From Prejudice to

DiscriminationCHAPTER 10

Discrimination Discrimination – biased treatment OR unearned advantages based on

group membership

Discrimination occurs in physical, verbal, and nonverbal forms

Discrimination - Beliefs

Black men and women earn on average 76% of white males’

earnings

2013 Gallup Poll:

74% of whites say there is no discrimination in the workforce,

80% say none in education

85% say none in housing

85% of whites feel that discrimination isn’t a factor in blacks having

worse employment, earnings, and housing

Forms of Discrimination

Blatant – intentional and open forms unequal treatment

Subtle – hidden form of unequal treatment that seems normal

Covert – unequal treatment that is purposefully hidden/disguised

Forms: Interpersonal Discrimination

Interpersonal – one-on-one discrimination

Prejudice attitudes and discrimination are only moderately

correlated

Personal Stereotypes – discriminate against those who match our

personal stereotypes

Forms: Interpersonal Discrimination

Attitudes and Discrimination:

Explicit attitudes predict controllable behaviors e.g. verbal, smiling

Implicit attitudes predict nonverbal friendliness e.g. body language, tone,

genuine facial expressions

Forms: Interpersonal Discrimination

Attitude Conformity - discrimination is more likely with perceived

social support

Regressive Prejudice Regressive Prejudice – events that trigger the expression of unwanted

discrimination

Anxiety from intergroup interactions can lead to negative nonverbal cues

Regressive Prejudice

Cognitive Demands – factors that increase demands reduce ability to

control stereotypes

e.g. R_CE, WEL____

Anonymity and Strong Emotions can lead people to ignore unprejudiced

norms

Behaviors of others can influence discrimination

Regressive Prejudice Moral Credentials – demonstrating nonprejudice leads to more

discrimination later on (e.g. Obama Effect)

Reactions to Prejudiced Actions

Level of Prejudice - Low prejudiced feel guilt and high prejudiced

feel outward anger

Confrontations – less defensive when an ingroup member points

out discrimination

Past prejudiced actions can motivate nonprejudiced future

actions

Discrimination in Organizations

Organizational Discrimination – rules, practices, and policies result in

biased treatment of groups

Discrimination in Organizations

Hiring – employment audits reveal patterns of discrimination

against minorities and women

Differences in the types of jobs offered, starting salaries, evaluations of resumes

and interviews

White names equate to 8 more years of experience

Less evidence for hiring discrimination against women

Discrimination in Organizations

Performance Evaluations – men rated higher for masculine-stereotyped jobs

and women for feminine

Letters of recommendation for men tend to be longer and powerful

compared to similarly rated women

Review of 48 studies show whites receive higher evals than blacks

Discrimination in Organizations

Loss Opportunities Effect – perception of discrimination may result in worse

job place performance

Black participants 30% less productive when working with a high

prejudiced subject

“I don’t think a day goes by that I’m not reminded I’m black”

Discrimination in Organizations

Promotions – women and minorities are seen as having less potential and

leadership traits

Sticky Floor Effect – promotion opportunities are limited to the relative

positions of one’s ingroup in a company

Glass Escalator Effect – men are often promoted faster in female-

dominated jobs

Males are often promoted to avoid close customer contact in female

dominated jobs

Interpersonal Discrimination in Orgs.

Individuals create policies and make promotion and hiring decisions

Stereotype Fit Hypothesis – traits associated with managers fit white and male

cultural stereotypes

Male managers may look to promote those who have similar leadership

styles to themselves

Ingroup Bias – mangers will adjust their criteria to fit their expectations

Minorities have to demonstrate they are from a positive subgroup

Interpersonal Discrimination in Orgs.

Intergroup Respect – amount of respect decision-makers have for

groups influences decisions

Shifting Standards Model – subjective rating standards lead to

biases in objective ratings

Interpersonal Discrimination in Orgs.

Contemporary Prejudice – other factors are usually used to

mask/justify discrimination

Conformity to Norms – discrimination based on company norms