Stereotypes

Question 1

What are stereotypes?

Answer 1

these are social perceptions of an individual in terms of group membership or physical characteristics

Question 2

Study?

Answer 2

Hamilton and Gifford where they aimed to investigate how stereotypes form with an illusory correlation

Two groups: A and B and in group A there were twice as many participants

The participants listened to a series of statements made by another group

Each group had received the same amount of negative and positive comments

Findings: because group B was smaller by nature, therefore the negative comments were overestimated in this minority group as these behaviours appeared more distinct and representative of the group.

Question 3

What are some effects of stereotypes?

Answer 3

1. Stereotype threat (occurs when one is in a situation where there is a threat of being judged - Steele and Aronson 1995)
2. Spotlight anxiety (this is triggered by stereotype threats, which cause emotional distress and pressure that may influence our behaviour)
3. Memory distortion (when there’s a difficulty in remembering accurately a memory due to stereotypes - Martin and Halverson 1983, where they aimed to investigate how gender stereotyping would affect children’s ability to recall pictures.)