Psych Ch13 - Prejudice

Benevolent sexists hold ________ stereotypes of women

positive: women are inherently more kind, empathetic, nurturing

Institutional Discrimination

practices that discriminate, legally or illegally, against a minority group by virtue of its ethnicity, gender, culture, age, sexual orientation, or other target of societal or company prejudice

Creating categories is

an adaptive mechanism: humans begin creating categories almost as soon as they're born

In the social-psychological perspective, what is a primary cause of discrimination against women in the workplace?

if women are a small minority of the occupation

suppressing prejudiced impulses requires constant effort, so

people are always on the lookout for info that will convince them they're justified in disliking the outgroup

Discrimination

unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group solely because of his or her membership in that group

Prejudice

A hostile/negative attitude toward people in a distinguishable group, based solely on their membership in that group

The Implicit Association Test

A test thought to measure unconscious (implicit) prejudices according to the speed with which a person can pair a target face with a positive or negative connotation

Self-fulfilling prohpecy

An expectation of one's own or another's behavior that comes true because of the tendency of the person holding it to act in ways that bring it about

Why does jigsaw work?

It breaks down ingroup/ outgroup perceptions, places them in a favor-doing situation that causes them to like each other more, and increases empathic ability

What other explanations might account for the findings of the IAT?

It's measuring cultural stereotypes rather than people's true feelings

The contact hypothesis

That simple contact will decrease prejudice and increase the self-esteem of the minority

Realistic Conflict Theory

The idea that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination (for scarce resources, political power, social status)

Social Identity

The part of a person's self-concept that is based on his or her identification with a nation, religious or political group, occupation, or other social affiliation

The usefulness of categorizing

We rely on our perceptions of what people with similar characteristics have been like in the past to help us determine how to react to others with the same ones

Stereotype

a generalization about a group of people in which certain traits are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation of the members

what is implicit prejudice

a person holds a prejudice without being aware of it

What is a suppressed prejudice

a person knows they're prejudiced, but they choose not to express it in public

social distance

a person's reluctance to get "too close" to another group

Prejudices have a cognitive element (________) and can influence behavior (__________)

a stereotype, in the form of discrimination

Blaming the victim is motivated by

belief in a just world. Protecting ourselves from fear (situational) by convincing ourselves that the person must have done something to deserve it (dispositional)

Both sets of stereotypes are demeaning for women because

both assume that women are the weaker sex

Contact can only reduce prejudice when (6)

both groups are of equal status, both share a common goal that generates awareness of their shared interests and common humanity, contact is supported by social norms, both sides are exposed to multiple other members, there's interdependence, and it's in informal settings

Prejudice is an emotionally powerful attitude. Attitudes are made up of three components:

cognitive (beliefs/thoughts), affective (type/ intensity of emotion), and behavioral (actions)

negative associations with differences depend on (2)

context and learning

Group/institution prejudice

demands conformity to normative standards or rules in the society

Jigsaw Classroom setting

designed to reduce prejudice and raise self-esteem of children by placing them in small, multi-ethnic groups and making each child dependent on the other children in the group to learn the material

bogus pipeline

fake lie detector: people were more racist when hooked up to it because they believed that they couldn't lie or weren't expected to lie

minimal groups

in-groups artificially formed among strangers with the most trivial qualities possible

Why are stereotypes so fckin persistent

information consistent with our notions about a group will be given more attention, will be rehearsed/recalled more often, and will therefore be remembered better than contradictory info

individual prejudice

involves the ways we process information and assign meaning to observed events

Ethnocentrism and being suspicious of "others" is universal because

it aids survival by increasing people's attachment to their own group and their willingness to work together on its behalf. Also protects tribe from external threats

Hostile sexists hold ________ stereotypes of women

negative: women are inherently less intelligent, competent, brave, good at math and science, etc

People suppress prejudiced views for two reasons:

out of a genuine motivation to be less prejudiced, or to avoid being labeled racist, sexist, or homophobic

Stereotypical qualities can be (3)

physical, mental, occupational

Self-silencers in the presence of sexism/racism etc...

reduce dissonance by justifying their inaction, and thereby decrease the chance that they'll speak up in the future

emotional reasoning is

resistant to logic or evidence (distorting facts/ ignoring contradictions)

3 Counter-stereotype mindsets in test situations

self-affirmation, intelligence can grow, and test anxiety is normal

microaggressions

slights, injustices, and put-downs that minorities regularly encounter

Stereotype threat

the apprehension experienced by members of a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype

Sometimes, disconfirming evidence for prejudice can actually strengthen the stereotypical belief because

the disconfirming evidence challenges you to come up with additional reasons for holding on to prejudice

Only a few disconfirming pieces of evidence to a stereotype =

the exceptions that prove the rule

out-group homogeneity

the perception that individuals in the out-group are more similar to each other (homogenous) than they actually are, as well as more similar than members of the in-group are (They're all the same)

Self-affirmation

the practice of reminding yourself of your good qualities or experiences that made you feel successful and proud. Puts things in perspective

In-group bias

the tendency to favor members of one's own group and give them special preference over people who belong to other groups; the group can be temporary and trivial as well as significant

Normative Conformity

the tendency to go along with the group in order to fulfill the group's expectations and gain acceptance

Victims of prejudice often experience lowered self esteem because

they internalize society's views of their group being inferior, unattractive, or incompetent

If you have a stereotype of a group you know little about, and if you're not emotionally invested in that stereotype...

you're more likely to be open to information that disputes it