Chapter 13

10. Define automatic prejudice, and describe one way to measure whether or not someone is prejudiced at the automatic level. What kinds of effects does automatic prejudice have?

Automatic prejudice is an unconscious and automatic first thought about somebody or a group of people. - A way to measure if someone is prejudiced at the automatic level is to use an implicit measure. ex: connect names to words, black names identified with words like bad and evil as oppossed to good and peace -Automatic prejudice causes old fashioned prejudiced people to change their behaviors and then other people act on the behavior that those prejudiced people exhibited (social influence)

2. What are two basic cognitive processes by which stereotypes form that were discussed in class?

Categorization- act of placing objects into meaningful groups Illusory correlations- relating distinct and rare events ex. (black people are loud and obnoxious)

6. We discussed four ways in which stereotypes self-perpetuate. Summarize each.

Information processing- basic brain processes, pay attention to stereotype consistent stuff -Encoding: consistent vs. inconsistent info -Sub-typing: fencing off deviants from the group, maintain view -Interpreting ambiguous info; college muslims, career women Confirmation bias- tendency to count the more stereotype consistent info and discount the stereotype inconsistent info Self-fulfilling prophecy- Have thoughts and expectations about a person or group of people,treat people according to that certain expectation, causing the person or group to act the way that you treated them, confirming the expectation. E.g perceive Asians as mean and unfeeling people and your actions say so and then they do become mean and unfeeling but only because you were like that first so sit down next time. Attributions- ultimate attribution error- positive in-group behaviors are internally attributed however your positive out-group behaviors are externally attributed. E.g Joey got promoted due to hard work but Janice got promoted due to other people finding her attractive. -positive in-group behaviors are internally attributed -positive out-group behaviors are externally attributed

8. What does it mean to say that prejudice is inevitable? Describe two situations when automatic prejudice/stereotype activation does NOT happen?

It is inevitable due to an ingrained in-group favoritism- 3 to 4 day old babies portray in-group favoritism. It is an automatic process. When opportunity and motivation is present as well as controlled processing then there is a chance that prejudice/stereotype activation won't occur. In a situation where one is not speaking to someone in an out-group is also an example of when stereotype activation does NOT occur. Also 1) one situation could deal with people who do not have automatic prejudices/stereotypes because they're fighting the good fight 2) We can't help but encode, but there are exceptions. If someone is in your way and you're not paying attention, it's not inevitable.

3. What basic cognitive process is minimal group research based on? What does this research demonstrate?

Minimal Group Research: -participants assigned to groups based upon Klee and Kandinsky paintings - participants completed individ. task & chose between giving both selves & one of their own money OR selves & other group money; participants gave money to own group Results: in group favoritism. Minimal group research is based on categorization. -Categorization is the act of playing objects into meaningful groups. we categorize ppl just like other objects and we think in terms of "us" and "them: This research demonstrated that the participants like the artists that was "theirs", meaning in-group favoritism.

15. Has racism declined over the years? Explain your reasoning.

No, racism has not declined over the years. It is just modern day racism now, instead of old fashioned blatant racism. Now, it is inwardly projecting racist attitudes. Ex: When obama became president, people who were racist didn't go out and say racist remarks about him being black. They made comments and accusations about him being un-American, speculation about not being a citizen, and other things that make him different than past presidents.

4. What is "realistic conflict," and how does it lead to prejudice?

Realistic conflict is hostility between groups caused by direct competition for limited resources. -It leads to prejudice bc when people are competing for survival, they want people like them to survive and reproduce. This leads minority groups to feel isolated and be prejudiced against.

12. Describe Sherif's (1961) summer camp experiment. What was learned about conflict and contact from it?

Sherif (1961) summer camp experiment: -kids at camp assigned to groups -groups made to compete (for dessert) -competition lead to hostility and conflict - it was learned that when we compete for a limited resource or object, aggression and hostility increases (realistic conflict)

14. What is stereotype threat? How is it thought to happen, and who is susceptible to it?

Stereotype threat is the anxiety experiences that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype. -It usually happens when a stereotype is held against a certain group of people and the group gets very anxious about performing their best on a task, which intern makes them do worse bc of the anxiety. Ex: Men and women took a math test. When women were lead to believe that the math test was designed to show differences in math abilities btw men and women, they did not perform as well men. When women were told that the same test had nothing to do with male/female differences, they performed as well as men. -the individuals most susceptible to stereotype threat are ones that come from a negatively stereotyped group

11. What is the contact hypothesis? What are the necessary conditions for the contact hypothesis to work? Based on these conditions, do you think contact is a viable means of reducing prejudice?

The contact hypothesis is bringing people together who are in conflict (or where one is bullying the other) or bringing black and whites into the same school, the conflict will subside as they get to understand one another. necessary conditions: -both groups are of equal status, both share a common goal that generates awareness of their shared interests and common humanity(going to same school,same class), and their contact is supported by law or local custom(social norms). -I think that contact hypothesis is a viable means of reducing prejudice ONLY when the above conditions are met. If people are coming from unequal statuses, the prejudice and discrimination will continue to occur; The minority group will not be understood.

7. What is the "dissociation model" of stereotyping? Describe the two-step process involved in this model of prejudice, and describe what separates prejudiced from non-prejudiced individuals according to the model.

The dissociation model of stereotyping says that prejudice is taught at a very young age and that bc of that everyone is prejudiced.. The difference in prejudiced and non-prejudiced people according to this model is that prejudiced people let their cognitions influence their behaviors towards others and non-prejudice people prevent their cognitions from controlling their behaviors through controlled process, which means they're aware of their prejudice and try to stop it. 2-step process: · 1. Prejudice is automatically activated upon perceiving, say, a Black guy · 2. Prejudice influences behavior directly --- OR --- · 2. You try to correct for your prejudice if you're motivated and have opportunity C. "Prejudiced" people let stereotypes influence behavior D. "NON-Prejudiced" people prevent themselves from stereotyping through controlled processes 1. Automatic activation process brings up information/stereotypes 2. Controlled processing CAN refute/ignore it

13. What is the "jigsaw classroom," and how is it thought to reduce prejudice?

The jigsaw classroom is a classroom setting designed to reduce prejudice and raise the self-esteem of children by placing them in small, desegregated groups and making each child dependent on the other children in the group to learn the course material and do well in the class. - It is thought to reduce prejudice because each student has to rely on one another in order to know the material to do well on an assignment or test. Every student has a diff segment that they teach to the class on the material, and if the person is anxious/struggling with teaching the material, it is in the other students best interest to encourage them to teach the material.

5. What is the out-group homogeneity effect? Explain the two reasons it occurs that were discussed in class. Describe an example in your own life where you fell prey to this effect.

The out-group homogeneity is the perception that out group members are more similar to each other than they really are. ex: thinking all ppl in another culture are all alike -Two reasons it occurs is because we only see our out-groups in specific contexts (e.g., my brother-in-law seeing LGBT folks only at a gay pride parade— not very representative or diverse) and 2) we see our in-groups in a variety of circumstances (e.g., I see my faculty colleagues when they're cheerful, depressed, excited, calm, etc. vs seeing another groups only as mean or angry(not variety) -When I was younger I used to think that all college students acted and behaved the same way.

9. What are the differences between old-fashioned and modern racism? What is "symbolic racism," and how does it relate to political attitudes?

old-fashioned racism: socially accepted, blatant, relatively rare modern racism: outwardly un prejudice, inwardly prejudice symbolic racism: certain political issues become symbolic playing fields for racial prejudices. - i.e.- "I'm not racist, but..." (ß hard to measure) -often, a person's political stance on an issue was based upon racial prejudice rather than putting thought about politics behind their stance

1. Define prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination, and discuss how they are related. Who are the victims and perpetrators of prejudice?

prejudice: a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinguishable group based solely on their membership in that group. (affect/evaluation); feeling weird shaking black mans hand discrimination:any behavior directed against people because of their membership in a particular group (behavior) stereotype: a belief that associates a group of people with certain traits (cognitive) - we are ALL victims and perpetrators of prejudice. It is often a two way street that flows from the minority groups to the majority groups as well as the other direction.