ways of reducing prejudice Flashcards
Ways of reducing Prejudice
educating children to change their attitudes
(Jane elliot 1968)
Abt it
• educating children with notions of tolerance
• providing them with an insight into the causes and effects of prejudice
• these can help reduce Prejudice
EXAMPLES
• Jane Elliott 1968
• placed a School class into two groups based on eye colour either Blue Eyes or brown eyes.
• Then it was stated that those with blue eyes were smarter and neater than those with brown eyes and was given extra privileges such as extended break time
• the next day this was reverse so the people with blue eyes were inferior to those of brown eyes
• it was found that in both cases on both days those who were in a inferior group performed inferiorly on for example tests
• while the superior group Who before the exercise were deemed sweet became mean and discriminated towards the inferior group
EVALUATION
• [CAN ONLY BE TAUGHT IF WILLING AND THE MAJORITY AGREES as otherwise backlash AND ONLY AT A SOCIAL LEVEL TO A GROUP] education can reduce Prejudice if it is carried out at a social level and seen to be unacceptable by the majority in Society ( can only reduce Prejudice if the Prejudice is seen as unacceptable by most and only on a social level to a group)
• [LIMITED SAMPLE FOR EFFECTIVNESS] education has its greatest effect on the younger rather than the old generation.
• Jane Elliott’s demonstrates this and all her participants felt they had learned invaluable lessons regarding Prejudice
• [ETHICS] Jane Elliott study has been criticized for breaking ethical guidelines the children (OR rather their parents) did not give informed consent to take part;
• [ETHICS] they were deceived by the nature of the investigation and all of the participants were clearly caused distress and comfort when in the inferior group as they were discriminated against and told that they weren’t those good is the other students
ways of reducing prejudice
Increased contact
Deutsch and Collins 1951 integrated housing projects
AO1
• meeting members of other social groups can reduce Prejudice by reducing the effect of stereotypes this occurs as:
• intergroup similarities of perceived (they are like us)
• outer group differences are noted
EXAMPLES
• racial desegregation studys show success
• Deutsch and Collins (1951)
• contact between different groups in two housing projects
• one project involved segregated housing for different racial groups and the other involved integration
• less prejudice in the integrated housing Projects so contact seems to reduce Prejudice
• presumably the people in the housing project were of equal status
EVALUATION
• Sherif’s 1954-61 robber’s cave study found intergroup CONTACT alone NOT ENOUGH to REDUCE prejudice in compeating groups
• increase contact reduces Prejudice as on an INDIVISUAL LEVEL but NOT reduce the PREJUDICE of GROUP STERYOTYPES
• contact ONLY changes group stereotypes if it is between individuals of EQUAL STATUS and individuals that has seen as REPRESENTITIVE to of their GROUP
• Deutsch and Collins have demonstrated how increasing contact can reduce Prejudice through their housing projects study
• compared to segregated housing projects, integration and increased contact reduced levels of prejudice
( + eco validity as it was a field study irl)
( apply it by doing intergrated projects more to reduce it thurther)
Reducing Prejudice
Super ordinate goals
A01
• making groups work together to achieve super ordinant goals
• (goals that cannot be achieved by groups working separately)
• this is likely to reduce Prejudice
EXAMPLES
• Aaronson et al 1978 use the Jigsaw technique with mixed race class in groups each child receives parts of the whole assignment
• therefore they are dependent on other children in other groups to perform well to determine their grade
• inter racial liking and performance of ethic minorities increased
• out group discrimination and prejudice decreaced
• this shows how super ordinate goals such as the jigsaw technique can be used to reduce Prejudice and discrimination
EVALUATION
• all tho super ordinate goals may Force people to work together in the classroom there is《 no guarantee it will work when they leave》
• super ordinate goals《 cannot always be set up between all groups 》and FAILURE to achieve them may RESULT IN WORSE PREJUDICE
• there is evidence that super ordinant goals《 do actually reduce Prejudice and hostility》 this is apparent in aronson’s jigsaw technique
