social: stereotypes

Question 1

define social catagorisation

Answer 1

the process of assigning people to groups based on social categories e.g. age, race, gender

Question 2

collection of traits that society associates with a particular social group =

Answer 2

stereotypes

Question 3

a negative attitude held towards a social group and its members =

Answer 3

prejudice

Question 4

negative behaviours towards a person because of their group membership =

Answer 4

discrimination

Question 5

what is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?

Answer 5

prejudice = negative attitudes
discrimination = negative behaviours

Question 6

the tendency to view members of an outgroup as more similar to each other than members of an ingroup =

Answer 6

outgroup homogeneity effect

Question 7

what is the difference between an ingroup and an outgroup?

Answer 7

ingroup is where an individual feels a sense of membership, belonging and identity whereas an outgroup member doesn’t feel that way

Question 8

in the outgroup homogeneity effect, the ingroup are seen as more ______ and ______ whereas the outgroup are seen as more _______

Answer 8

more diverse and different

similar (homogenous)

Question 9

how do we engage in social categorisation?

Answer 9

→ picture it like a ven diagram
→ probably don’t categorise on an ‘all or nothing’ basis
→ have fuzzy boundaries
→ revolve around a central prototype
→ category members vary in how much typicality they have to a group with reference to their prototype

Question 10

prototypes =

Answer 10

cognitive representations of the most typical features of a category

Question 11

why do we engage in social categorisation?

Answer 11

in order to understand → social categories are informative → aid person perception

social categories have accompanying stereotypes which allow us to make judgements about a persons disposition

we categorise because its adaptive for survival

Question 12

what is the consequence of social categorisation?

Answer 12

the outgroup homogeneity effect

this leads to stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination

Question 13

describe Quattrone & Jones (1980) classic study that describes evidence for the outgroup homogeneity effect

Answer 13

method:
ppts watched videos of person from either their own uni or another uni make decision to wait on their own or in a group while the experimenter fixed broken equipment. The estimated the likelihood of the average member of that uni making the same decision.
results:
ppts predicted average outgroup uni student → respond in the same way
average ingroup uni student → respond in different way
interpretation:
ppts showed the outgroup homogeneity effect

Question 14

why do we show the outgroup homogeneity effect?

Answer 14

most common explanation = Linville et al (1989)
LESS FAMILIARITY AND LESS DIVERSE EXPERIENCE

argument that we represent categories in terms of exemplars (examples of category members) and we make judgements based on the variation of exemplars we have

less outgroup contact → less representative contact → less variable exemplars → greater perceived outgroup homogeneity

Question 15

which social category does not follow Linville et all (1989) explanation for the outgroup homogeneity effect and why?

Answer 15

gender
we integrate with both genders equally so should have enough representative contact with both groups so shouldn’t show the effect

Question 16

how are stereotypes formed?

Answer 16

as a social construct, stereotypes are learnt from parents, peers, media etc
part of everyday language

Question 17

what are the 2 social explanations for stereotype formation?

Answer 17

kernel of truth

stereotype content model

Question 18

what is the cognitive explanation for stereotype formation?

Answer 18

illusory correlation

Question 19

this approach argues that some stereotypes may be based on actual differences between social groups. we have a tendency to exaggerate these differences and over extend them to all members of the group. this leads to the development of stereotypes.
what explanation is this?

Answer 19

kernel of truth

Question 20

what does the kernel of truth explanation not apply to?

Answer 20

personality traits (only applies to specific facts)

Terracciano et al. (2005) found no evidence of a ‘kernel of truth’ for personality stereotypes

Question 21

what does the stereotype content model imply?

Answer 21

that stereotypes change as society changes

Question 22

what studies were linked to the stereotype content model?

Answer 22

Princeton trilogy studies and extensions → tracked stereotype change in Princeton students for 70 years

Katz & Braly (1933) → Madon et al (2001)
most ethnicity and nationality based stereotypes have changed

Question 23

what are the 2 key dimensions that stereotypes are classified by?
(stereotype content model)

Answer 23

warmth and competence

links the groups current status in society and potential for competition

Question 24

describe the table in the stereotype content model

Answer 24

low warmth + low competence → low status + competitive
low warmth + high competence → high status + competitive
high warmth + low competence → low status + not competitive
high warmth + high competence → high status + not competitive

warmth links to competitive
competence links to status

Question 25

_________ is the explanation by Hamilton & Gifford (1976) that argued that when 2 statistically infrequent events (minority group and negative behaviour) are paired, the correlation between the 2 are overestimated due to their distinctiveness
(false illusory correlation)

Answer 25

illusory correlation

Question 26

describe how illusory correlation works

Answer 26

minority group perform negative behaviour → better encoding of that distinctive info → better recall → overestimation of relationship → formation of negative stereotype/prejudice

Question 27

describe the study conducted by Hamilton & Gifford (1976) that finds evidence for the illusion correlation theory

Answer 27

ppts read statements describing behaviour of group A (majority) and group B (minority)

statements sampled from real world

group B has less statements than A due to being smaller group but same ratio of + to - behaviours (9:4)

ppts presented with statements again and asked to indicate which behaviours were formed by which group

prediction → group B → negative behaviours should be most distinctive → ppts should overestimate the number of - behaviours performed by group B

Question 28

why do people stereotype?

Answer 28

stereotypes act as an energy saving device → simplifies info processing and reduces cognitive load

stereotypes = judgement heuristics (mental shortcuts for social perception)

stereotypes may serve as a justification function → system justification theory

Question 29

describe the system justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994).

Answer 29

argues that people want to believe that social systems are fair and legitimate, so stereotypes help rationalise any inequality that exists.
even the disadvantaged stereotype group justify their own stereotypes

Question 30

describe a study that shows evidence for stereotypes reducing cognitive load/energy saving

Answer 30

Macrae et al (1994)
dual task paradigm → divide cognitive resources between 2 tasks at once
study 1:
ppts given names and personality traits and asked to form impressions of people while listening to audio track.

experimental condition = given category labels so could use stereotypes to form impressions
e.g. John, skinhead, rebellious

control condition = no category labels e.g. John, rebellious

(if using stereotypes saves cognitive resources, ppts who are able to use stereotypes should remember more about the audio track)

results:
experimental condition performed better than control with higher no. of correct answers to audio tape Qs → saved resources

Question 31

describe a study that shows evidence for stereotypes and the system justification theory

Answer 31

study looks at the impact of benevolent stereotypes
male and female ppts
control = exposed to no stereotypes
experimental = exposed to benevolent (+) stereotypes → women as communal (warm, nurturing)
→ men as agentic (leadership, independent)
(classic stereotypes of genders)
and both types of stereotypes

after exposure and priming to these stereotypes, ppts completed questionnaire assessing agreement with current gender relations and sex role divisions to see if stereotypes affect system justification

results:
→ men showed no difference with no exposure and exposure to stereotypes
→ women showed a lower system justification with no exposure compared to exposure
(supports theory)

Question 32

why do stereotypes persist? give 3 explanations

Answer 32

→ biases in exposure to information
→ biases in interpretation of information
→ self fulfilling prophecy

check notes for descriptions and evidence

Question 33

what is the difference between stereotype activation and stereotype application?

Answer 33

activation = the degree to which a stereotype is accessible in the mind

application = the actual use of activated stereotypes in judgements → forming an impression

Question 34

how is stereotype application measured?

Answer 34

measures to assess whether someone uses stereotypes in judgments

e.g.
ask ppt to form impression of outgroup member → then asked to rate degree that member possesses certain stereotypic traits

Question 35

how is stereotype activation measured?

Answer 35

lexical decision task

reaction time, implicit task testing black word stimuli and how fast real words are noticed
red category label stimuli facilities a faster response to the word

Question 36

is social categorisation automatic? discuss for and against

Answer 36

yes → categorising people simplifies our complex social world and we do it so often for such key social categories (race, gender, age) that it becomes a habit and therefore automatic

no → if it is meant to simplify our world we shouldn’t do it when its not needed → should only occur when its consistent with our goals

Question 37

describe evidence that social categorisation has goal dependent automaticity

Answer 37

research is widely accepted that categorisation isn’t automatic across the board but is context dependent
QUINN & MACRAE (2005)
found people only categorised faces by gender when instructed (when it was their goal)
→ people just looked at faces did not automatically categorise

Question 38

is stereotype activation automatic?

if social categorisation does occur, is stereotype activation an inevitable consequence?

Answer 38

widely agreed to be conditionally automatic
ITO & TOMELLERI (2017)
→ ppts shown pics of black and white individuals
→ group 1 → asked to mentally categorise the face as black or white
→ group 2 → asked to mentally determine whether a small dot was present on each pic
→ then both groups asked to identify asap whether following pics were guns or insects
results:
→ faster responses to gun pics following black primes vs. white primes → showed stereotype activation

Question 39

stereotypes are more likely to be activated when?

Answer 39

→ we have sufficient cognitive resources
→ we are higher in prejudice
→ if activating them will help us maintain a positive sense of self

Question 40

what are interventions to reduce stereotype activation?

Answer 40

exposure to counter-stereotypes by practice interventions

women exposed to women leader biographies and women leaders in naturalistic settings (professors at uni)

Question 41

________ is concern experienced by a person when there is the possibility that they may act in a way consistent with negative stereotypes

Answer 41

stereotype threat

Question 42

how does stereotype threat affect our behaviour?

Answer 42

disruptive and intimidating → affects performance on tasks

anxiety that the stereotype can give results in self fulfilling prophecies

Question 43

describe Steele and Aronsons (1995 study) looking at how stereotype threat affected black ppts in a test of intellectual ability

Answer 43

black ppts performed worse than white ppts on a test when the test was presented as a measure of intellectual ability
but…
performed equally well when no reference was made that the test was to do with intellectual ability as no stereotype threat was activated so performance wasn’t affected

Question 44

describe Spencer, Steele & Quinn (1999) study about how stereotype affects gender differences

Answer 44

women performed worse than men on a maths test when told it reveals gender differences but performed equally well when told that it doesn’t
(assesses the stereotype that males are better at maths)

Question 45

describe Koenig & Eagly (2005) study on stereotype threat

Answer 45

men performed worse on an interpersonal perception task when told it assesses social sensitivity (and men are worse than women) relative to when told it assesses complex information processing

Question 46

describe Frantz et al (2004) study looking at white American psychology students and their stereotype threat as racists

Answer 46

implicit measures → IAT (implicit association test)
→ psychology students are aware of this
ppts given different info about the IAT

explicit threat group → told they are being assessed about their racial attitudes
no threat group → told its a measure of cultural stereotype knowledge
no info group

results:
higher IAT score indicates greater pro white implicit bias

explicit threat group showed highest IAT score due to stereotype threat

Question 47

apply knowledge of stereotype threat when looking at STEM

Answer 47

women and STEM:
→ less women in senior positions, under representation, leaky pipeline
→ increasing loss of women up the career ladder within STEM subjects

both stereotype effects (hiring women in general) and stereotype threat contribute

→ can lead women to perform worse
→ less confidence to feeling like they could reach such a high career in STEM so don’t apply

Question 48

what are the other 2 effects of stereotype threat beyond pure performance?

Answer 48

disengagement from stereotyped domain and learning in the stereotyped domain

Question 49

stereotype threat effects are reduced when…

Answer 49

…tests are reframed as a challenging learning experience
…anxiety is presented as helpful rather than harmful to performance
(REFRAMING AND REAPPRAISAL)
…ppts are given the opportunity to list negative and positive attributes that describe their personal rather than social identity
(DE-EMPHASIS OF THREATENED SOCIAL IDENTITY OR DOMAIN)

Question 50

recognise and describe Miyake et al’s (2010) empirical evaluation of a values affirmation intervention to reduce stereotype threat

Answer 50

women on physics course were found to be underperforming significantly to men
introduced intervention to assess stereotype threat

method:
→ men and women on physics course completed intervention twice a semester

values affirmation group → choose most important value to you and write why its important to you
control group → choose least important value to you and write why it is important to others

results:
→ women performed significantly better when they had the opportunity to self affirm positive values → performed equally well to men

→ not significant to men → showed no difference after values affirmation because men aren’t subject to stereotype threat in this domain