copyright ©2012 by pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. think social psychology kimberley...

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved.

THINK Social PsychologyKimberley Duff

THINKSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Chapter

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination: Causes and Consequences

10



What are Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination?

• Prejudice – a negative learned attitude toward a group of people

• Discrimination – negative behaviors directed at a specific group of people



What are Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination?

• Stereotype – a general belief about a group of people

Differs from prejudice in that it can have positive or negative connotations

Runs the risk of becoming prejudicial and leading to discrimination



What are Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination? (continued)

• Racism – discrimination directed at a specific racial group

• Sexism – discrimination directed at a specific gender

• Ageism – discrimination directed at various age groups



Until the 1950s, the United States maintained a policy of racial segregation in schools and

public places.



Racism

• Has a long and unpleasant history in the United States

• Racial prejudice – holding a hostile attitude toward a person due to their race



Racism (continued)

• Though progress has been made, racism remains a significant problem

• Many people still use racist humor and "laugh it off" as a joke. Do you make such jokes? Do your friends

do? Is it okay with you?



Hate Groups in America. There are 932 hate groups currently operating in the

United States.



Sexism

• Gender prejudice – treating people unequally due to their gender

• Gender stereotypes – people’s ideas about how men and women should behave Based on socially and culturally defined

beliefs Can be formed very early in life What messages do children get about "boy"

and "girl" activities?



Studies suggest that children learn traditional gender roles from a young age.



Sexism (continued)

• How have attitudes changed in the past 70+ years?



Sexism (continued)

• Sexism is not an "American" phenomenon• Many cultures place very different values

and expectations on men and women Ambivalent sexism – the contradiction

between hostile and benevolent sexism Hostile sexism – feeling resentful and openly

derogatory toward the abilities of women Benevolent sexism – when men behave in

ways that appear chivalrous, but can also communicate to negative female stereotypes



How do We Measure Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination?

• Do we have to agree with a stereotype in order to be affected by it? Stereotypes seem to be a function of

automatic processing Environment plays a role Even automatic processes can be overcome

with controlled processing



How do We Measure Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination? (continued)

• Old-fashioned racism Overt prejudice and discrimination Involves oppressive acts and feelings

• Modern racism Covert, subtle feelings directed toward a

racial group Includes the belief that racism and

discrimination no longer exist



How do We Measure Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination? (continued)

• Old-fashioned sexism Overt sexism based on the belief that women

are less competent Promoting traditional gender roles and

different treatment of men and women• Modern sexism

More covert and subtle, typified by resisting policies that support women

Denial that sexism still exists, and overt antagonism toward women



Covert Measures

• The Implicit Association Test (IAT) Students are shown pictures of different faces Positive or negative words are presented The time it takes to pair word with faces is

measured Findings – people tend to have implicit

negative stereotypes about those who are different than themselves



Is Prejudice on the Decline?

• Attitudes have clearly changed in recent decades

• Many forms of prejudice still exist, however, in more subtle forms

• Aversive racism Whites who show support for equality, but

who discriminate in subtle ways They may rationalize their subtle racism



What are the Sources of Stereotyping and Prejudice?

• What do you think of the "Compton Cookout?"

• Color-blindness – is this a desirable attitude?

• Do we claim one belief in public and another in private?



Social Learning

• Many of our attitudes are formed in the home

• Parents are an enormous source of information and influence



Social Learning (continued)

• Peers (classmates, friends) also shape our attitudes

• Authoritarian personality – favors obedience, eschews lower status people Is contributed to by our upbringing



Cognitive Sources

• Social categorization Dividing people into categories based on

common attributes- Race, gender, other common features

Do you speak "loudly" to elderly person without even thinking about it?

Are we instinctively drawn to categorizing based on differences?



Cognitive Sources (continued)

• Social categorization Outgroup homogeneity

- The belief that "all of them are the same."- Seeing outgroup as being very similar- Seeing ingroup members as very diverse- Studies show that this can occur very early in life,

even in infancy- May be contributed to by a lack of familiarity of the

outgroup



Ingroup Favoritism

• The "we/us versus they/them" mentality

• Can lead to discriminatory behavior Robber’s Cave – the groups started with

heavy ingroup favoritism Over time (with cooperation) this dissipated

• Social dominance orientation – group should be ordered according to worth



Attributional Biases

• Ultimate attribution error Explaining group behaviors in terms of

internal, dispositional factors Disregarding situation constraints A more global form of the fundamental

attribution error Negative outgroup behavior is used to

support prejudice toward the entire group



Attributional Biases (continued)

• Just-world hypothesis The belief that victims of misfortune deserve

what they got Allows us to see the world as predictable and

fair “Blame the victim" mentality 10-20% believe rape victims are at least

partially responsible for being attacked Do we do this to create the illusion that we

have control of our fate?



Motivational Factors

• Realistic group conflict theory Groups compete for resources Ingroup favoritism and outgroup

discrimination increase Robber’s Cave

- The groups became possessive of common areas (baseball diamond, campground)



Motivational Factors (continued)

• Relative deprivation Feeling unhappy because we think those in

an outgroup will fare better than we will Could this be why affirmative action has so

many opponents? Minimum ingroup paradigm

- People who are put together randomly will still form an "ingroup" mentality



Motivational Factors (continued)

• Being part of a minority group Can lead to greater ingroup favoritism due to

a feeling of uniqueness Might explain why larger "groups" do not have

their own clubs on campus- It is harder to distinguish them from everyone else

Status within a group can affect how we treat outgroup members

• Feeling a threat to the whole group can lead to enjoying another group’s failure



Moods and Emotions

• What kinds of emotions bring out prejudice? You might be surprised! Both good and bad moods! Good moods – we think less carefully Bad moods – we may pay too much attention

to details around us Negative emotions can interfere with proper

cognitive processing



Sources of Stereotyping and Prejudice. Stereotyping and prejudice originate from

several different sources.



What are the Consequences of Stereotyping?

• The dangers of stereotyping are many Influences our perception of others Affects our behaviors Affects the behaviors of the stereotyped

group Confirmation bias – remember this?



What are the Consequences of Stereotyping? (continued)

• Self-fulfilling prophecy “A belief that causes itself to be true" Can lead to positive or negative behaviors

- How might a student perform who is told that she is "excellent?"

- How might that same student perform if she is told she is "average?"

We may inadvertently promote such outcomes based on how we interact with people



Stereotype Threat

• The risk of confirming a negative stereotype about oneself

• Similar to the self-fulfilling prophecy

• When we are aware of stereotypes, we might live down to them



How can We Combat Stereotyping and Prejudice?

• Children with Williams syndrome do not demonstrate racial bias This may be due to unusual activity in the

amygdala

• There are four techniques that can be used to reduce stereotypes and prejudice



How can We Combat Stereotyping and Prejudice? (continued)

• Contact Hypothesis Increased communication between groups

reduces prejudice/discrimination Equal contact between the groups is also

essential



Group Interdependence

• Gordon Allport proposed 4 conditions to decrease prejudice Equal status between groups Institutional support for both groups Intergroup cooperation Common goals for both groups



Group Interdependence (continued)

• The Jigsaw Classroom (Aronson, et al., 1978) Each student serves a necessary purpose A common goal can’t be completed without

each purpose being present Fosters cooperation Leads to a decrease in negativity



Group Interdependence (continued)

• Education It is not enough to just talk about it People have to participate in order to reduce

prejudice and discrimination• Motivation

Motivation can reduce automatic processing that leads to prejudice

It is important to make people aware of their own prejudices to create positive change

• Action learning: The jigsaw classroom



The Jigsaw Classroom. The jigsaw classroom technique fosters cooperation and reduces

stereotyping and prejudice.

copyright ©2012 by pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. think social psychology kimberley...

Documents

pearson education

discrimination slide

race slide

united states racial

specific group of people

traditional gender roles

various age groups

negative learned attitude