Chapter 13 - Prejudice

Prejudice

A hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinguishable group, based solely on their membership in that group. Prejudice is an attitude and therefore has these 3 main components (1) affective (2) cognitive (3) behavioral.

Gender Stereotypes

Common gender stereotypes exaggerate differenecs and oversimplify, and then turn into problematic prejudices and sexism.

Explicit Prejudice

Conscious, out spoken prejudice that people will admit to.

Modern Racism

Outwardly acting unprejudiced while inwardly maintaining prejudiced attitudes.

Institutionalized Racism

Racist attitudes that are held by the vast majority of people living in a society where stereotypes and discrimination are the norm

Institutionalized Sexism

Sexist attitudes that are held by the vast majority of people living in a society where stereotypes and discrimination are the norm.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

The case wherein people have an expectation about what another person is like, which incluences how they act toward that person, which causes that person so behave consistently with people's original expectations, making the expectations come true.

Realistic Conflict Theory

The idea that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination. We see this in immigration in the US over time, first with the Chinese and then with Mexicans, prejudices ebb and flow with economic situations. This phenomenon can be seen recreated in studies with two groups of campers.

Mutual Interdependence

The situation that exists when two or more groups need to depend on one another to accomplish a goal that is important to each of them

Implicit Prejudice

Unconscious, unspoken prejudice that is automatic and unintentional and therefore keep prejudices alive below the surface.

Social Categorization As A Cause of Prejudice

(1) In Group Bias: positive feelings and special treatment that we reserve for people that are a part of our in group, and negative feelings for those that arent a part of our group. This in turn increases our own self esteem since we feel good about being part of something we hold in high esteem. (2) Out Group Homogeneity: The perception that individuals in the out-group are more similiar to each other than they really are, as well as more similiar then members of the ingroup are. If you know a thing about one person in the outgroup, you tend to think you know something about all of them.

Conditions In Which ContacT Reduces Prejudice

(1) Mutual interdependence (2) Having a common goal (3) Equal status (4) friendly, informal setting that allows for one on one interaction (5) individuals need to learn that the out group member they are getting to know are typical of their group, and not exceptions, which requires meeting multiple members (6) when social norms that promote and support equality among groups are present in the situation

Activation of Implicit Prejudices

(1) Ps were shown pics of men in normal situations that were either black or white and holding either neutral objects or guns. they had to then decide when to shoot. found that ps were most trigger happy with black individuals. (2) Ps were allowed to shock learners who they were told were either black or white. in the start black learners were given less shock, since people were trying to look unprejudiced. but when told the learner was insulting them, ps shocked black learners way more then white learners. BASICALLY you can suppress prejudice in normal conditions but not in conditions when you are angry or frustrated.

Implicit Association Test (IAT) and Other Ways to Measure Implicit Bias

(1) asking for views on paper and pencil VS a lie detector pipeline, you think the pipeline will pick up on lies and so you are more honest and therefore this shows that people do have prejudices they are unwilling to admit when they think they can't get away with fudging their beliefs. (2) measures the speed of people's positive and negative associations to a target group. You are more likely to respond quickly if you associate the words with the face you have just been shown. For example, whites that respond more quickly to black faces when associated with negative words. Some people assert that the test is an accurate predictor of behavior in real life situations, others have found it to be bogus because emotional evaluations of the target aren't being measured, but saliece of the word associated with it is. (3) Observing actions in stressful, angry, or other situations where people are not in full control of their conscious intentions.

Jigsaw Classroom

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. This method has best resulted in true integration and a decrease in prejudice and stereotyping. It works by ending "oneness" and encouraging helping, which in turn makes people think they like each other more. Empathy grows and reliance on stereotypes decreases.

Stereotype (Cognitive Component of Prejudice)

A generalization about a group of people, in which certain traits are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members. Stereotyping is a cognitive shortcut to maximize cognitive time and energy by categorizing and grouping things instead of always haveing unique and differentiated attitudes. This can produce positive and negative stereotypes. We notice and remember the things that confirm our stereotypes far more then onces that contradict them, which are seen as exceptions.

Social Distance

A person's reluctance to get "too close" to another group. This can mean not wanting to sit next to someone who is a part of a group you are implicitly prejudiced against, or more seriously not wanting them to live near you or marry into your family.

Hostile Sexism

Based on negative stereotypes about women, assumes they are less competent then men. Assumes that women are the weaker sex, emphasizes bad female qualities that result in them being treated worse.

Benevolent Sexism

Based on positive stereotypes about women, that while "better" then the stereotypes held in hostile sexism, are still an issue because they patronize women. Still provides the assumption that women are the weaker sex, just emphasizes good qualities that result in them being treated as less.

Issues With Positive Stereotypes

For example, african americans are good ate sports and asians are intelligent. they are also probelamtic bc it sets up an expectation for these individuals in ways that they might not necessarily be interested in conforming to. generalizing all asians as the same or being shocked when an african american is bad at basketball denies them their individuality.

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. Much of this still exists in regards to the treatment of gay individuals, both in employment discrimination and in marriage rights.

Emotions (The Affective Component of Prejudice)

Prejudices are hard to change, even when you're being logical bc alot of their is considerable emotional investment, and not necessarily a logic based argument. They don't want to be troubled with facts bc their mind is made up already. You know logically know a prejudice is wrong, but stick to it emotionally anyway.

Stereotype Threat

The apprehension experienced by members of a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype, which then in turn has an impact on their behavior.

Scapegoating

The tendency for individuals, when frustrated or unhappy, to displace aggression onto groups that are disliked, visible, and relatively powerless. The way in which aggression is expressed differs depending on what the in-group in question approves of.

Blaming the Victim

The tendency to blame individuals (make dispositional attributions) for their victimization, typically motivated by a desire to see the world as a fair place. You are more likley to do this if you believe in the Just World theory. Victim blaming also makes us feel less scared that said thing would happen to us, since we try to believe that it was something in the person that caused it, not just a random turn of events.

Normative Conformity

The tendency to go along with the group in order to fulfill the group's expectations and gain acceptance, even if this means acting in prejudiced ways when youre not, and vice versa.

Ultimate Attribution Error

The tendency to make dispositional attributions about an entire group of people. For example, jews are stereotypically bankers, and its gotten to the point where its just said to result from assumed qualities in the entire group, but really it resulted from situational restrictions that prevented them from doing otherwise-- but bc thats how bias works nobody considers that. If something fits a stereotype we tend to neglect the situational qualities that resulted in this, and instead attribute it all to character or disposition.

Illusory Correlation

The tendency to see relationships, or correlations, between events that are actually unrelated. Usually happens for things that are distinctive and conspicuous, such as in the case of individuals that are the racial minority or women that are in fields that they aren't usually pictured in. EXAMPLE: You are prejudiced against muslims bc you hear about acts of terrorism abroad, therefore youll be more aware of muslims being violent and ignore all the peaceful ones, and all the violent people of other religions.

The Contact Hypothesis

This hypothesis states that having close contact with a group you might otherwise be prejudiced against can help decrease prejudice. This can be beneficial for the majority, whites, bc they are less prejudiced. It can also be good for the minority bc this can increase ethnic victimization and make them feel like they have less in common with other ethnic groups. But this positive impact is only true when certain conditions are met.

Discrimination (The Behavioral Component)

Unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group solely because of his or her membership in that group, can be official or more subtle. Blatant discrimination is illegal but it appears in other ways, such as disproportionate drug arrests of african americans bc racism causes authorities to view the drug problem as being more caused by blacks, and other microaggressions. For example in a hiring study Ps either implied homo or heterosexuality. while no formal discrimination was detected again the homosexual condition, it was evident in interpersonal interactions.

The Justification-Suppression Model of Prejudice

When you are the group in power you need to make yourself feel like that group you are oppressing is inferior and therefore deserves that treatment. "Justification undoes suppression, it provides cover, and it protects a sense of egalitarianism and a non-prejudiced self-image."