 17

-collectivist cultures tend to emphasise the needs of the group rather than the individual.There is a strong emotional attachment to the in-group due to their sense of collective self we might predict that prejudice against out-groups will be stronger in collectivist cultures.

-individualistic cultures tend to emphasise priority of individual needs rather than the group

-cultures with multiculturalism present are likely to be less prejudice due to the existence of multiple cultures in one area

-cultures with assimilation are likely to be more prejudiced because people believe if anyone joins their culture they should have to adopt their views and identity

Question 18

evaluate how cultural factors affect prejudice

Answer 18

-Fujimoto and Hartel identified collectivist cultures were more likely to demonstrate prejudice that individualistic cultures.

-Guimond found cultures where multiculturalism was present show less prejudice than those with assimilation present in their culture.They found anti-muslim attitudes were. reduced when the pro-diversity policy in a culture was high

Question 19

individual factors affecting prejudice

Answer 19

-authoritarian personality
-social dominance oreintation
-big 5 personality

Question 20

what is authoritarian personality how does this affect predjudice

Answer 20

authoritarianisim is a personality dimention characterising people who tend to hold conventional values.Someone with an authoritarian personality may be more likely to consider groups us and them and be more prejudice to people of a different ethnic group or social class.They are hostile to those seen as inferior and more likely to act on prejudicial beliefs.

Question 21

evaluate how authoritarian personality affects prejudice

Answer 21

-adornos f scale to detect authoritarianism ,adornos concept of authoritarian personality claims specific characteristics may result in hostility to people of a different race ,social group ,age ect
-lippa and arad assessed men and women on authoritarianism through questionnaires and interviews .Authoritarian individuals were judged to be hostile and defensive and prejudiced. Authoritarianism also correlated strongly with negative beliefs about homosexuality.

Question 22

what is social dominance orientation and how does this influence prejudice

Answer 22

an individual who believes in hierarchies in society and domination over lower status groups .Those who believe in social hierarchies are more likely to be prejudiced to lower status individuals because they think there are real substantial divisions in society which must be adhered to

Question 23

evaluate the point that sdo influences prejudice

Answer 23

lippa and arad assessed men and women on social dominance orientation using questionnaires and interviews .Socially dominant individuals were judged to be cold and prejudiced.Social dominant correlated strongly with prejudiced attitudes towards gender inequality

Question 24

OCEAN

how do some of the big 5 personality traits relate to predjudice

Answer 24

-openess-refers to degree of curiosity and openness to new things ,someone high in this would be less prejudiced
-agreeableness-the measure of ones trusting and helpful nature ,someone high in this trait is friendly and compassionate
-conscientiousness- tendency to be organised and dependable , a high score is someone efficient and organized

Question 25

evaluate how the big 5 personality traits influence prejudice

Answer 25

cohrs used questionnaires to measure the personality traits.He found if an individual is less open to experience they are more likely to have an authoritarian personality and prejudiced. If an individual is more conscientious they are more likely to have an authoritarian personality and be prejudiced .If an individual is less agreeable they are more likely to be high in social dominance orientation and prejudiced

Question 26

what is cohrs aim

Answer 26

to examine associations between the big 5 personality dimensions , right wing authoritarianism ,social dominance orientation and general prejudice using self report data
to see how self report and peer data matched up

Question 27

procedure of cohrs

Answer 27

-the study was conducted in Germany using an opportunity sample of neighbours and friends of the authors and their peers.There was 193 in study 1 and 424 in study 2(many from twin register)
-they completed self report questions on RWA, SDO , the big 5 traits and their prejudice towards homosexuals, disabled people and foreigners in Germany
-these were assessed on likert scales (1-7 in study 1)(1-5 in study 2)
-the peers also completed the same questionnaire about the main ppt
-they compared the self report data to the data completed by the peers

Question 28

results of cohrs

Answer 28

-if an individual is less open to experience they are more likely to be RWA and prejudiced
-individuals that are less agreeable are more likely to be SDO and prejudiced
-RWA correlates with prejudice
-SDO correlates with prejudice(weakly)
-consciousness correlates with RWA
-self report data matched peer data

Question 29

conclusion of cohrs

Answer 29

-personality does correlate with prejudice and ideological views e.g. openness negatively correlating with RWA and prejudice
-the particular dimensions of agreeableness and openness can predispose particular world views and motivations that can result in adopting prejudiced ideals, suggesting individual differences in personality can explain prejudice in society.

Question 30

strengths of cohrs

Answer 30

-standardised questionnaire =high reliability
-cohrs did not disclose details of ppts or peers in the study so the study didn’t breach this ethical guideline making the study more credible

Question 31

weakness of cohrs

Answer 31

-using closed likert scale questions prevented ppts explaining their answers os the data lacks detail making it less valid
-study was only conducted on one culture so the sample is not representative of the wider population as the ppts were all german.
-study used opportunity sampling from the authors peers and neighbours so they may have shared characteristics
-using self report methods introduces subjectivity as ppts may interpret the scales about personality and prejudice differently.This lowers validity as results are based on interpretation