W4: Stereotype, Prejudice, & Discrimination Flashcards
Define stereotype.
Beliefs that associate a whole group of people with certain traits or characteristics (cognitive).
Define prejudice.
Negative feelings toward others because of their membership in certain groups (affective).
Define discrimination.
Behaviour that is directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group (behavioural).
What is implicit racism?
Racism that operates unconsciously and unintentionally.
Can you measure implicit racism by explicit measures of attitudes?
No.
How do we measure implicit racism?
Subtle, indirect measures.
What is social categorisation?
The classification of persons into groups on the basis of common attributes.
What are the features of social categorisation?
Natural and adaptive.
Define in-group.
Groups with which an individual identifies.
Define out-group.
Groups with which an individual does not identify
What is the consequence of social categorisation?
Exaggerates differences between ingroups and other outgroups.
What is the outgroup homogeneity effect?
The tendency to assume that members of outgroups are ‘all alike’ whereas members of ingroups have differences.
Explain social identity theory.
A person’s self-esteem is derived from personal identity and social identities.
What are the consequences of social identity theory?
People are motivated to boost the status and fortunes of in-groups and their members as a way to maintain or increase self-esteem. Threats to self-esteem heighten the need for in-group favouritism, which enhances self-esteem.
What experiment confirms the in-group favouritism phenomena when self-esteem is threatened?
Fein & Spencer (1997). Threats to one’s self-esteem can lead individuals to use available negative stereotypes to derogate members of stereotyped groups, and that by derogating others, they feel better about themselves.
What is the minimal group paradigm?
A methodology to demonstrate in-group favouritism even when grouping is arbitrary: participants perform a trivial task and are divided into two groups that they perceive to be based on their responses but in reality, is done randomly.
What does the minimal group paradigm show?
People show in-group favouritism and/or out-group derogation even when their memberships are not meaningful.
How is this shown in Tajfel et al. (1971) i.e. the coin experiment?
Participants maximize the relative gains for their in-group than the absolute gains.
What is socialization?
The process by which people learn about the norms, rules, and information of a culture or a group. This may include stereotypes (cognitive) and prejudices (affective).
What are some sources of socialization?
Parents, peers, and popular media.
What is automatic stereotype activation?
This theory states that just being aware of stereotypes in one’s culture is enough to influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
How are stereotypes activated?
Implicitly automatically activated by situational cues.
What is the consequence of stereotype activation?
Attitudes and behaviours can be changed even if one does not believe in it i.e. without internalisation.
Define intergroup contact.
Direct contact between hostile groups will reduce intergroup prejudice under certain conditions.
