Exam

Reducing prejudice: Indirect contact

3 forms of indirect contact: 1. *Extended contact:* idea that having an ingroup friend who has one or more outgroup friends is associated with lower prejudice (i.e. extended contact effect); conveys to the individual that: a) A close, harmonious relationship with an outgroup member is possible b) Changing one's attitude to the out-group member can relieve cognitive dissonance (in regards to disliking someone liked by a friend) c) Such relationships are permissible and do not violate social norms d) Shows that members of the outgroup are open to such friendships and so reduces fear of rejection by the outgroup 2. *Imagined contact:* proposes that mentally rehearsing a "positive, relaxed, and comfortable" first meeting with a stranger who is a member of an outgroup can improve attitudes toward its members 3. *Media contact:* idea that positive intergroup contact portrayed by the media can facilitate it in real life

polygeny vs. monogeny

- Polygenists argued for multiple creations and pointed to differences between racial groups - Monogenists argued for a single creation but cited Biblical sources for racial differences (i.e. "fall from grace" and degeneration)

Measurements of prejudice in children

- *Forced-choice method:* the subject must choose 1 or 2 presented options; examples include the Color Meaning Test (CMT) and the Preschool Racial Attitude --> Issues is that preference for one choice doesn't necessarily imply rejection of the other - *Continuous measures:* subject has a range of options to make finer-grained distinctions and assess complex judgments; ex: social distance scale - *Sociometric ratings:* measure peer status; consist of: 1. *Best friend procedure:* identifies best friends from list of all classmates; gender and race are recorded ---> Problem is that not being named as a "best friend" isn't the same as being disliked 2. *Roster & rating procedure:* kids are given all of their classmates' names and asked to use a continuous scale to rate how much they like to interact (work/play) with each student

Alfred Binet

- Alfred Binet did not find anything significant whilst studying craniometry (actually recognized his own biases when measuring heads) - Binet's definition of intelligence was intended to be used to identify children with learning disabilities; it was brought to the U.S. and incorrectly employed to rank children's intelligence ---> This contributed to a racial and classist narrative where Whites and higher-income children were ranked as most intelligent ---> These tests were vague and subjective - IQ Formula: (Mental age/chronological age)*100 - Binet did not want to speculate what IQ represented because he knew it would be misused (which happened when the scale came to the U.S.)

African American children's racial attitudes

- Also develop attitudes at 3 or 4 years old - Show less stability than White kids in their racial preference patterns - No typical ethnic attitudinal pattern has been found for 5-7 year old Black kids; pro-African American attitudes, pro-White attitudes, and unbiased attitudes can occur - Between ages 7 and 9, Black kids typically show more pro-Black attitudes or unbiased attitudes

Racial attitudes of other minority children

- Attitudes are more consistent than they are for White children - Mexican American and Asian kids show attitudinal patterns similar to those of Black kids - Biracial children didn't significantly differ from Blacks or White kids in their racial attitudes, although Black and White kids differ significantly from one another ---> All kids, no matter their ethnicity, develop racial attitudes and preferences between the ages of 3 and 5

Morton's methods

- BBs vs. Mustard Seeds: - Mustard seeds contributed to an inconsistent measurement of volume when Morton tried to analyze skulls; He eventually became discontent with this method because mustard seeds were packable and produced varying measurements; he reanalyzed his data using BBs because they were a standard one-eighth-inch and allowed his results for one skull to never vary more than a single cubic inch - Gould in his reanalysis of Morton's data found no significant differences between skull sizes when using BBs

Ethnicity vs. race

- Biological and cultural diversity are often confused - Ethnicity (does not including physical traits but rather the cultural practices of a group of people; is flexible) - Physical traits are often confused with cultural habits of dress and language (such as the Muslim hijab) - Race is erroneously regarded as underlying, unchangeable biology ----> We use labels so much in our daily lives that we begin to assume they're meaningful on the biological level

Intergroup behavior in children

- Both Black and White kids designate best friends on a racial basis starting in the 1st grade - Racial segregations increase between ages 6 & 8 and peak in 6th and 8th grades (because of puberty) - Majority of high school students report positive cross-cultural interactions during school, but less than 1/2 report having them outside of school

hardliners vs. softliners

- Hardliners believed that Blacks were inferior and that their biological status justified enslavement and colonization - Softliners also believed that Blacks were inferior but held that people's right to freedom did not depend on their level of intelligence

Perceiving discrimination

- Perceptions of personal discrimination may be impacted by extent of identification with group (high identifiers are more likely to report discrimination than low identifiers) - Individuals who strongly identify with their group may be more likely to notice subtle forms of prejudice --> Always remember that perception is reality in terms of psychological outcomes (good or bad)

Science & the growth of race ideology

- By the mid-19th century the racial worldview was the reigning paradigm of the social sciences in England and U.S. - When the 19th century began, most scientists in Great Britain were monogenist; that is, they the accepted notion of European superiority, but not based on permanent, unchanging physical types (they had a general disgust for slavery and believed in the humanity of Africans) - With the rise of polygenist thought and the overwhelming force of the racial worldview, the notion of unity of all humankind was challenged; intellectuals began exploring the mind of the "primitive man," which they believed was vastly different from the rational civilized man - Over time there was agreement over 3 major stages of human social development: 1. Savagery 2. Barbarism 3. Civilization - Some scholars believed that with education and training even the most primitive men could rise out their savage and barbaric states to achieve civilization; however, polygenist thought and the overwhelming force of the racial worldview changed this

Anti-biology race argument (by Brace) & race as a social construct

- Claims there is no such thing as a coherent biological entity that warrants the term "race" (this is different than claiming there is no such as a concept of race at all) - 85% of human variation is found within any two individuals of one racial group; there is as much or more genetic variation within a racial group than between groups - Cline: a gradient (not discrete) of change such as that between areas where most people have blue eyes and most people have brown eyes - Says skin color is problematic for identifying rates because other traits are distributed in ways unrelated to climatic change (such ultraviolet radiation); unlike skin color, eye color, hair color, and hair texture cannot be linked to changes in climate or distance from the equator ---> Other factors could affect skin color as well, such as changing one's geographic location which may lighten or darken their skin color - Say it's okay to designate people with geographic labels; feels like terms such as Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid do more harm than good - Believes that the power of race in the public mind is because of the power of the American social structure not because of any coherent biological meaning of race ---> Race is very real in terms of a social construct; has real world implications that can affect the life outcomes of persons of color (ex: buying a house, discrimination, being able to get an education, etc.)

Reducing stereotype threat

- Consider the way that achievement tests are described - Keep instructions as neutral as possible - Provide role models that disconfirm stereotypes - Change the way feedback is given

Cross-racial identity model

- Created by William Cross in 1971 originally as a product of the Mamie & Clark doll research study (focused on self-hatred) but was later revised; was created to look at the development of racial identity in African Americans from a mental health perspective - Has been revised for analysis of racial identity among other minorities - *Stage 1: Pre-Identity* (race isn't salient to identity at this stage) - *Pre-encounter self-hatred:* involves underlying feelings of dislike for one's own race (this isn't typically endorsed by Blacks) - *Pre-encounter miseducation:* involves espousing stereotypic beliefs about members of one's own race (the self is seen as an exception); (Revised ed.) - *Pre-encounter assimilation:* involves emphasizing ones status as an American rather than emphasizing one's own racial identity; (Revised ed.) - *Stage 2: Encounter* (makes race salient to the self through a positive or negative experience) - *Stage 3: Immersion-emersion* (involves becoming proactive in learning about one's own culture) ---> Is often accompanied by anti-White sentiments; because of the psychologically-disruptive nature of this stage, it cannot be maintained (emersion occurs and shifts to internalization) - *Stage 4:* (involves loss of anti-White sentiment) - *Internalization: Afrocentricity* (involves a positive Black identity that is at the core of one's being, but doesn't prevent one from associating with Whites) - *Internalization: Multiculturalist* (involves finding similarities with other ethnic groups) ---> Is most common stage for African Americans at this point in time - *Stage 5: Internalization: Commitment* (occurs when person becomes heavily involved in fighting injustices) ---> This stage is not really measured ----> Movement or "recycling" through the stages can occur throughout one's life (can progress or regress in model) ----> This scale is designed to measure racial identity in response to oppression

Comparing slave systems (pt.1)

- Cultural-historical differences in the colonizing Europeans; evidence is seen in differences between North America and South (Latin) America - North America: racial categories were limited in number and socially rigid - South America: "racial" terms weren't used as race categories but as phenotypic descriptions of human variations - Old World systems saw slaves as unfortunate, but nevertheless as human beings - Specific features of slavery exemplify to what degree the dominant society understood and accepted the fact of slaves' humanity - Levels of brutality and harshness aren't necessarily indications of whether slaves are considered human; you can be "kind" to a slave but still see them as inferior and less than human (ex: treating them like a pet) ---> How can a person be both a person and a thing? - Slavery evolved in traditional societies where the concept of power and "rights-in-or-over persons" was part of the beliefs about human relationships - Slavery in Africa: enslaved persons were often absorbed into the kin groups of their conquerors - Debt slavery: voluntary entry into servitude to work off debts - Slavery as punishment for crimes - Features of society that recognizes and accepts the slave as a human being: - Possibility of manumission - Right to marriage - Right to hold/own property - Access to training and/or education - Special rights/protections for the slave woman and her children (by their master)

Racial category awareness in children

- Doll technique: kids presented with 2 (or more) dolls and asked to identify its race - Regardless of child's own ethnicity, kids can correctly use the racial categories "Black" and "White" by age 4 or 5; they can identify other racial groups between the ages of 5 & 9 - Research suggests that kids become aware of racial categories because they see adults responding differently to people of different races

H.H. Goddard

- H.H. Goddard was a hereditarian and was the first popularizer of the Binet scale in America; he believed that mental deficiency obeyed the laws of Mendelian genetics and therefore could be traced to a single gene - Created a classification of mental deficiency: - *Idiots:* could not develop full speech and had mental ages below 3 - *Imbeciles:* could not master written language and ranged from 3-7 in mental age - *Morons:* "high-grade defectives," people with a mental age between 9 & 12; can be trained to function in society - Supported the deportation of "feeble-minded" immigrants and eugenics; he eventually recanted his believes, supporting the very man whose work he perverted, Alfred Binet - Goddard now claimed that: 1. Feeble-mindedness (the moron) is not incurable 2. The feeble-minded do not generally need to be segregated in institutions

The unnatural mixture

- Served as the clearest example of how subhuman species status was placed on Blacks; refers to the widespread beliefs that interracial sex/marriage was socially and morally wrong (i.e. that it was sinful and unnatural), that Black blood would contaminate the White race, and that the Mulatto, albeit slightly superior in intellect to the full-blooded Negro, was still degenerate and inferior to "true Whites"

The "drop off" in prejudice

- Several factors involved in decline of prejudice at ages 7 & 8: - Could be that real changes are occurring (ex: discouraging of prejudices as kids learn about social injustices in school) - Could as be that as kids age, they pick up on societal cues that prejudice is wrong; therefore, the develop the motivation to control their own prejudices

Dr. Josiah Nott

- Supported the polygenist cause and promoted the belief in the degeneracy of Negroes, especially "hybrids" (mulattoes) ---> Believed that mulattoes were unnatural offspring of two species and analogous to mules - Argued that the Negro experienced well-being under slavery; like children, he believed that the Negro required care, direction, and control; if freed, they would die because of their inability to endure the "ravages" of freedom Co-authored a book entitled "Types of Mankind", which argued for the inequality of the races

White children's racial attittudes

- Tend to develop racial attitudes (both positive and negative) between ages 3 and 4 - Ingroup/outgroup attitudes seem to be distinct sets of attitudes - Racial prejudice reaches its highest level around 4 of 5 years old and then declines sometime between age 6 & 9 --> This heightening is due to kids beginning to be concerned with justice and social issues becoming more salient to them

Net income & why housing is important

- The average White family has 12x the accumulated net worth of the average Black family and 8x that of the average Latino family - This low net worth among minority families has been perpetuated by unfair housing practices (prior to the Fair Housing Act 1968) and discrimination - Since the majority of Americans hold their wealth in the home, Blacks (and other POC) aren't earning wealth if they have to rent; having equity in the home is what allows one to fund a child's college education and save for retirement - Thus, the cycle of oppression continues

How prejudice affects targets: vulnerability to stress

- The chronic experience of prejudice or major individual incidences of prejudice can produce chronic stress associated with disease - Stigmatized group members also experience nonnormative life events that produce high levels of stress - Stressful life events may be more likely for some stigmatized groups due to situational factors related to group membership - *Cycle of stress:* experiencing a high level of stress makes individuals more vulnerable to the effects of subsequent stressors Implications: - Lower immune systems (more likely to get colds or other illnesses) - Use of unhealthy coping mechanisms (like alcohol, drugs, tobacco, or excessive eating) - Suppression of frustration/anger that can cause high blood pressure and sleep disturbances

Ethnic identity scales

- These models focus on one's sense of belonging to an ethnic group; are very general so there is no need to revise for different ethnic groups - Includes feelings and attitudes person has towards their ethnic group (similar to racial identity scale) - Individuals may seek to learn about their cultural background (i.e. rituals, history, values, and beliefs) ---> However, this is *not* measured as a result of oppression ---> According to social identity theory (Taijfel & Turner 1986), people tend to identify with a group that they perceive to have similar characteristics and experiences to themselves (in this case, ethnic minorities' shared experiences of discrimination)

Trouble with tolerance by Tim Wise

- Tolerance implies enduring another's existence and little else; it is passive, not proactive at fighting racist forces (unlike MLK, for example, as he was entirely intolerant of American apartheid) - Tolerance means not having to think about one's role in another's oppression; it overemphasizes overt racism while denying the very pernicious institutional and systemic racisms present in our society

Louis Agassiz

- Was a Swiss physician and a famous Harvard professor of ichthyology; started off as monogenist until traveling to the United States between 1846-1850, where he converted to a polygenist - Was impressed with Morton's collection of skulls - Saw Negroes for the first time and was shocked by their "black skin", "thick lips", "grimacing teeth", "peculiar limbs", and "wool" on heads; his experience convinced him that Negro was human, but not of the same species as whites - Agassiz then started lecturing about how the Negro and white races were physiologically so distinct as to constitute separate species; within a few year he became one of the most famous professors and scientists at Harvard - He believed that "the production of halfbreeds is as much a sin against nature, as incest in a civilized community is a sin against purity of character" - He passed on his racial views and theories to generations of students through his teachings and textbooks

Dr. Samuel Cartwright

- Was a prominent Louisiana physician and one of the leading authorities on the medical care of Negroes, wrote article entitled "Negro Freedom an Impossibility Under Natures' Laws" which held that: - "Negroes are in the service of Satan when deprived of the guardianship of the white man"; deemed it was the "Law of nature compelling the negro to be the slave of man or the slave or the serpent known as Satan or the devil" - The dominance-subordinance relationship of Whites and Blacks conforms to natural physical law - Classified slaves who attempted to run away as having a mental disease known as drapetomania, a mental illness where slaves could not form an attachment with their masters; thus, he proposed they needed to be treated like children and suggested whipping as an early/primary intervention (i.e. the "cure" for said disease) - Was a lead scholar in the proslavery movement

Gould on race scientists' biases

- believed the underlying biases of race scientists significantly affected their "scientific" work and reduced their ability to see objectively (unconscious finagling) - In the case of Morton, Gould found several issues with his methods, those being that: 1. Morton had favorable inconsistencies and shifting criteria; he often chose to include or delete subsamples in order to match group averages with prior expectations 2. He had a subjectivity directed toward prior prejudice; his measurements were imprecise thus leaving much room for subjective bias 3. He conducted many obvious procedural omissions; for example, he never computed means by sex or stature and never consider alternate hypotheses 4. He made many miscalculations and convenient omissions that all worked in his favor

symbolic & modern racism

- emerged in the 80s; persons with this attitudes tend to be politically conservative - *Symbolic Racism:* - Anti-Black/Latino sentiment - Strongly endorsing the traditional U.S. values of individualism reflected in the *Protestant Work Ethic* (idea that "You're the master of your own fate" and "Work hard enough, you get your stuff!") - Attitude of resentment in 3 domains: 1. Antagonism toward minority demands 2. Resentment of the perception of social focus for minorities (through AA) 3. Denial of continuing discrimination - *Modern Racism:* consists of 4 principles: 1. Idea that discrimination is a thing of the past 2. Belief that Blacks/Latinos push too hard and too fast for what they want 3. Belief that Blacks/Latinos tactics and demands are unfair 4. Belief that because of this, recent gains are undeserved ---> Involves the belief that racism is bad and what they believe is supported by empirical facts ---> Believe that the only racism that exists is old-fashioned racism (note that symbolic & modern racism are essentially the same thing) - Can be measured via pencil & paper tests

2 types of categorization

1. *Explicit awareness:* conscious categorizations 2. *Implicit awareness:* unconscious or preverbal categorizations

Levels of racism/discrimination

1. *Individual (Interpersonal Discrimination):* belief in superiority of one's race over another; unfair treatment of a group member by another because of their group membership --> At this level, ANYONE can be discriminatory or racist 2. *Institutional Racism/Discrimination:* manipulates institutions to maintain a racist advantage over others; norms/practices/policies associated with social institutions like family, religious institutions, or the education system results in different outcomes for different groups ---> *Power* (which affects life outcomes) is required for racism to occur at this level and at the cultural level; on rare occasions, power doesn't lie with the racial majority - Includes *Organizational Discrimination* (when practices, rules, and policies of formal organizations [like corporations or the government] have discriminatory outcomes) 3. *Cultural Racism/Discrimination:* individual and institutional expression of the superiority of one race's cultural heritage over another; is built into literature, art, music, language, morals & customs, and beliefs & ideology ---> Is so insidious it's hard to recognize; is so ingrained that deviations from this "standard" are viewed as abnormal (ex: the espousing of the "blonde-hair, blue-eyed" beauty standard by nations with POC who have been colonized) ---> Any racial group depending on context can be highly discriminated against; we shouldn't "rank" oppressions

Prospective attitudes to replace prejudice

1. *The color-blind perspective* (poor alternative) 2. *The assimilationist perspective* (an even more extreme version of the color-blind perspective; suggests racial minorities should give up their cultural identities) 3. *The multicultural perspective* (which holds that cultural and racial differences shouldn't be ignored) 4. *The polycultural perspective* (which holds that there is no such thing as a single culture; unlike the multicultural perspective [which emphasizes cultural differences], this perspective emphasizes the links among cultures rather than the differences between them) ---> The assimilationist perspective is clearly out of the question, and the color-blind perspective requires people to suppress their basic understanding of categorical differences (which reduces prejudice only slightly), so it is not that useful either ---> Multiculturalism has a strong correlation with nonprejudice, but is also associated with stronger perceptions of group differences and stereotyping; however, polyculturalism has the strongest association with nonprejudice, but is a relatively new concept so its effects have yet to be explored

Smedley's 5 elements of a racial worldview

1. *Universal classification* of humans as exclusive and discrete biological entities 2. Imposition of an inegalitarian ethos that required *ranking of groups* 3. Belief that *outer physical traits are superficial manifestations of inner realities* 4. Belief that the above physical traits (as well as mental traits such as morality) are *inheritable* 5. Belief that *race was created unique and distinct by nature or God and that differences are fixed and unalterable

Comparing slave systems (pt.2)

Colonial Slavery under the Spanish & Portuguese (Old World/Latin America): - Indians initially used as slave labor (later more Africans were imported) - While contact between the Indians and Africans was regulated, there were no laws enforced preventing their intermarriage - Intermixture of peoples resulted in distinct names given to various combinations of peoples - Prejudice and discrimination existed based on skin tone (i.e. colorism); skin color didn't become a "racial" classification but rather a representation of social rank - English Experience of Slavery (New World/North America): - Feared the consequences of freeing large numbers of slaves - Slaves had no rights to redress against cruel or unusual punishment; couldn't sue or request to be sold to another master (unlike in Latin colonies) - Slave women's children (by masters) couldn't be liberated, accepted as part of the family, or be heirs to their father's property (unlike in Latin colonies) - Indians excluded from assimilation (unlike Latin colonies) - *Rule of hypodescent:* kids are accorded the lower status of their mothers - American slave owners never fully came to accept the idea of slaves having natural rights that might supersede the property rights of the master

White racism vs. minority racism by Tim Wise

Recall example about doctor who conceded to a husband's wish that a black surgeon not be allowed to operate on his wife- This incident illustrates that White racism should be the priority issue of antiracists because: 1. Racism on the part of Whites, even when the Whites in question are fairly disempowered in economic terms can often carry enough weight to be enforceable, by institutions and powerful individuals - The doctor's ultimate acceptance of this absurd demand stands in contrast to what he likely would have done had the husband been Black; no Black man could have made such an absurd demand and expected to have his or her wishes carried out (as exclusion of Whites is an absurd notion) 2. Institutional racism and inequity makes White peoples' individual racism meaningful and harmful in real world terms: - The doctor in this case went along with the demand to exclude Blacks from the operating room simply because he could (not many Blacks make up O.R. surgeons due to a lack of opportunity; if the case were reversed, it would be hard to exclude White surgeons and have enough medical professionals left to do the job) ---> Institutional racism is akin to the gasoline, allowing the otherwise stationary combustion engine of individual racism to actually function: the former gives the latter life, and the ability to impact others in a meaningful and detrimental way ---> Even if people of color despise Whites and seek to avoid them, their ability to do so will be directly constrained by the larger opportunity structure that has skewed power and resources in the direction of the dominant power (i.e. Whites seeking to avoid Blacks can do so readily)

White privilege

Tim Wise: - Whites don't have to know the reality of Black, Latino, and other minorities - Those who are White will never have to worry that their mistakes will be attributed to their race (unlike the burden of representation experienced by POC) - Acts of terrorism do not define White people, but they do other racial groups; this is privilege - Privilege means viewing the U.S. as a liberating force, but invasion doesn't bring liberation - Privilege is associated with anxiety and substance abuse disorders; there is a constant need to "keep up" and a fear of losing power (sense of entitlement) - Whiteness affords one invisibility Peggy McIntosh: - coined the term "white privilege"; is the conferring of privilege and unearned social advantage experienced by Whites because of race - Whites are carefully taught not to recognize their privilege - White privilege is like an invisible package of unearned assets

psychological disengagement

a defensive detachment of self-esteem from outcomes in a particular domain (ex: academics) such that feelings of self-worth aren't dependent on success or failures in that domain

Dr. Charles White

a physician, conducted comparative studies on the anatomical features of Negroes, Europeans, and apes; he demonstrated what he thought were constitutional differences between Black and White races in skeletal structure, muscles, tendons, cartilage, skin, hair, size of the sex organ, brain, sweat, body odor, reason, speech, and language - He concluded that the Negro was an intermediate form between "true" human being (white Europeans) and apes; other races assigned positions between Negro and White Europeans ---> His work moved racial beliefs from folk ideas to matters of science; because of this, controversy arose as to whether Negroes were a separate species (i.e. a separate creation) or of the same human race as Whites ---> White himself rejected the notion of a single humanity (a popular belief at the time), positing that each race was a separate species (of separate creations) and that the races were specifically preadapted by God for the geographic area in which they were naturally found ---> White's conclusions polarized much of scientific opinion at the time

Predatory loans/balloon mortgages

a strategy used in 2005-2008 where extremely low interest rates were used to lure families into purchasing a home before these rates would skyrocket (leaving many families unable to pay their mortgage); this lead to the Housing Market Crash of 2008, where foreclosures as families couldn't refinance their homes because of a huge loss of equity ---> Obama's refinancing act allowed victims of these loans to refinance their homes without an appraisal of equity

Lewis M. Terman

also contributed to the popularity of the Stanford-Binet test in America and supported the use of the test as a predictive measure; he supported the eugenic cause ---> He later recanted all of his beliefs, claiming the Binet test couldn't be used as a predictive measure

tokenism

an individual can be of the majority in a larger population but can still have stigmatizing experiences by being a minority in a particular context (statistical minority) - Token status occurs when there's a preponderance of one group over another and only a few members from the "other" group are represented - Token status require one to be of "solo status," but having solo status doesn't necessarily mean a minority will be treated like a token - 3 perceptual tendencies affect tokens: 1. *Hypervisibility:* token's unique traits capture attentional awareness 2. *Contrast:* differences between the token and dominant group are exaggerated 3. *Assimilation:* members of the dominant group distort token's characteristics to fit expected stereotype ---> Driving belief here is that the token is an outgroup member - Actions of token are seen as representative of the entire group - Tokens may feel isolated but must ignore differences and not let them affect their work --> Can lead to a "chilly climate" where tokens don't feel welcomed or supported

stereotypes

beliefs or opinions about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of various groups; they have several attributes: 1. They come from shared beliefs that are part of an individual's culture 2. They are either accurate or inaccurate 3. They can be both descriptive and prescriptive (they can describe what characteristics a group is believed to have but they can also describe what people expect members of a group to be like or do) 4. They can be either positive or negative

prejudice (classic definition)

defined by Gordon Allport who launched the study of racism and race in a psychological context - Is antipathy based on faulty, inflexible generalizations felt or expressed and directed towards a group/individual because of their membership in a particular group ---> Essentially a negative attitude that leads to unjust treatment of and creates disadvantage in targeted persons ---> However, prejudices can also be positively valanced and have negative consequences; if it includes an overgeneralization and stereotypic beliefs, it's prejudice

prejudice (modern definition)

defined by James Jones - Expands Gordon Allport's definition by including positively valanced stereotypes/overgeneralizations as a form of prejudice

Theories of learning prejudice: Inner state theories

focus on the development of prejudice in terms of age-related changes in personality and individual difference variables; proposes that prejudice is caused by something inside the person (i.e. personality) - psychoanalytic theorists propose that child-rearing practices lead to authoritarianism and social dominance orientation ---> Not accepted by psychologists who study race; no evidence for these theories

Dr. Samuel Morton

founded craniometry and collected human skulls ---> He concluded that Caucasoids had largest brains, followed by Mongoloids, Malays, American Indians, and Negroes ---> He believed that brain size correlated with intelligence, thus in his view, the Ancient Egyptians were not Negroes, but dark-skinned Caucasians (Negroes couldn't establish a functioning civilization) ---> He concluded that interfertility did not prove the unity of the human species

aversive racism

involves conflict between feelings and beliefs associated with sincere egalitarian values and unacknowledged negative feelings and belief towards minorities; feel discomfort, uneasiness, and sometimes disgust towards minorities ---> Persons holding these attitudes tend to be politically liberal - Aversive racists have internalized egalitarian values - Access those values on explicit measures and report low prejudice - Cannot access those values on implicit measures and exhibit high prejudice

personal/group discrimination discrepancy (PGDD)

occurs when people believe that their group, as a whole, is more likely to be discriminated against than they themselves are as individuals; happens more with women than ethnic minorities - Explanations: 1. Cognitive: - A function of the way people process info - Group examples are more readily available mentally because group info is more easily processed than individual info - People consider their personal experiences in comparison with their ingroup members, but compare group's experiences with other groups (ex: women compare their experiences with other women, but compare women's experiences as a whole to men's) 2. Motivational: - Assume that people have reasons for believing they are not personally discriminated against - Want to deny or minimize own experiences with discrimination - May recognize social costs of claiming discrimination: - Avoid costs by distancing themselves from claims of unfairness - Awareness of costs can affect decisions to confront or report discrimination - Members of stigmatized groups may also want to distance themselves from negative attributes associated with their group

discrimination

positive/negative behaviors or actions based on a positive/negative belief or attitude one holds towards an individual/group based on their membership in a specific group ---> Discrimination, in hiring for instance, is usually more about in-group favoritism than out-group antipathy (ex: hiring of someone because they went to UT and the hiring employer also went to UT); this begs the question, where does favoritism end and discrimination begin?

Reducing prejudice: Self-regulation model

proposes that, based on their experience of acting in a prejudiced manner, people who see themselves as unprejudiced become sensitized to environmental cues that warn them when they might respond in a prejudiced manner to a member of a stereotyped group; in sum, it posits that people who are motivated to act in an unprejudiced manner can do so ---> Self-regulation of prejudice can become automatic over time

disidentification

redefining one's self-concept so that a domain is no longer an area of self-identification - Psychological disengagement can also refer to distancing the self from areas in which a group is negatively stereotyped and expected to fail; this disengagement emerges in response to a systematic injustice that cannot be overcome at the personal level ---> Evidence for these concepts is mostly based on correlational data so concrete causation cannot be inferred

Theories of learning prejudice: Social learning theory

refers to the idea that reinforcement, modeling & imitation, and vicarious learning teach kids race (usually indirectly); influenced by family and peers and symbolic models in the media - lots of evidence for this theory

Theories of learning prejudice: Cognitive-developmental theories

suggest changes in prejudice are the result of cognitive growth; emphasize ongoing interplay between the child's mental development and their environment (nature vs. nurture) - holds that the development of prejudice involves discontinuous, or abrupt, shifts that correspond to cognitive stages ---> The most popular of these theories is Piaget's theory of development of prejudice; held that prejudice develops as the mind goes through stages: 1. *Egocentric:* idea that everyone experiences the world as the self does 2. *Sociocentric:* narrow focus on the experiences of one's ingroup 3. *Reciprocal thought:* involves the idea that outgroup members' beliefs about one's ingroup reflects their beliefs about the outgroup ---> In sum, it represents the idea that as the nature of kids' thinking changes, so does their conceptualization of prejudice

Reducing prejudice: Contact hypothesis

the idea that increasing one's exposure to members to various groups can increase positive evaluations of the out-group and decrease prejudice and stereotyping - Mere contact is not effective in changing racial attitudes; in these situations, a study found that: - 50% of people felt more positive about out-group members and 50% felt more negative about them; this split indicates some other moderating variable was at play here - Fundamental Criteria for Contact: - Gordon Allport (1954) specified 4 criteria that needed to be met for positive intergroup contact to occur: 1. Equality of status among interacting group members 2. Commonality of their goals 3. Intergroup cooperation 4. Having the support of a legitimate authority (e.g. government, institutional/cultural support); i.e. the legitimate authority support the intergroup contact ---> In 1969, Amir offered 2 more conditions: 1. Climate must be favorable for intergroup contact 2. Contact must be of an intimate rather than a casual nature (e.g. being in the same class for a semester vs. passing one another in the grocery store) ---> Pettigrew (1998) listed "friendship potential" as another factor - Deutsch & Collins (1951) found that in desegregated public housing, equal-status contact between Black and White neighbors resulted in more positive attitudes toward equal housing policies ---> Indicated that meaningful interaction changed attitudes about out-group members

essentialism

the idea that things that look alike share the same properties; i.e. the belief that since members of a category all look alike, they must have similar psychological characteristics (and these characteristics are unchanging)

stereotype threat

the proposition that stigmatized group members are aware that they're stereotyped and that, especially in achievement settings, they fear confirming these stereotypes; even if the individual doesn't endorse the stereotype about their group, their performance may still be affected because of the cognitive activation of that stereotype - is most likely to occur when tasks are difficult or frustrating - Features: 1. Stems from situational pressures that bring the stereotype to mind, not merely from internalization of the negative stereotype 2. It's a general process that can affect any group with a negative stereotype 3. The nature of the threat varies by the specific context of the negative stereotype ---> Stereotype threat operates by changing the way info is processed; its presence reduces working memory capacity ---> It most affects those people who care greatly about their performance in the domain the stereotype is about

stereotype lift

when info about group performance provides a performance boost for members of nonstereotyped groups; members of nonstereotyped groups engage in downward social comparison - These differences can have several real world implications (such as performance on high-stakes tests like the GRE)

Reducing prejudice: Common in-group identity

when ingroup and outgroup members recategorize themselves into a single group for which they share a common social (or ingroup) identity; represent the solidifying of an attitude generalization

attributional ambiguity

when members of stigmatized groups find it difficult to attribute/interpret social or performance feedback from dominant group members (ex: woman crosses street when approached by Latino male) - In performance scenarios, feedback can be attributed to actual ability OR due to prejudice from dominant group member ---> Even positive feedback could be due to attempts by dominant group members to appear unbiased - Stigmatized persons may discount or augment feedback because they believe it's not based on their true ability or performance - Discounting negative feedback can have self-protecting consequences, but discounting positive feedback can lower self-esteem - Research on attributional ambiguity shows that stigmatized people consider the source when receiving feedback; if they believe the source is prejudiced, they weigh the feedback differently

Reducing prejudice: Personalization

when people come to see members of the outgroup as individuals rather than as undifferentiated members of social categories ---> For liking of specific outgroup members to generalize to the outgroup as a whole, salient categorization (or the belief that the outgroups members' liked qualities are representative of their group) must occur

Reducing prejudice: Stereotype suppression

when people who find themselves thinking about another person in terms of stereotypes tries to ignore the stereotype and focus on characteristics of the person that run counter to the stereotype; can contribute to the rebound effect (i.e. the enhanced return of suppressed thoughts)