Koppelman ch. 2 Understanding Prejudice and Its Causes

Aren't some prejudices positive?

prejudice is always negative

What is racial profiling?

occurs when authorities assume that members of certain racial or ethnic groups are more likely to engage in criminal activity—anything from sell- ing drugs to acts of terrorism. ex: Black people getting pulled over for no reason. Muslims being under extra surveillence at airports

What can schools do to reduce prejudice?

- culturally responsive teaching approach and cooperative learning strategies. -. A recent study found that student attitudes toward different racial or ethnic groups improved after the students collaborated with members in a heterogeneous group on a cultural activity relevant to their experience - When the group project was unrelated to either student's culture, there was no change in attitude, but when students worked together on a project related to Latino culture, the white students ex- pressed more positive attitudes toward Latinos at the conclusion of the project. -

What other forms of discrimination are a consequence of prejudice?

1. Verbal abuse, physical assaults, extreme violence, limited interactions, engage or condone discrimination.

How are prejudices perpetuated?

1. When members of one group believe that individuals from another group are becoming more successful than they are, they may become hostile toward entire group 2. Resentment stemming from economic competition for good jobs with high salaries and status fosters prejudice. A major factor in the perpetuation of prejudice is the tendency to rationalize prejudices and the negative behaviors prejudices promote.

What are the major causes promoting the development of prejudice?

1. personal frustration 2. uncertainty about a person based on lack of knowledge or experience with the group to which the person belongs 3. threat to ones self esteem 4. competition among individuals in our society to achieve their goals in relation to status, wealth, and power.

black/white syndrome

A pattern in the English language consisting of negative meanings for phrases including the word black and positive meanings for phrases including the word white

Avoidance rationalization

A response to a social problem—such as injustice toward a minority group—that acknowledges the existence of a problem but avoids confronting the problem by offering partial or false solutions or by using arguments that do not address the situation. Ways to avoid confronting issues include offering a solution that: (1) addresses only part of a problem or 2) is a false solution that does not address the problem at all. ex: Imagine a group of people discussing efforts that could be made to increase social justice in our society. Suddenly someone says, "You're being too idealistic. We are never going to solve this problem because we're never going to have a utopia.

How widespread is prejudice?

Although this book focuses on attitudes in the United States, prejudices are not limited to one country or one race. People living in nations around the world possess negative attitudes toward others within their own borders or close to them. Today, nations around the world are being forced to confront historic prejudices because of economic globalization and population migrations that have created major demographic changes. Some responses to immigration have revealed the persistence of historic prejudices. In recent years, some European nations such as Britain, France, Austria, and Switzerland have passed laws limiting immigration. Yet migrants continue to leave their homes for economic reasons or to escape violence and persecution of their group, and demographers predict that diversity is going to increase significantly in the populations of most nations around the world.

What do stereotypes have to do with uncertainty, and how do they cause prejudice?

Because of our lack of accurate information, we may believe in stereotypes as a way to convince ourselves that we know about certain groups. becoming more knowledgable about others helps people get over Selective perception.

Is prejudice the main cause of discrimination in society?

For years scholars believed that discrimination was caused by prejudice; therefore, the way to reduce discrimination was to reduce prejudice. Efforts were made in schools and through popular culture vehicles to address and reduce prejudice with what ap- pear to be positive results. HOWEVER, discrimination statistically didn't improve. That's because a lot of prejudice in unintentional.

the institutionalized discrimination theory

Institutional policies and practices that have differential and negative effects on subordinate groups in a society

How does gender prejudice in our language promote sexist attitudes?

Man has traditionally been used in words or phrases where the referent could be female (even though there are neutral nouns such as human and people).

How can prejudice be reduced?

Prejudice can be reduced by providing accurate information, by promoting formal and informal learning, and by establishing equitable workplace policies and practices. Prejudices can also be unlearned by friends challenging one another's negative attitudes.

What are examples of misconceptions about prejudice?

Some dictionaries define prejudice as the process of forming opinions without looking at relevant facts.. yet people with prejudices may examine relevant facts and simply interpret them to confirm their prejudices. Other definitions describe prejudice as being irrational, implying that those we acknowledge as rational could not possibly be prejudiced. yet rational people were prejudiced

personal denial

The most subtle denial rationalization :A man who denies he has gender prejudices does not appear to be denying the existence of widespread prejudice against women— but the statement actually does imply a more sweeping denial.

zero-sum

a highly competitive orientation toward power based on the assumption that the personal gains of one individual mean a loss for someone else; therefore, to share power is regarded as having less power.

Denial rationalizations

a person refuses to recognize that there are problems in our society resulting from prejudices and discrimination.

How is discrimination explained by the institutionalized discrimination theory?

a realistic basis for understanding the value of the institutionalized discrimination theory: The actions of the male department heads were not based on a prejudice against women; rather, the men were doing their job in accordance with historic practices that benefited their departments. Solution: The women understood that the solution was not to berate the men but rather to devise a strategy to offset advantages already established for male department heads. Discriminatory actions can still be a direct result of prejudice on the part of people making decisions, but causes for discrimination are more likely to stem from reasons far more subtle and complex.

How are prejudices reflected in American media?

advertisements are full of cultural stereotypes, but we don't recognize them because these images are so familiar that they seem not to be stereotypes at all, but rather to portray reality. ex:women as sex objects, Mexican americans as gardeners.

The frustration-aggression hypothesis

as frustration builds, it leads to aggressive action. Frustration causes tension to increase until a person chooses to act on the frustration to alleviate the tension.

Elitism

belief that the most able people succeed in society and form a natural aristocracy, whereas the least able enjoy the least success because they are flawed in some way or lack the necessary qualities to be successful.

scapegoat

blaming a person or group for problems they did not cause. ex: It is common for men arrested for domestic abuse to explain their behavior by saying, "She made me do it," or "She kept nagging and wouldn't shut up." This not only depicts the man as a victim (the suffering husband) but also reinforces the stereotype of nagging wives, providing the husband with an excuse for assaulting the woman he once claimed to love.

3 forms of rationilization

denial, victim blaming, avoidance

natural argument

denies gender discrimination, claiming that it is natural for women to do some things better than men, and for men to do some things better than women.

What sexist terms for men could be considered derisive?

derisive terms for men often accuse a man of being feminine. No little boy wants to be called a sissy;

What examples of prejudice exist in our language?

ex: Some people tell sexist, racist, and ethnic jokes that clearly reveal their prejudices. When others complain that these jokes aren't funny, they are likely to be told they don't have a sense of humor: "It was a joke!" Just a joke. ex: shade of gray, as in the expression, "Where there's a will there's a way." At first glance, this expression seems nothing more than an attempt to encourage children and youth to try hard, but it has another meaning: If all that it takes to be successful is to have the will to succeed, then those people who are not successful are at fault for their failure because they just didn't "try" hard enough. This belief leads to blaming the victim, providing an ethical escape for middle-class people.

Prejudice

is a stronger feeling, but it is always negative, and it always refers to a group of people. Prejudice predisposes us to behave negatively toward certain people because of a group to which they belong. later turns into bigotry.

How does the interest theory explain discrimination?

is not concerned with prejudice (what U.S. courts have called "evil intent") but is based on the assumption that much discrimination today is unintentional.

reverse discrimination

most common type of denial rationalization argument claiming that women and minorities receive the best jobs because of affirmative action programs.

How does threat to self-esteem cause prejudice?

people are encouraged to develop self-esteem by comparing themselves with others. We do so by grades in school, music contests, debates in speech, and athletic competitions. If we believe in the innate superiority of our group compared to other groups, then we believe we are better than anyone who is a member of the inferior group. If members of an inferior group become successful, their achievements threaten those whose self-esteem was based on feelings of group Fearing that an "inferior" person might receive rewards the "superior" individual desires is related to the fourth primary cause of prejudice: competition for status, wealth, and power.

stereotype threat

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

How does competition for status, wealth, and power cause prejudice?

we can argue how important it is, in schools and at work sites, to promote collaborative efforts among students or workers from diverse groups so that they not only complete necessary tasks but also build better relationships. This may be one of the most effective ways to reduce both prejudice and the kinds of discriminatory practices that stem from prejudice such as racial profiling.

victim-blaming rationalizations

which individuals reject the idea that prejudice and discrimination are problems in society, even while they admit that problems exist. The problems they identify, however, are typically deficiencies or flaws in members of minority groups. Victim blamers focus on the group being harmed by societal prejudices and insist that the group is the problem, not the society.

White Flight

working and middle-class white people move away from racial-minority suburbs or inner-city neighborhoods to white suburbs and exurbs