SOP - Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
What is Benevolent Stereotyping? How does it compare/contrast to stereotyping based on negative attributes? Examples?
"Benevolent prejudice is a superficially positive prejudice that is expressed in terms of positive beliefs and emotional responses, which are associated with hostile prejudices or result in keeping affected groups in inferior positions in society." For ex: "Benevolent sexism is a subtler form of sexism and is expressed in a seemingly positive way. It is expressed by emphasizing men's role to protect and provide for women by putting them on a pedestal in a chivalrous way. This protection and love is granted in exchange for women's compliance to traditional gender roles."
What are the patterns of action identification (low and high) for bad and good behaviors being enacted by inand out-group members?
- When we see people in our in-group do something good, we interpret it as a high-level action. - But when they do something bad, we interpret it as a low-level action. - When we see people in an out-group do something good, we interpret it as a low-level action (ex: "it happened bc of luck, not bc of their talents"). - But when they do something bad, we interpret it as a high-level action (ex: "it happened bc that's who they are" = we tap in on our prejudices of that group).
What role does self-esteem play in expressions of prejudice? Be able to interpret graph from lecture (slide19, 4-12)
- people with lower self-esteem tend to have more in-group favoritism, they also tend to derogate out-groups more - this is especially true in the face of personal failure Graph: ppl with low SE tend to have high in-group favoritism look at graph more closely
What is Behavior Confirmation? How does it influence our interactions with people against whom we hold prejudicial attitudes? In what ways is it similar/different from confirmation bias? Think of examples.
- prejudice can be a self-fulfilling prophecy For ex: Joe expects his coworker Nancy to be more emotional. Because of this prejudicial belief, he talks to her in a soft, condescending tone. She feels patronized and gets angry - confirming Joe's expectation. - Basically if you expect someone to behave a certain way, you may behave in a way that elicits a response that confirms your bias
What is Stereotype, Prejudice, and Discrimination Maintenance? Why does it occur? How can the concept of a 'feedback loop' be applied?
- such a strong like between your thoughts and feelings - you justify your actions and emotions with consistent thoughts The feedback loop in all this phenomena: a triangle between prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. Goes around and around, all connected and continuous
What is confirmation bias? Why does it occur? How does it contribute to our maintenance of biases?
- when testing a stereotype or prejudice attitude for 'accuracy', not all evidence is created equal - overlook accomplishments of marginalized individuals - emphasize confirmatory events EX: ignoring an eloquent speech given by a Black politician and focusing on one phrase that was poorly expressed.
What are methods/activities for reducing prejudice? Be able to identify activities emphasizing Superordinate Goals and Cross Cutting Identities.
1. Superordinate Goals = presenting a group with a task or challenge that can only be accomplished if everyone works together, must coordinate behavior despite differences. 2. Cross-Cutting Identities = instead of "how are we different?", think about "how are we similar"
What is Bigoted Personalities? What does it predict? What are the elements of it?
A bigoted personality is characterized by an individual's rigid and intolerant attitudes towards people who are different from them An authoritarian personality: Deference to those in power Lack of introspection Projection of hostility Conventional life goals Intolerance of ambiguity General social dominance orientation The Big Five Personality: Low on agreeableness Low on openness
What is a meta-analysis? What was the topic/method of the study (not exact numbers...just general procedure)? Know that the results were mixed, you don't need to memorize each type of intervention. What were the limitations of the study?
A meta-analysis is a systematic review of existing literature, analyzing the findings in relevant published papers. - Article that we discussed was: "Meta Analysis of Implicit Racial Prejudice Interventions (2019)"; wanted to know what interventions can reduce implicit biases (= less discrimination). - Peer reviewed, 30 eligible articles that used the IAT. Results were mixed. The limitations were (1) small sample size (2) definition of success (at least one sig result of bias reduction)
What are Controlled and Automatic Processing? How do they relate to implicit prejudice?
Automatic processing: - automatic, involuntary, and unconscious - often based on emotional responses - occurs under conditions of stress Controlled processing: - conscious, information processing, deliberate Implicit prejudice is associated with automatic processing. You can see this happening in situations of threat, emotionality, time pressure.
What is Heterogeneity? How does it relate to our perception of in and out groups? Why does this occur?
Heterogeneity refers to the perception that members of a particular group are diverse and have varying characteristics or attributes. When we perceive members of our in-group as heterogeneous, it can lead to greater awareness of individual differences and appreciation for diversity within the group. On the other hand, when we perceive members of an out-group as heterogeneous, it can lead to a greater sense of similarity or commonality, which can help break down barriers between groups.
What is Homogeneity? How does it relate to our perception of in and out groups? Why does this occur?
Homogeneity refers to the perception that members of a particular group are similar to each other. When we perceive members of our in-group as homogeneous, it can lead to a sense of social cohesion and a feeling of belonging. On the other hand, when we perceive members of an out-group as homogeneous, it can lead to a sense of difference or separation.
What are implicit and explicit prejudice? How do we measure each type of prejudice? What is the IAT? What does it measure?What are some limitations of the IAT? What could it really be measuring?
Implicit prejudice are mostly unconscious thoughts and feelings about groups. Explicit is conscious prejudice/bias about groups. The IAT (Implicit Association Test) measures this, which is how quickly a person can associate different concepts (reaction time!). - If two concepts are quickly associated, this presumably means that they have similar meanings for the person. - If it takes more time to associate another pair of concepts, this suggests that they have different meanings for the person.
What are In Groups and Out Groups? How do we feel towards them?
In-group members have positive views of each other and give preferential treatment, while out-groups consists of anyone that doesn't belong to your group/in group. The more connected the people feel within their in-group the greater is the antagonism to out groups. We see out groups as homogenous and we see in groups as heterogeneous.
What is Infrahumanization? How does it differ from dehumanization? How does it contribute to anti-social behavior?
Infrahumanization - basic emotions and thoughts Form of dehumanization that involves perceiving certain groups as less capable of experiencing complex emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that are associated with being fully human. "infra- The tacitly held belief that one's ingroup is more human than an outgroup, which is less human." "Dehumanization of an out-group implies that its members are no longer humans at all". Infrahumanization can contribute to anti-social behavior by reducing empathy and concern for the target group, and by justifying negative attitudes and behaviors towards them.
How does i"Basking in the Reflected Glory" relate to the maintenance of the self-concept, identity, and self-esteem?
It relates to SC, identity, and SE because all are affected when you don't receive the outcome that you want. For example, if your group wins, you feel part of the group and if your group loses you separate from them (it affects your SC, SE, and identity). - People tend to coordinate their thoughts, feelings and actions with those of others (people sacrifice their lives to defend their group).
How are genetics related to prejudice in mono and dizygotic twins? Why is this the case? How do we need to interpret this data to understand the nuanced effects? How could this data be misinterpreted and lead to people thinking it is okay to harbor prejudice? Be able to interpret the graph from lecture (slide 18, 4-12)
Monozygotic twins have higher correlation of prejudice in religious, ethnic and racial groups tested in the study compared to dizygotic twins. Genes play a large role in one's personality and can predispose someone to carry more prejudice. It is essential to interpret this data carefully to understand the nuanced effects of genetics on prejudice. The research indicates that genetic factors may influence an individual's propensity towards prejudice, but they do not determine it entirely. Environmental factors are equally important. The data from these studies could be misinterpreted to suggest that prejudice is entirely genetically determined, which could lead to people thinking that it is okay to harbor prejudice. However, this interpretation is incorrect, as both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of prejudice. Based on correlational research the graph shows that monozygotic twins have higher prejudice towards religious, ethnic and racial groups compared to dizygotic twins.
What is dehumanization? Why does it occur? How does it influence anti-social behavior such as aggression? How does it relate to global events like wars and genocide? Think of examples
Seeing other people as "less human" than they actually are. They have less complex thoughts, less emotions, less feelings etc. This makes us less empathetic or more hostile to them. Ex: WWII, Holocaust
What is Stereotype Threat? How does it contribute to the maintenance of prejudice, discrimination, and internalized oppression?
Stereotype threat is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals belonging to a particular group feel anxiety and pressure about confirming negative stereotypes associated with their group. Stereotype threat contributes to the maintenance of prejudice, discrimination, and internalized oppression by reinforcing negative stereotypes and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. When individuals are made aware of negative stereotypes associated with their group, they may become anxious about confirming those stereotypes, which can negatively impact their performance. study by Steele and Aronson (1995) found that Black students performed worse on a standardized test when they were told that the test was being used to assess their intellectual abilities, which reinforced negative stereotypes about Black people and intelligence.
What is Shooter Bias? Be able to interpret graph from lecture (slide 23, 4-12). How do these findings influence our understanding of police-civilian interactions? How does it relate to implicit bias?
Tendency for people to perceive black individuals as more dangerous than white individuals in an ambiguous scene. Graph showed that Research participants will choose to 'shoot' an unarmed black man and 'not shoot' an armed white man. Participants had an implicit bias towards black individuals as seen by the results.
How does action identification relate to in-group identification and self-esteem and self-concept maintenance?
This can relate to group identification and self-esteem and self-concept maintenance bc when we see someone in our ingroup do something good, we now strongly identify w/ that group even more (versus when they do something bad).
Do we always necessarily choose to derogate out-groups? What processes could result in the derogation of out-groups by default? (think evolutionary example from class)
We tend to think about outgroups as homogenous, even going so far as to dehumanize them. As a result, we tend to: (1) perceive out-group as objects or sub-human entity 2) basic emotions and thoughts (infrahumanization; infra = meaning below), (3) predicts hostile (and otherwise inhibited) behaviors like killings or violence towards children (4) precursor to wars
What is Subtyping? Why does it occur? How does this allow people to maintain hierarchical group structures while acknowledging accomplishments of marginalized peoples? Think of some examples.
When minority/marginalized individuals achieve high status, the individual is perceived as the "exception to the rule". It allows one to maintain prejudices/continue discrimination. Ex: Barack Obama, Oprah
What is "Basking in the Reflected Glory"? Why does it happen?
When the group with who you identify with experiences success, you experience a self-esteem boost and identify with them more strongly even if you have nothing to do with the success = collective success! (ex: your favorite football team winning a game).
What are stereotypes?
attributions of characteristics based on group memberships Beliefs about group member's characteristic - distinct beliefs regarding identities of a group - group members share certain characteristics (physical, mental, behavioral)
What is Intergroup conflict? What are the dynamics of power that are usually involved? What are the potential consequences?
can sometimes reconcile different points of view, belief, and values But - it is often asymmetrical marginalization - one group oppressing the other - it can range from discrete maltreatment to severe oppression and violence
What is Intractable conflict? Why does it occur? Think of some examples.
highly destructible conflict with seemingly no resolution - strong resistance to intervention - even when a formal resolution is reached, hostility continues - stems from perceived incompatibility of interests - also tends to happen with clusters of like-minded people ex: middle east conflict, religious conflicts, current US politics
How does intractable conflict differ from intergroup conflict?
in intergroup you can still reach to a middle ground/compromise but not in intractable.
What is prejudice?
negative attitudes about a group or identity
What is discrimination?
negative behaviors enacted upon a group or identity
what is the difference between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination?
stereotype - characteristics prejudice- attitudes discrimination- behaviors stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people, prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group of people, and discrimination is the unfair treatment of individuals based on their membership in a certain group
Does suppressing prejudice work? Why or why not?
the research says no because trying to suppress these thoughts makes you think about them more
