sterotypes Flashcards
Stereotypes
Beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people.
Prejudice
Negative prejudgment of a group and its members (attitudes, feelings).
Discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group or its members.
Social Sources of Prejudice:
Ingroup Bias
Realistic Group Conflict Theory
System Justification Theory
System Justification Theory
People rationalize the status quo to make sense of social inequalities, sometimes leading to victim derogation or victim enhancement, depending on the perceived relationship to outcomes.
Realistic Group Conflict Theory
Prejudice arises when groups compete for scarce resources (e.g., Sherif’s Robber’s Cave experiment). When groups cooperate, prejudice can decrease.
Ingroup Bias
Tendency to favor one’s own group. Examples like the minimal group paradigm (e.g., picking art or guessing dots to create random groups) show that even trivial group differences lead to ingroup bias.
Cognitive Sources of Prejudice:
Categorization
Outgroup Homogeneity
Own-Race Bias
Illusory Correlation:
Categorization
People tend to simplify the environment by categorizing others (e.g., based on race, gender). This can lead to stereotyping, especially when individuals are preoccupied, tired, or rushed.
Outgroup Homogeneity
Tendency to see outgroup members as more alike than they actually are.
Own-Race Bias
People recognize faces of their own race more accurately than faces of other races.
Illusory Correlation:
Perception of a relationship where none exists. For example, associating African Americans with crime due to the distinctiveness of both (minority status and media focus on crimes).
Motivational Sources of Prejudice:
Self-Esteem
Motivation to Avoid Appearing Prejudiced
Motivation to Avoid Appearing Prejudiced
A desire to avoid appearing racist can lead to behaviors like “color blindness,” which has negative consequences. Research shows that trying to avoid racial discussions (e.g., in the “Guess Who?” game) leads to poor performance and negative perceptions from others.
Self-Esteem
People tend to favor their ingroups to maintain positive self-esteem. This can lead to prejudice against outgroups.
Key Studies and Concepts:
Tajfel’s Minimal Group Paradigm: Groups can be formed based on arbitrary distinctions, and ingroup bias can quickly emerge.
Sherif’s Robber’s Cave Experiment: Boys at a summer camp showed more prejudice when in competition, but this decreased when they cooperated.
A Class Divided: A teacher taught students about racism by dividing them based on eye color, showing how quickly prejudice can form.
System Justification and Prejudice: Studies show that when people feel their social system is threatened, they may derogate victims (e.g., associating laziness with obesity).
Motivation to Avoid Appearing Prejudiced
“Colorblindness” (ignoring race) can be harmful. Studies show that avoiding race in interactions with Black individuals can lead to poor performance and perceptions of coldness.
