Week 5 - Stereotypes Flashcards
Stereotype
A belief that associates a group of people with certain traits/characteristics
Prejudice
Negative feelings toward people based on their membership in certain groups
Discrimination
Negative behaviour directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group
Modern racism
A form of prejudice that surfaces in subtle ways
- Safe
- Socially acceptable
- Easy to rationalize
How is implicit measured empirically
IAT, bona fide pipeline
realistic conflict theory & prejudice
Hostility between groups is caused by direct competition for limited resources
doesn’t need to be real - perception of competition may be enough
three phases of Robbers Cave study & prejudice
Study phases:
-Formation of group identity
Eagles vs. Rattlers
-Competition for resources
Resulted in intense conflict
-Reduction of inter-group conflict
Creation of superordinate goals was the only successful attempt
Social Identity theory
We favor ingroups over outgroups in order to enhance our self-esteem
Two predictions about how SIT leads to prejudice:
1. Threats to one’s self-esteem heighten the need for ingroup favouritism
- Expressions of ingroup favouritism enhance one’s self-esteem
social identity theory and ingroup favouritism
Tendency to discriminate in favor of ingroups over outgroups
cultural factors and social identity
Collectivists are more likely than individualists to value their connectedness
Human tendencies towards dehumanisation
Lasana Harris and Susan Fiske (2006). When participants in their research saw pictures of people from a variety of groups, fMRI showed activation in their medial prefrontal cortex, which is thought to be necessary for social cognition. However, this activation was not evident in response to images of either nonhuman objects or people from psychologically distant outgroups, such as addicts or the homeless.
Illusory correlation
Overestimate the association between variables that are slightly or not at all correlated
attributional processes
Fundamental attribution error can perpetuate stereotypes
Interpret stereotype consistent information as a result of internal causes
Interpret stereotype inconsistent information as a result of external causes
subtyping
People will often create subgroups of the larger group to explain individuals who are discrepant with the stereotype
confirmation biases
People often process information in a manner that will confirm our expectations
Especially when behaviour is ambiguous
People seek information that will confirm the stereotype
automatic stereotype activation
May be activated without our awareness
Factors:
Exposure to the stereotype
Cognitive factors
Motivation
factors that impact the influence of stereotypes on social judgements
People’s very quick judgments are not influenced by a stereotype unless they actually believe the stereotype to be true.
real world examples of stereotype influence
- sexism -racism
intergroup friendships
A recent meta-analysis by Kristin Davies and others (2011) on 135 studies supports the idea that cross-group friendships are associated with more positive attitudes and behaviors toward outgroup members.
extended contact effect
knowing that an ingroup friend has a good and close relationship with a member of an outgroup can produce positive intergroup benefits in ways similar to direct contact
contact hypothesis
Direct contact between members of rival groups will reduce discrimination
Outgroup members must display traits and
behaviours that challenge the negative stereotype
conditions that enable intergroup contact to reduce prejudice
ONLY IF: Equal status Personal interaction Cooperative activities Social norms
trust
interventions against stereotype threat effects is that the individuals feel a sense of trust and safety in the situation
belonging
stereotype threat reduces individuals’ sense of belonging
One of the reasons the brief affirmation task was so successful in the study at the middle school is because affirmation helped protect students’ sense of belonging.
