Stereotypes I Flashcards
Definition of stereotypes
Generalised beliefs about or expectations from members of a group
Stereotypes:
- what are they not necessarily?
- what beliefs?
- Not necessarily “fixed” or “inaccurate”
Stereotypes can be changeable and sometimes describe groups on average accurately - Category-based beliefs….applied to individual people- beliefs of people based on their group membership.
Stereotype examples
1- seeing disney princess as that looks like them (non-white) - they can identify with the princess. This tells us how widespread stereotypes are in all kinds of contexts and how early they are internalised. Also how important it is to break them down and ensure representation for people that are routinely underrepresented in certain contexts.
2- Susan Haisi asked Lugosi (on screen) where she was from at a formal reception. Haisi asked this question because she saw a black person in front of her. Lugosi Felani is a British charity executive who was born in London. She needs a charity that supports black women who have experienced domestic violence. This question betrays a stereotype or a typical British person, person from the UK as a white person and an assumption that anyone who doesn’t look white must have come to the UK from somewhere else. Susan Haisi has now resigned from her position at royal aid.
Defining stereotypes:
1- what are not interchangeable?
2- what component of attitudes are stereotypes?
3- what components of attitudes are prejudice and discrimination?
1- Stereotyping, prejudice & discrimination– not interchangeable- they refer to different aspects of our attitudes to other people based on their group membership (these 3 concepts are related but distinct)
2- Stereotypes – the cognitive component of attitudes towards a social group, beliefs about what a particular group is like
3- In contrast, prejudice is affective (feeling) and discrimination is behavioural (action) component of an attitude
Why do we form and use stereotypes?
1) Schemas – cognitive frameworks for organising, interpreting and recalling information (provide us with an easier way to understand complex things)
2) Categorising for efficiency – sometimes we act as ”cognitive misers” where the least cognitive effort is preferable
- cognitive misers= limited amount of cognitive resource everyday to spend on understanding things, memorising things, processing information.
- We try to use spend this resource as efficiently as possible. To do this we might use mental shortcuts, enable us to make social decisions in a quicker way and easier way.
3) Motivational purpose – feel positive about group identity in comparison to other social groups. One way to achieve this is to stereotype others negatively- this will boost your self-esteem.
sum- how does stereotyping occur?
1) stereotypes are one type of schema- they help us to simplify social information
2) help us make quicker and more energy efficient decisions
3) make people feel better about themselves
(however all of this comes at a cost in terms of fairness and us stereotyping people)
Stereotyping and limited resources: Bodenhausen (1990)
Procedure
- Participants presented with information from a legal trial
– Designed so that it drew on stereotypes that would suggest defendant’s guilt
– Objectively, information was ambiguous - Participants were either ‘morning’ people or ‘evening’ people (pre- tested)
– Tested either early morning or in the evening- Morning – “evening” people have little resources
- Evening – “morning” people have little resources
- Are we more likely to draw on stereotypes when we have little resources?
Stereotyping and limited resources: Bodenhausen (1990)
Results
Stronger reliance on stereotypes when cognitive resources are scarce
- For morning people, they are more guilty when tested in the evening
- For evening people, they are more guilty when tested in morning
Sum- When we make judgements in the circumstances when we are tired and don’t have cognitive resources spare, we are more likely to rely on stereotypes in our judgements. We fall back on stereotypes when we run low on cognitive resources.
Practical implication → if we feel tired we should refrain from making those judgements
Explain the steps of the stereotype content model
Early approaches to stereotyping largely descriptive:
- which groups are stereotyped and how?
- reliance on ad hoc and endless lists of traits
|
More recently, researchers have attempted to identify a smaller set of stereotypic dimensions
|
According to Fiske et al. (2002), stereotypes about most groups contain just to underlying dimensions (competence and warmth)
Stereotype content model: what are the 2 dimensions?
Competence and Warmth
Competence dimension:
high- competent, assertive, skilled
low- indecisive, passive, lazy
Warmth dimension:
high- friendly, good-natured, sincere
low- deceitful, cold, unreliable
Stereotype content model:
what are the dimensions?
Envy= high competence, low warmth
(high status, competitive eg. rich people, CEOs)
Admiration= high competence, high warmth
(high status, not competitive eg. ingroup members, close allies)
Contempt= low competence, low warmth
(low status, competitive eg. welfare recipients)
Paternalism= low competence, high warmth
(low status, not competitive eg. elderly, homeless)
3 things to think about in relation to stereotype content model
1- all groups are stereotyped primarily on dimensions of competence and warmth
2- how we stereotype groups in terms of competence and warmth depends on whether we see them as competitors or not and whether we ascribe them high or low status
3- how stereotype groups on these dimensions determines our responses to them (envy, admiration, contempt, paternalism)
Costs of “positive” stereotypes
Deutsch, Lebaron & Fryer (1987)
Procedure
- What are the consequences of being stereotyped as “warm”?
- Are members of “warm” groups (e.g., women) penalized for not living up to these stereotypes?
Deutsch, LeBaron & Fryer (1987) examined this possibility by asking participants to rate how warm, happy, carefree and relaxed a number of people were based on a verbal description accompanied by:
- No Photo
- Smiling Photo
- Non-Smiling Photo
Costs of “positive” stereotypes
Deutsch, Lebaron & Fryer (1987)
Results
Smiling male was happier, more relaxed, more carefree and warmer compared to no picture. This effect was the same for females- female character was also relayed more positively when she was smiling compared to the condition where there was no picture.
For all genders it made sense to have a smiling picture.
Costs of “positive” stereotypes
Deutsch, Lebaron & Fryer (1987)
Results - what happens for non-smiling characters?
Male non-smiling was related as a little less happy, as carefree, as relaxed and a little less warm compared to no picture of them.
So for a man non-smiling it reduces alleviations a little bit but not that much, its not hugely important.
For non smiling female she was related as significantly more negatively on all parameters compared to the condition where there was no picture of her at all.
Non smiling women is relayed more negatively than non smiling man on all conditions- this could be because there is a stereotype of women to show a warmth approach. There are no stereotypes of men as smiling and approachable (which is why they are voted higher)
