stereotypes Flashcards
stereotype intro
Stereotype-A stereotype is defined as a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributes. It is a generalization that is made about a group and then attributed to members of that group. Such a generalization may be either positive or negative.
Stereotypical thinking can lead to prejudice and discrimination. The consequences of this can be severe on an individual level or on a much wider social level. It can lead to psychological and physical abuse on children in school, the workplace and society in general. By understanding the ways in which they are developed we can work towards reducing stereotypical thinking and reduce the negative consequences
hamilton and gifford
Stereotypes could be the result of an illusory correlation. People may have stereotypes about certain races/ minorities due to them being more distinct as it is a smaller group.
Illusory correlation- when there is a relationship perceived between variables even if nothing is there
Things that are numerically smaller stand out more
Co-occurence of events that are infrequent
Hamilton and Gifford
Aim- To investigate illusory correlation of group size and negative behaviour.
Method and Findings:
Ppt asked to read descriptions abt made-up groups: A and B. Descriptions based on positive or negative behaviors. Group A (majority group) had twice as many members as B (minority group)
Descriptions: A performed 18 positive, 8 negative behaviors. B performed 9 positive, 4 negative behaviors. <a> crimes/ negative behaviors more often attributed to them
Group B members and negative behaviours are both numerically fewer and therefore more distinct than Group A members and negative behaviour, therefore, stands out more than the combination of Group A members performing such behaviours causing illusory correlation.</a>
Lots of generalisations and stereotypes are often about minority groups, which fits into Hamilton’s theory that smaller groups are more distinct.
Evidence for illusory correlation, as the p”s had formed an illusory correlation between the size of the group
Conclusion:
Distinctive info draws attention. B has less members and less negative behaviors- more distinct than A. B performing negative behaviors therefore stands out more
Could explain discrimination/ racism- Less no. of people are minorities-> crimes/ negative behaviors more often attributed to them
Group B members and negative behaviours are both numerically fewer and therefore more distinct than Group A members and negative behaviour, therefore, stands out more than the combination of Group A members performing such behaviours causing illusory correlation.
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gender schema theory
Schemas/ gender-schema theory
Argued that children as young as 2 or 3 years who have acquired basic gender identity start to form gender schemas
Consist of organized sets of beliefs about the sexes
Schemas formed-
in-group or outgroup schema, consists of info about which toys and activities are suitable for boys and which are suitable for girls.
own-gender schema- info abt how to behave in gender stereotyped ways.
A key aspect of gender-schema theory is the notion that children do not simply respond passively to the world. What happens instead is that the gender schemas possessed by children help to determine what they attend to, how they interpret the world, and what they remember of their experiences.
martin and halverson
Aim- to investigate whether existing sex-typing schemas distort memories of experiences that are inconsistent with the schemas
Method-
48 children. Half male half female 5-6 yrs old used. Mostly white and middle-class, enrolled in day-care centres.
Set of 72 black and white line drawings used. Half showed traditionally masculine activities, half showed traditionally feminine activities.
^ 3 subsets selected from these so every activity presented equally w/ male actor, female actor, or used as new activity.
Memory task- children presented w/ 1 subset of 16 pics on first day.
Children 5-6 years of
age were shown pictures depicting males and females performing sex-consistent and sex-incon-
sistent activities. 1 week later, memory for activities and for sex of actor performing activities
was tested using a variety of memory measures. Level of stereotyping and perceived similarity
to actors were also assessed. As predicted, children tended to distort information by changing
the sex of the actor in sex-inconsistent pictures and not by changing the sex of actor on sex-
consistent pictures. Children were also more confident of memory for pictures remembered as
sex consistent (whether distorted or not) than for inconsistent pictures. Children’s ratings of
perceived similarity followed gender of actor and did not influence memory or distortion. Re-
sults were discussed in terms of a schematic processing model of sex stereotyping and in
terms of the influence sex reversals could have on the development and maintenance of sex
stereotypes.
schemas
schema theory suggests that we have a framework of knowledge that we use to organize information. This can allow us to process information faster and quicker; organize knowledge, assist recall, guide behaviour and make sense of our current experiences. people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schemas. We predict what will happen based on what has happened before.
They are made up of our prior experiences and knowledge.
having schemas means that we have preconceived ideas of certain things prior to our experiences. As such, this could lead to stereotyping as we may already have preconceived ideas of certain groups of people due to our schemas, and as such hold a certain perception about others.
hupp et al
Hupp et al
o see if a parent’s household duties, especially the role of mothers, predicted a child’s level of gender typing as an initial component of gender development. This is relevant to schemas as it shows that our upbringing/ the role of mothers can affect our gender schemas
Method-
looked at marital status of mothers. They theorized that married household/ households with two parents would have more gendered household roles, while divorced/ single parent household would show less gendered roles, as the mother would do both male and female roles. As such, they predicted that children of unmarried mothers would be less likely to engage in gender typing than those with married mothers.
Hupp et al have tests to 28 groups of children and mothers.
The children were given a Gender-typed knowledge test, where they were shown 2 pictures: a man and a boy together, and a woman and a girl together.
They were then shown a picture of a gender-stereotyped item and asked to select which picture the item belonged to.
The mothers were given a survey to assess their household behaviours and their levels of androgyny. They were asked to indicate how often they do masculine (mowing grass), feminine (doing laundry) or neutral household activities (taking kids to school).
They were also asked to indicate their marital status, employment and number and gender of other individuals in their home.
Results-
children of married mothers had higher levels of gender typed knowledge
while the married and unmarried mothers didn’t differ in how often they engaged in female or male activities, the unmarried mothers engaged in androgynous behaviours more often than married mothers.
The more a mother displayed androgynous behaviour, the less the child displayed gender-typed knowledge.
Conclusion
Kids with a mother that does mainly feminine activities more likely to have a gender schema. As such, they have higher levels of gender typed knowledge, and stereotype/ separate men and women and their behaviours.
overall eval stereotypes
Good evidence to support theories of development. Many different theories explaining different kinds of stereotypes each with its strengths and weaknesses, hard to measure where it starts, difficult to test real world stereotypes due to social desirability and self report data, use of lab experiments, Stereotypes do change over time, social norms change over time and the relative influence of factors may change too. Even with knowing how they may form its still very difficult to know how to use this information effectively. Stereotypes still a major global issue
