Social Psychology Part 9: Bias
What are the ABC's of Intergroup relations? Explain the relevant terminology.
-Affective component (prejudice) -Behavioral component (discrimination) -Cognitive component (stereotypes-generalization)
Generalization
A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person
Describe the robber's cave study by Sherif et al. (1961). What theory of prejudice formation does it support? What theory of prejudice reduction does it support?
Boys at a camp were split into two groups randomly. They were made to take part in competitive activities and came to hate each other. Just putting them together and expecting them to work it out did not work (realistic conflict theory). However when the bus broke down and the boys had to all work together to push the bus in order to get something that they all wanted they started to get along again. It shows that mutual interdependence and shared goals end prejudice (stereotype replacement).
Under what conditions does contact best reduce prejudice? List at least 5 of the 6.
Equal status Friendly, informal setting Multiple members of both groups Social norms of equality Mutual interdependence for something Common superordinate goal
Describe O'Brien & Crandall's study on stereotype threat and how it builds on social facilitation theory.
Female students were given a math test and told it was either easy or hard, and that it either produced gender differences or didn't. They performed better on the easy task when not told about gender differences, and massively over-performed on the easy task when they were told that there were gender differences. They perpetuated a higher skill because they thought the other gender would do better than they would.
According to Glick and Fiske, what are the two types of sexism? Give an example of something each type of sexist would believe.
Hostile sexism: feelings of hostility toward women reflected by negative assumptions about women (women belong in the kitchen) Benevolent sexism: acceptance of positive stereotypes that leads to unequal treatment (women care more about their appearance)
Describe two studies from lecture that demonstrate the continued existence of prejudice/stereotyping.
In a study that looked at Facebook friend requests, people who were manipulated to appear stereotypically black were less likely to receive acceptances Another study looked at craigslist offers, which were less likely to be accepted if the name of the user sounded Black, Hispanic, or Chinese
Describe 3 processes that contribute to the maintenance of stereotypes.
Interpretation of behavior Sub-typing Self-fulfilling prophecy
Describe Word, Zanna & Cooper's (1974) study. What process did it demonstrate?
It looked at both white interviews and black interviews. When the interviewees were black, the interviewers were more likely to sit farther away, avoid eye contact, and have shorter interviews. This was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What are two ways researchers have created social exclusion in the laboratory?
One approach is to simulate a rejection experience by having participants believe that people they have just met rejected them. In this procedure, a group get-acquainted conversation is followed by having participants list the two group members they would most like to work with, ostensibly in preparation for pairing off for the next task. By random assignment, some participants are told that no one chose to work with them. In another approach, two confederates were commanded not to speak and pretended to circumvent this by tossing a ball back and forth. Initially the participant was included in their game, but before long the confederates ignored the participant and simply tossed the ball between themselves. More recently, a computerized version of this procedure (dubbed 'Cyberball') has become a popular way of manipulating ostracism. One distinctive feature of the ball-tossing and Cyberball procedures is that they effectively subject the participant to a series of small rejections, in contrast to other procedures that manipulate one larger one.
Describe 3 processes that contribute to the formation of stereotypes.
Realistic conflict theory Social identity theory Illusory correlation
How can we reduce stereotype threat? Name two strategies, explain which you think is better and why.
Self-affirmation: reminding oneself of important values so as to not act as a buffer Education: not as good because it still reminds us of the stereotypes
Describe Jane Elliot's classroom exercise, and what it demonstrated.
She wanted to show her pupils what discrimination feels like, and what it can do to people. Elliott divided her class by eye color — those with blue eyes and those with brown. On the first day, the blue-eyed children were told they were smarter, nicer, neater, and better than those with brown eyes.
What is social identity theory? How does it relate to the minimal group paradigm?
Social identity theory- the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison Minimal group paradigm- an experimental paradigm in which researchers create groups based on arbitrary and seemingly meaningless criteria and then examine how the members of these "minimal groups" are inclined to behave toward one another
List 5 different prejudice reduction techniques.
Stereotype replacement Individuation Perspective-taking Situational attributions Contact
Name 2 different prejudice reduction techniques. For each, describe a study supporting that technique.
Stereotype replacement: recognize that a response is based on stereotypes, label the response as stereotypical, and replace it with an unbiased response. In a 12-week longitudinal study, people who received a stereotype replacement intervention showed dramatic reductions in implicit race bias. Counter-stereotype imaging: imagining in detail counter-stereotypic other people. Imagining a strong women in a beach vacation setting; imagining someone who counters a stereotype and reduced implicit bias
Name an effect of being the target of stereotypes, and describe a study demonstrating this effect.
Stereotype threat: apprehension experienced of members in a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype Black and white students took the GRE and told it measured either problem-solving or intelligence. In problem-solving, there were no differences, but in intelligence, white people performed higher
Realistic conflict theory
The idea that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination
What is realistic conflict theory? Give an example of a research finding supporting it.
The idea that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination. Boy Scouts were either assigned as eagles or rattlers; showed more violence and aggression to the outgroup
What is scapegoating? Who is typically the victim of scapegoating? When is it most likely to occur?
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. If a person who is poor or doesn't get a job that he or she applies for can blame an unfair system or the people who did get the job that he or she wanted, the person may be using the others as a scapegoat and may end up hating them as a result. Usually it occurs after minor inconveniences.
According to Aronson, why is relying on stereotypes a woefully incomplete strategy, even though they are often true?
They say nothing about the underlying reasons for the observed differences. If your stereotype leads you to believe that stereotypes are related to genetic differences, you would be mistaken. Moreover, stereotypes can lead us astray when we apply them to an individual group member, and this can be unfair and potentially harmful, even if the stereotype is positive.
According to Shelton & Richeson (2005), how do Black and White people explain their own avoidance of interacting with the outgroup? How do they explain the outgroup's avoidance of them?
They say that the other group isn't interested in them, therefore they feel hesitant to get involved with one another.
Summarize study 3 by Shelton & Richeson (2005) and explain how it supports their hypothesis.
We analyzed Whites' explanations for their own and the other person's inaction with a 2 (race of targets: White vs. Black) x 2 (person: self vs. other) x 2 (explanation: fear of rejection because of race vs. lack of interest) ANOVA with repeated measures on the last two factors. A main effect of explanation emerged, indicating that Whites thought that lack of interest was a better explanation for their own and the targeted students' behavior than fear of rejection based on race.
Describe a study looking at prejudice in the field of medicine, and another study which helps us understand what may be causing the prejudice.
Women over 50 who were critically ill were less likely to get life-saving assistance than men. Then, white patients were more likely to receive pain killers than black patients after a bone fracture. Erroneous beliefs lead to different judgments
What is subtyping and how does it work?
accommodating individuals who deviate from one's stereotype by thinking of them as "exceptions to the rule"
Interpretation of behavior
ambiguous behaviors are interpreted in stereotype consistent ways
What is the jigsaw classroom? Describe it, and why it works.
educational approach designed to minimize prejudice by requiring all children to make independent contributions to a shared project. When all students have a common goal they see each other as equals.
What does the Baumeister et al. article teach us about the surprising emotional effects of exclusion?
it appears that the emotion system tends to shut down briefly in response to rejection, causing a kind of numbness that in turn hampers empathy and other efforts to relate to others.
Define attributional ambiguity. Describe a novel example of a situation where this might occur.
members of stigmatized groups may be uncertain if the treatment they receive is due to them personally or is a result of their group membership (is grandpa staring at me because he forgot who I am or is it because he realized I'm gay)
How has the idea of "racism" changed? Define the relevant terms.
old fashioned racism- openly admitting explicit racist attitudes modern racism- expressing prejudice through implicit measures
illusory correlation
perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exists
prejudice
preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience
What does the Baumeister et al. article teach us about cognitive and self-regulatory effects of exclusion?
self-regulation and intelligent thought appear to suffer among rejected persons. One ray of hope takes the form of a nonconscious coping process that seeks out happy thoughts during the initial numb phase.
self-fulfilling prophecy
the tendency for people to behave as they are expected to behave
Define "out-group homogeneity effect" and explain why it occurs.
the tendency to see members of out-groups as more similar to one another than members in the in-group. this because it is easier to recall specific members of the in-group than the out-group, and you see members of the in-group across more various situations
Social identity theory
theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison
Discrimination
unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members
