Stereotyping and Prejudice Flashcards
According to the cognitive perspective what is a stereotype?
a consensually shared definition of other groups/people
inaccurate/unreasonable/unjustifiable generalisations
- kernels of truth?
What are the key concepts of stereotyping in the cognitive perspective ?
limited attentional capacity
categorical perception
confirmatory bias
cognitive misers
What is a cognitive miser?
the principle of least effort
rapid, adequate solutions > slow, accurate ones
efficiency > accuracy
What is non-reactive methodology?
an implicit measure where participants do not know what the experimenter is observing
answers won’t/cannot be changed for social correctness
What types of priming technique can be used for non-reactive methodology?
subliminal; below conscious awareness
supraliminal; above conscious awareness
How does non-reactive methodology measure stereotypes?
the more closely associated two stimulus items are associated in memory, the faster will be the participant’s response
Describe 2 studies that make use of non-reactive methodology.
Dovidio, Evans & Tyler (1986)
participants presented with black/white primes
quicker reaction to negative words with black prime
quicker reaction to positive words with white prime
Correll et al. (2007)
quicker to shoot black targets after black prime
no difference between black/white after white prime
quicker to shoot armed black target than white
slower to not shoot unarmed black target than white
How does stereotyping affect attention?
Cohen (1981); people are more likely to attend to stereotype consistent evidence
How does stereotyping affect interpretations?
Darley & Gross (1983)
woman completes test; working class/wealthy background
ambiguous in relation to performance
score was recalled as higher for wealthy background than working class background
How does stereotyping affect attribution?
Ultimate Attribution Error - Pettrigrew (1979)
positive in-group and negative out-group behaviour attributed to dispositions
negative in-group and positive out-group behaviour attributed to situation
How does stereotyping affect memory and recall?
Betty K - Snyder & Uranowitz (1978)
participants read a passage with stereotype manipulation
1 week later participants recalled stereotype congruent information they were never presented with
How does stereotyping affect information gathering?
Confirmatory Hypothesis Testing - Synder & Swann (1978)
introversion/extroversion manipulation
participants were more likely to ask questions that would confirm their expectations
How does stereotyping affect one’s own behaviour?
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - Word, Zanna & Cooper (1974)
people elicit the behaviour they expect from themselves; when participants had an expectation of an interviewee their own interviewing style also elicited a more negative interviewing response from themselves
How does stereotype use affect cognitive load?
Macrae, Milne & Bodenhausen (1994)
memory test of traits with simultaneous probe task
subliminal/supraliminal/no prime
subliminal and supraliminal primes produced the quickest reactions to probe task
using stereotypes reduces the amount of cognitive capacity being used so more is available for other tasks
Describe how mental shortcuts can be made using stereotypes.
Bodenhausen (1990)
participants classified as ‘morning’ or ‘evening’ people (based on the time of better cognitive function)
presented with a trial drawing on stereotypes
‘morning’ participants gave higher guilt ratings in the evening
‘evening’ participants gave higher guilt ratings in the morning
reduced cognitive functioning = more reliance on stereotypes
How does mood influence stereotype use?
Bodenhausen et al. (1994)
participants induced into a happy/neutral mood
happy participants utilised known stereotypes more (reduced systematic processing of information)
when in a good mood we are less inclined to accurately process information to avoid disrupting positive mood
How can stereotyping during a positive mood be reduced?
accountability manipulation; making participants explain themselves
What are some criticisms of the cognitive perspective?
reductionist too far removed from real world phenomena too individualistic not social enough neglects the role of affect content is under-examined
How does affect influence prejudice?
Cottrell & Neuberg (2005)
prejudice differs on the basis of the underlying affect
this can influence the behavioural response
anger - harm
guilt/disgust - avoidance
fear/envy - defensiveness
underlying emotion is linked to the type of treat posed by an out-group
How can stereotype content change?
Hallam (1992)
stereotypes can change depending on the comparative context
Australian stereotypes of Americans worsened after the Gulf War
ratings were more negative when America is the outgrip
but less negative when seen as in in-group by including the USSR and Iraq
According to the social perspective what is prejudice?
negative attitudes and hostile/discriminatory behaviour towards specific groups or members of society
What are Allport’s components of prejudice?
cognitive; beliefs about a group
affective; emotions reactions to a group
conative; intention to act a certain way towards a group
What is Social Identity Theory?
Tajfel
defining the self in terms of their social identity
accentuates similarities within and differences between groups
people are motivated to achieve a positive social identity
How do people achieve a positive social identity?
social comparison
differentiation between in-group and out-group
positive in-group bias
social competition
What are the functions of stereotypes?
predicting the social environment
differentiating the in-group and out-group
self-conception
justification of out-group treatment and status inequalities
What is a system justification?
Jost & Banaji (1994)
the preservation of existing social arrangements even at the expense of personal and group interest
Which study displayed system justification?
Alien Stereotypes - Hoffman & Hurst (1990)
3 traits; neutral/communal/agentic
majority occupation; city worker/child raiser
city workers were attributed more agent traits
child raisers were attributed more communal traits
erroneous stereotypical conclusions based on prevalent social occupation
What is the stereotype content model?
Fiske et al. (2007) stereotypes depend on the relations (competing/cooperating) with an out-group and their status paternalistic prejudice envious prejudice contemptuous prejudice
What is paternalistic prejudice?
prejudice towards incompetent but nice subordinate group
e.g. old/disabled
What is envious prejudice?
prejudice towards competent but cold superordinate group
e.g. rich people/feminists/professionals
What is contemptuous prejudice?
prejudice towards incompetent, unkind subordinate group
e.g. poor people/welfare recipients
What is image theory?
Alexander et al. (1999)
stereotypes function to rationalise and justify the intergroup relationship and one’s behaviour in it
What are the 4 key image theory categories?
enemy
ally
dependent
barbarian
What is an enemy in image theory?
a group with equal power and status
in competition
likely to attack
hostile, monolithic, opportunistic
What is an ally in image theory?
interdependent group with equal power and status
likely to cooperate
trustworthy, intelligent, benign
What is a dependent group in image theory?
a competitive group of lower power and status
likely to exploit
divided, incompetent, childlike
What is a barbarian in image theory?
a weaker, competitive group but with higher status
likely to appease
ruthless, evil, irrational
How is image theory supported in experiment?
hypothetical intergroup relations to fit the 4 images
varied relative strength, status and goal compatibility
MCQ on expectations and perceptions of out-group
ally, enemy and dependent showed theory congruent descriptions
no evidence for barbarian
What is a motivated tactician?
someone who wants to gain personal information about a subject, using cognitive and attentional capacity
motivated to avoid using stereotypes
How can we encourage attribution-based processing?
Fisk & Neuberg (1987)
outcome dependency; rewards for correct processing
accuracy; incentivise an accurate impression
accountability; justification of attributions
How does Devine (1989) describes stereotype use?
there is a difference between knowing a stereotype and endorsing it to be true
motivated tactician; automatic activation-conscious inhibition
How did Devine (1989) show automatic activation with conscious inhibition?
stereotypes of blacks
- knowledge test; high/low prejudice people have equal stereotype knowledge
- stereotype activation; high/low prejudice people show equal automatic activation
- endorsement; low prejudice participants do not use the activated stereotype but provide more positive thoughts, high prejudice participants provide more negative, pejorative (contempt/disapproval) thoughts
What is compunction and how can it be used for prejudice?
compunction is a feeling of guilt or moral scruple
people should recognised and feel guilty about their implicit biases
How can prejudice with compunction be taught?
Kawakami (2000)
training participants to say NO when they observe a stereotype with a congruent face
before training, stereotypes were responded to quickly
after training reaction time was longer
What is a rebound effect?
suppression of a thought can cause the monitoring of the stereotypical thought re-activating it
paradoxical; the more the thought is avoided the more it will persist
Which studies show the rebound effect?
Wergner (1992) - White Bears
half think about, half avoid thoughts of white bears
equal number of thoughts in each group (bell ringing)
instructions reversed
avoid group were overwhelmed with thoughts of white bears
Macrae, Bodenhausen et al. (1994) - Skinheads
write passage; half avoid stereotypes, half no instructions
instructions reversed
avoid group showed much higher use of stereotypes the control
Is the rebound effect inevitable?
Monteith
rebound depends on personal attitudes
only high prejudice people show a rebound effect after suppressing stereotypical thoughts
low prejudice people do not as they are motivated to avoid using stereotypes
How can stereotypes be changed?
Weber & Crocker (1983); Hewstone (1994)
bookkeeping; gradual change in response to dispersed disconfirming evidence
conversion; radical change in response to dramatic disconfirming evidence
sub-typing; creating subtypes in response to concentrated disconfirming evidence
What are the pro’s of sub-typing?
eventual stereotype disintegration
variable perception of stereotype
more thoughtful processing of inconsistent information
What are the con’s of sub-typing?
increasing subtypes means info is less easily disconfirmed
strengthening/broadening of stereotype
limits generalisation
