Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination Flashcards
What are stereotypes?
cognitive beliefs associating a group of people with certain traits or characteristics.
Why do we have stereotypes?
They help to resolve ambiguity.
Can distort our perceptions and are often resistant to change.
What are 2 example studies of distortion of perception?
The study of a black man with a razor in his hand.
The two boys on the swings- a black boy pushed the white boy.
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Our expectations influence interaction and produce changes in behaviour in line with assumptions.
How does stigma relate to stereotypes?
An individual feels negatively evaluated due to group membership.
What is prejudice?
The feelings toward certain people are based on their group membership. (can be indirect and subtle)
What is discrimination?
Behaviour is directed against people based on their group membership. (can be indirect and subtle)
What is sexism?
prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s gender or institutional and cultural practices that promote the domination of one gender over another.
How is sexism upheld and how do roles play a part?
One sex holds power and this is transmitted and maintained by media and language. These role stereotypes hold the stigma.
What is the performance attribution stereotype in men and women?
Men are based on ability
Women are based on luck
What are the two types of ambivalent sexism?
Hostile: negative, resentful feelings about women
Benevolent: chivalrous feelings that can be patronising
What is racism?
Prejudice and discrimination are based on a person’s racial background or institutional and cultural practices that promote the domination of one racial group over another.
Why is it difficult to detect racism? what did studies show?
It is due to social desirability
How did experiments code and detect well-concealed racism?
Participants coded shoving acts. black = shoving vs. white = playful.
Used tests to reveal unconscious bias and reaction times to positive/negative adjectives.
What are modern, aversive and microaggressive forms of racism?
Modern: Racism surfaces in subtle ways often in socially acceptable contexts
Aversive: Ambivalence between being fair and unconscious prejudices
microaggression: every day, subtle forms of discrimination.
What is ageism and what is a stereotypical reason as to why?
Prejudice and discrimination are based on a person’s age.
The elderly are seen as worthless and powerless
Stereotypes about young people- as delinquents
What are the cultural differences between elders?
Indigenous communities’ elders are revered
Nuclear families, generally undervalued
What is ableism and how is the stereotype perpetuated?
Prejudice and discrimination towards people with a disability
The media presents people over assisting individuals with physical health challenges.
How has change been made towards sexual discrimination based on gender identity?
History has moved mounds towards changing the stigma, reduced through policy and language. Acceptance of pro-nouns, all-gender restroom facilities, and filling out correct gender identity on forms.
What are the societal effects of prejudice and discrimination?
The societal position of minorities is held as a result of reluctance to help
Tokenism (publicly making small concessions)
Social stigma increases, thus supporting self-fulfilling prophecies
Reduced access to resources
Violence
What are the individual effects of prejudice and discrimination?
Dehumanisation (loss of dignity and humanity)
Reduces self-esteem
What are some explanations of prejudice and discrimination?
Innate reaction: human’s inherent fear of the unfamiliar
Learned reactions: role of parental attitudes
Frustration aggression - leads to scapegoating as an outlet.
Authoritarian personalities - harsh parental treatment and displaced anger lead to prejudice or dogmatism
What is relative deprivation?
Discontent from the belief one fares poorly compared to others
What is realistic conflict theory and how does it relate to in-group behaviour?
Hostility between groups is caused by direct competition for limited resources.
The result is ethnocentrism (own group = centre of everything)
