Psych Exam 4
What is "passing" and what does it tell us about the effect of identity contingencies?
"Passing," as it is discussed in the book, is when a member of a racial minority group's appearance can "pass" for that of another racial group of a higher status (ex. Black author who passed as white and took on a new identity as a white man in New York.) Passing tells us that for some, the identity contingencies that their race carries can be so hard to deal with on a daily basis that they create a new identity for themselves where those identity contingencies no longer affect them.
Identify four different groups that can experience stereotype threat and briefly describe the situation that elicits the stereotype threat.
-women in math--stereotype that women are inferior in math to men. This threat can be activated when women are put in a situation where they think their math skills will be compared to men's math skills and they risk confirming this stereotype. -whites in sports--stereotype that white people are inferior in athletic ability to black people. This threat can be activated when a white track runner at the Olympics is competing against black track runners, where the risk confirming the stereotype that black are better at athletics. -blacks in school--stereotype that black people are inferior in academics to white people. Can be activated when (high achieving) black students are in a situation where they believe their intellect/academic ability will be compared to white students and they risk confirming this negative stereotype about blacks in school. -elderly people and memory--stereotype that elderly people are forgetful. Can be activated when an elderly person is in a situation where their memory will be tested, and because they don't want to confirm the stereotype that elderly people are forgetful, they get anxious and flustered and end up performing more poorly on the memory task than they would have.
What are the two processes that maintain stereotypes when they should be disconfirmed? Be prepared to describe the Word, Zanna, & Cooper (1974) study about self-fulfilling prophecies based on stereotypes.
1. Subtyping--tendency to view stereotype-inconsistent individuals as "exceptions to the rule." This is particularly likely with radical deviation from the stereotype. It prevents your stereotype schema from needing revision. 2. Self-fulfilling Prophecies--stereotypes provide expectations which can contribute to SFPs. Ex. Word, Zanna, and Cooper (1974)--had Ps act as interviewers for black and white job candidates (all Ps white). Behavior was coded for seating distance, length of interview, and speech errors. Results: Ps sat much farther away from black candidates than white, talked much longer to white candidates, and had more errors in speech when speaking to black candidates.
Identify and briefly describe three strategies Steele identifies to try to combat stereotype threat.
1. explain to students in a stereotyped group that their work is being assess with "high standards" 2. communicate to students in stereotyped groups that academic frustration is a fixable problem rather than an unfixable limitation 3. self-affirmation (allowing students to step back, take a breath, and affirm a larger, valued sense of self)
What is an attitude? What are the three properties of attitudes?
An attitude is a positive, negative, or mixed summary evaluation of some specific object. How much we like or dislike something. Three properties of attitudes: 1. valence--is your overall evaluation positive or negative? 2. extremity--how positive or negative is it? 3. strength--how strong or weak is your attitude?
Why does he argue that anxiety is critical to stereotype threat? Why would people who are feeling anxious not report it?
Anxiety is critical to stereotype threat bc it is the anxiety over confirming a negative stereotype that members of stereotyped groups experience that affects their performance. Steele suggests people who are feeling anxious don't report it because they don't actually know they are anxious (much like the Ps in the rickety bridge study)
What is the theory of planned behavior and what three things are required to create behavioral intentions?
Attitudes will predict deliberate behavior when people have time to form a behavioral intention (a plan to behave in a certain way) 1. Attitude toward a specific behavior 2. Subjective norms--perceptions of other people's attitudes toward behavior. 3. Perceived control--perceptions of ease/difficulty in behaving. These three together create behavioral intentions.
When will attitudes predict spontaneous and deliberative behavior?
Attitudes with predict spontaneous behavior only when they are highly accessible--they come to the mind easily. Attitudes will predict deliberate behavior when people have time to form a behavioral intention (a plan to behave in a certain way)
What are three characteristics of strong attitudes? What are three factors that influence attitude strength?
Characteristics of strong attitudes: 1. resistant to change 2. persistent over time 3. impact information processing and judgements 4. predict behavior Factors that influence attitude strength: 1. knowledge about the object--greater knowledge = stronger attitude 2. how the attitude was initially formed--direct experience= stronger attitude 3. consistency--more consistency between ABCs = stronger attitude
What is "critical mass" and why is it important?
Critical mass refers to the point at which there are enough minorities in a setting, like a school or workplace, that individual minorities no longer feel uncomfortable there because there are minorities. It is important bc once critical mass is reached, these minorities no loner feel an interfering level of identity threat. (ex. O'Connor on the Supreme Court--critical mass was reached once Ginsburg joined and she was no longer the only woman)
How do the three studies from Devine (1989) support the Dissociation Model? Be prepared to describe at least one study in detail.
Dissociation Model: we all have stereotypes, but only some people are prejudiced (endorse stereotypes). Our stereotypes can be automatically applied to targets. If motivated and able, we can control our prejudice. Devine Study 1: Gave white Ps a scale to determine their level of prejudice. Asked Ps to identify stereotypes of blacks. Found that Ps who are both high and low in prejudice have the same knowledge about stereotypes. Study 2: IV: Ps primed with black stereotypes or neutral words. Ps then read an ambiguous paragraph about Donald and rated him (DV). Ps high and low in prejudice rated Donald more negatively after stereotype priming. Demonstrated automatic application. Study 3: Ps were then given an anonymous thought listing task about blacks. Low prejudiced Ps wrote non-prejudiced thoughts. High prejudiced Ps wrote prejudiced thoughts.
How do stereotypes affect interpretation of behaviors and memory processes?
Effect on Behavior: Ambiguous behaviors are interpreted in stereotype-consistent ways (Sagar & Schofield--Black and white kids saw pictures and descriptions of ambiguously aggressive behaviors and all kids rated these behaviors as meaner when performed by a black kid) -Effect on Memory Processes: Encoding: ambiguous behavior is seen as stereotypical (stereotypical info is easier to encode bc of schemas). Retrieval: stereotypical info is remembered together. Organization: info ab individuals can be stored along with a stereotype ("He's a typical Martin man.")
How can ability and motivation affect elaboration? Be prepared to describe Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman (1981) to demonstrate the importance of personal relevance,
Elaboration will be highest when both ability AND motivation are high. Ability is influenced by distraction, fatigue, and attention. Motivation is affected by need for cognition and personal relevance. Petty, Cacioppo, and Goldman (1981): Ps were psych majors at university. Ps gave an initial rating of adding senior comps to the psych major IV1: Personal relevance. Ps told comps would begin next year (high) or in 10 years (low) IV2: argument strength. Weak vs. strong arguments. DV: attitude change Results: When it is of high personal relevance, the strength of the argument makes a significant difference, but when it is of low relevance, the strength of the argument doesn't really affect attitude. (When argument was weak, attitudes for high relevance got worse, while when it was a strong argument the attitudes for high relevance increased. Low relevance attitude remained pretty much the same before and after the argument was given, no matter the strength of the argument)
What are the three things that can increase the success of first encounters?
Factors that increase the success of first encounters: 1. Similarity (we like others that are similar to ourselves) 2. Reciprocity (we like people who like us) 3. Playing Hard-to-Get (utilizes compliance technique of scarcity)
What are the factors that influence how persuasive sources and messages are? What is need for cognition? How do fear appeals work and what is required for them to be effective?
Factors that influence persuasion: 1. Source factors--credibility, likability, and attractiveness 2. Audience factors--need for cognition, reactance, scarcity/being told they can't have it 3. Message factors--# of arguments, fear appeals (persuasive messages that use fear to change attitude. Low & high levels of fear have no effect, but moderate fear is effective for attitude change, as long as there's a realistic solution to the bad outcome)
How can environmental cues cause identity threat? What kinds of cues might be important to activate identity contingencies?
For black students in a classroom, negative stereotypes about blacks' academic ability is constantly relevant and threatening--these cues can then activate the negative identity contingency that black students are inferior academically to white students, which creates identity threat.
What are the four steps of the social exchange theory of satisfaction and commitment? What variables might make us more or less likely to stay committed to our relationships?
Four steps of social exchange theory of satisfaction and commitment: 1. Calculate costs and benefits 2. Compare difference in costs and benefits to a relevant comparison level (our expectations, prior relationships, other relationships we've seen) ~Benefits - costs - comparison level = overall level of satisfaction~ 3. Consider the viable alternatives (more alternatives = less commitment) 4. Consider investment. Ex. kids, money, time, etc. (more investment = more commitment) ~Overall satisfaction + investment - alternatives = commitment~ The higher the commitment, the more stable the relationship will be.
Describe the findings of the Gilbert & Hixon (1991) research that studied stereotype activation and application under cognitive load.
Gilbert and Hixon examined differences b/w activation and application. Devine's study activated the stereotypes for Ps by priming them, but G&H wondered whether people automatically activate stereotypes on their own in the presence of category members. They found that stereotypes are less likely to be activated when Ps are under cognitive load. If they are activated, though, stereotypes are more likely to be applied when Ps are under cognitive load.
Describe the study from this paper about the effect of reappraisal interventions on marital quality. Be sure to describe the results as they relate to all three of the authors' hypotheses.
IV: reappraisal intervention after the first year or none (control) DV: rating of marital quality and conflict related distress Results: marital quality declines for everyone during the first year, but doing the online intervention reduced the decline in the second year for the reappraisal group. There is also less stress from conflicts in the couples of the reappraisal group.
What is an identity contingency? Why are they important? What is an example of an identity contingency that is not from the book?
Identity contingencies are the things you have to deal with in a situation because you have a given social identity (old, young, gay, woman, black, Latino, conservative, liberal, etc). They are important because they affect the stereotypes made about you and, consequently, the stereotype threat you experience in your day-to-day life. Ex not from book: Elderly people are often stereotyped as being forgetful.
Why does the author think that negative identity contingencies are most problematic? Can you think of a reason that positive identity contingencies might also be very problematic?
Negative identity contingencies are most problematic bc they can be distressing and cause anxiety because of stereotype threat, while positive and neutral identity contingencies do not. Positive identity contingencies can also be problematic though bc they are the privilege that we experience as individuals belonging to a certain group, and our own privilege/positive identity contingencies often go unnoticed by us. When we do not acknowledge our privilege, it's hard for us to be empathetic and understand how others that do not have the same privilege struggle in ways that we don't.
What are the long term and chronic effects of stereotype threat? What is John Henryism and how is it connected to stress?
In the long term, stereotype threat can drastically impact overall health through its chronic physiological effects (blood pressure, heart rate, etc). John Henryism is a scale developed by Sherman James to assess the coping mechanisms utilized by low-income marginalized people throughout their lifetimes. Those who score highly in John Henryism are more likely to experience hypertension and other chronic health problems as a result of a lifetime of coping with high-stress circumstances.
Why do learning goals help in interracial interactions?
Learning goals can ease interracial interactions because it takes away the fear of being judged. When everyone views the situation as an opportunity to learn from one another, tensions are eased.
What was your favorite idea in the book and why?
My favorite idea in the book was critical mass. As a woman involved in the largely male-dominated field of filmmaking, I appreciated reading about the idea that adding more women (or other minorities in a given field) to the workplace can help alleviate the anxiety that women in male-dominated fields can experience on the job.
What was your favorite study in the book and why?
My favorite study in the book was the one about high-achieving black students who care about their academic performance and how they are much more susceptible to stereotype threat than low-achieving black students who do not care. I think it's an important study that highlights the difference between low-achieving students who perform poorly simply because they don't care and students who underperform on assessments who actually are trying very hard and care very much.
What is over-efforting? Describe the research that demonstrates this finding?
Over-efforting is the phenomenon that occurs among a negatively stereotyped group (specifically, black students in college) where rather than accepting help or taking an alternate route toward accomplishing their goals, they try to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and persevere on their own even when it is obvious they will not be able to succeed without help. Research done by Treisman at Berkeley on black students--they were trying hard and studying for hours on their own, but they were failing, while whites and Asians studied together (for less time) and succeeded.
What is persuasion? What are the three factors that influence persuasion? Be prepared with an example of each.
Persuasion is an attempt to change someone's attitude through communication. Factors that influence persuasion: 1. source--person delivering the message (Michelle Obama) 2. message--aspect of the persuasive communication (young people should vote in every election) 3. audience--recipient of the message (18-24 y/o Americans)
Describe the set-up and IV of the Rudman & Borgida (1995) study and one of the DVs (note: we discussed four different broad types of DVs in class).
Ps are college aged males. IV: Ps watched advertisements that either portrayed women as sexual objects or advertised the same products w/o women (control) Next, Ps took a lexical decision task, which measures cognitive accessibility. After being shown the ads that show women as sexual objects, sexist words (bimbo, babe, etc) were facilitated and nonsexist female words (sister, nurturer, etc) were inhibited. Then, Ps conducted a practice job interview with a female confederate. DVs: After being primed with the ads that portrayed women as sexual objects: -Ps asked more sexiest and gender-specific questions -Confederates rated Ps as more sexually motivated and as looking at their bodies more Next, Ps took a memory test. Ps primed with women as sexual objects -remembered more about confederate's physical appearance -remembered less biographical detail (her name) -spent less time in evaluation suitability for the job on open-ended recall. Then, Ps made ratings of the female confederate.Ps primed with women as sexual objects -rated confederate as more friendly and attractive -rated confederate as less competent -BUT, were more likely to hire the confederate and compensate them well
Describe what research finds about how stereotype threat affects us physically (i.e., blood pressure, heart rate, brain activity)?
Ps were black and white students. Hooked up to machines that would gauge their physiological reaction to mental tasks. Took a verbal association test that they understood to be a measure of intelligence. IV: stereotype threat group (given no further instructions about test) or no stereotype threat group (told the test was "race-fair") DV: physiological reaction to test Results: both black and white students in race-fair group's blood pressure lowered. White students in stereotype threat group's blood pressure lowered, while black students in that group's bp raised.
Identify and describe the two origins of prejudice we discussed in class.
Realistic Conflict Theory--competition for limited resources and perception that out-group is a threat Social Identity Theory--we want to belong to "good" groups because of impact of groups on our self-esteem. Maintained with in-group love, out-group bias, or both (ex. Hendrix is awesome/UCA sucks)
How can reciprocity and scarcity play into first encounters?
Reciprocity affects first encounters because when someone likes you, you become happy and want to like them, too (even if you didn't initially like them). Scarcity affects first encounters when people play hard to get and make themselves seem scarce--this makes someone with generally positive feelings toward them want them more.
Describe the findings of Spencer et al. (1998) that examined how self-esteem can be affected by the use of stereotypes. And, how does feeling bad about ourselves affect cognitive load?
Spencer et al examined the idea that people who feel bad about themselves are more likely to stereotype others. Ps' self esteem was manipulated by using false-feedback (high and low SE groups). They found that low self-esteem Ps were more likely to activate their stereotypes, even under cognitive load (!!!) When given a chance to apply their stereotypes, low self-esteem Ps felt better about themselves.
What is stereotype threat? Why is it important? What is an example of a situation in which stereotype threat might occur that is not from the book?
Stereotype threat is the fear of what people could think about you solely because of your race, gender, age, etc. It is important because in our attempt to not confirm the stereotypes that could be made about us, we often times end up performing in a way that is consistent with the stereotype. Ex not from book: Elderly person is worried that they will be stereotyped as being forgetful when taking a memory test. In their attempt to not confirm the stereotype, they actually perform worse in the memory test than they would have had the test not been presented as a test of their memory.
Describe one study from the paper about the effect of implicit personality theories on confronting prejudice.
Study 1: Ps tested to determine which implicit personality theory they agree with most (IV). Ps are IMing with "another student" who is really the researcher about college admissions. The "other student" says something prejudiced against affirmative action. The P must choose whether to continue the conversation and ignore the comment or confront their partner's prejudice (DV). Results: those with more of an incremental theory were more likely to confront the prejudice than those with an entity theory.
What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model? What is elaboration? What are central and peripheral route processes? Which process is associated with stronger attitude change?
The Elaboration Likelihood Model was developed by Petty and Cacioppo. It states that persuasion is based on elaboration--the amount of thinking done about the message. Elaboration determines: -what will be persuasive -how long attitude change will last The ELM identified two attitude change processes: 1. Central Route processes--occurs when elaboration is high. Involves focusing on strength of message arguments. Leads to strong attitude change. Ex. coming up with pros and cons, questioning source credibility 2. Peripheral Route Processes--occurs when elaboration is low, involves focusing on heuristics. leads to weak attitude change. ex. agreeing with celebrities, being persuaded bc the source is attractive.
They authors want to test whether stereotype threat is a general phenomenon that could apply to all groups. So, why does that mean they need to impose a stereotype that isn't well ingrained? How do they study this?
The authors needed to prove that the results their studies were finding about stereotype threat weren't just because the groups they studied (women and blacks) had internalized the negative stereotype about their group's ability, and that that internalization gave them a susceptibility to stereotype threat. In order to study this, the authors had to find a way to impose stereotype threat on a group in an area of performance where they weren't negatively stereotyped. They did this by taking strong white male math students and telling them that they would be taking a math test that Asians tend to do better on than whites. These white males have not lived their lives with the stereotype that they are inferior in math, so they could not have internalized the stereotype, but under these conditions they would be placed under stereotype threat as they tried not to confirm the expectations that Asians do better on this math test than whites.
What kind of students are most susceptible to stereotype threat? Why do they seem to be susceptible? (In particular, be prepared to discuss the study conducted with high school students in LA.)
The students who care the most about their grades and performance in school are the ones who are most susceptible to stereotype threat. They seem to be more susceptible than their under-achiever peers because they care about their grades and how they are viewed by teachers and classmates, so their cognitive load is increased and they become more anxious about confirming the negative stereotype. To their classmates who don't care about their performance in school or how they are viewed by others academically, this stereotype threat has very little effect on them.
What are stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination? What is the key difference between them?
They are the ABCs of Stereotyping & Prejudice: A--Affective Component: Prejudice. (Mainly) hostile ~feelings~ toward a group of people based solely on membership in a group. B--Behavioral component: Discrimination. Unwarranted hostile ~behavior~ toward a member of a group which is based on their group membership. C--Cognitive Component: Stereotypes. A ~generalization~ in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group.
What are two of the things we discussed that increase physical attractiveness in a non-obvious way?
Things that increase physical attractiveness: 1. Facial Symmetry 2. Averaged Faces (computer composited faces) 3. The Halo Effect (attributing positive characteristics to attractive people--related to SFPs)
What are the three components of attitudes? Are all three important? Are all three required? Be prepared with an example of an attitude that might be based on each component.
Three components of attitudes (ABCs): Affect--emotional response to the object (ex. Teddy makes me feel happy) Behavior--how you behave toward the object (ex. I give Teddy lots of pets bc he's a very good boy) Cognition--thoughts about the object (ex. When Teddy chews up stuff I think having a puppy isn't worth the trouble) However, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can be inconsistent (a mix of positives and negatives, ex. having pets). Some attitudes are primarily based on one of these more than the others.
How does our desire to not seem prejudiced actually cause avoidance of people who are different?
We fear that if we interact with groups that are different from us, we may say something that could be prejudiced. So instead, we avoid these interactions altogether, which can actually result in making ourselves seem prejudiced (sort of a SFP)--ex. Southwest First Class
Why do we like people who are similar to us? How does this preference for similarity manifest in terms of physical appearance?
We like people who are similar to us because we think they will like us, social validation, and cognitive consistency. Also the matching hypothesis, which states that people tend to date others of similar physical attractiveness
What does the research in Chapter 10 suggest about the role of physical and psychological distance from people who are different from us?
We tend to distance ourselves from those who are different from us because we worry that we could be viewed as prejudice.
When does stereotype threat improve performance? Overall, are the effects of stereotype threat good or bad?
When the stereotype is a positive identity contingency, then the stereotype threat actually improves performance. Ex. Female Asians do better on a math test (relative to control) when their Asian identity is activated. Left to its own devices, I think stereotype threat is bad. However, with the right knowledge and outlook on situations, the effects of stereotype threat can be contained.
What is ambivalent sexism? What are the two types of sexism that are specified in this theory? Is either type of sexism more associated with the use of stereotypes?
ambivalent sexism is the combination of hostile sexism and benevolent sexism. Hostile sexism involves negative feelings towards women (focuses on incompetence part of female stereotype) Benevolent sexism involves positive feelings towards women (focuses on warmth part of female stereotype). Together, they create an ambivalence toward women and either one can promote stereotype.
What is categorization and what does it have to do with stereotype formation?
categorization is the tendency to group similar things together--allows schema formation. It involves looking past individual differences, and focus on similarities--these perceived similarities are stereotypes.
What are incremental and entity theories of personality?
incremental theory--people are able to change & personality traits can change over time based on our experiences. entity theory--people cannot change & personality traits are fixed
What is sexism? Describe briefly two of the three studies that demonstrate how gender influences expectancies and attribution.
sexism is prejudice and discrimination based on a person's gender. Gender expectations cause self-fulfilling prophecies (ex. Eccles--parents' math stereotypes affect female successes in math) Gender affects attributions (ex. Deaux & Emswiller--study of attributions after successes; men are skilled and women are just lucky)
What is the difference between stereotype activation and application? What is cognitive load?
stereotype activation: ACCESSIBILITY of stereotypes. Can be caused by obvious cues, group labels, the presence of a group member, etc. stereotype application: USAGE of stereotypes in influencing judgement or behavior. Stereotypes can be activated without being applied. Cognitive load: a state of mental overload; reduces ability to think.
What is stereotype threat? Describe the Johns, Schmader, and Martens (2005) study about the effect of teaching stereotype threat on women's math performance.
stereotype threat occurs when an individual is threatened by being stereotyped and, as a consequence, acts in accordance with their stereotype. This causes anxiety, and that anxiety affects memory and cognitive load. Johns, Schmander, and Martens (2005): Ps were male and female statistics students. IV: task description. Some were told they were going to complete a problem solving exercise about general cognition, some were told it was a math test to study gender differences, and others were told it was a math test but were given a teaching intervention where stereotype threat was explained to them beforehand. DV: accuracy (# correct/ # attempted). Results: Problem solving activity--women and men did pretty much the same; math test--men did much better; teaching intervention--men and women did pretty much the same
What is the contact hypothesis? What conditions are necessary for intergroup contact to work in reducing prejudice?
the contact hypothesis is based on the idea that prejudice is based on unfamiliarity. Promoting contact between groups will lead to prejudice reduction. Conditions: 1. Supportive authority figures 2. Equal status 3. Mutual interdependence 4. Acquaintance potential (potential for friendships) 5. Superordinate goals (most important)--common goals can create equal status and develop friendships. They can also create a new group, and in-group love processes work against prejudice. Ex. Remember the Titans
What is the mere exposure effect and what conditions are required for increased liking? Describe a study that demonstrated the effect.
the mere exposure effect is that repeated exposure to some stimulus leads to increased liking. This only works if you initially feel positive or neutral, and it works best the less you are aware of exposure happening. ex. Moreland and Beach (1992)--had female confederates go into a class. IV: # of times she went to class (0, 5, 10, or 15). DV: Ps rated the confederate's attractiveness in an unrelated task. Results: the more the Ps had seen the confederate in class (0, 5 10, or 15 times), the more attractive they thought she was.
What is the out-group homogeneity effect and what does it have to do with stereotype formation? What are two reasons for the out-group homogeneity effect?
the out group homogeneity effect is the tendency to perceive more variability among in-groups than out-groups, which encourages our tendency to socially categorize out-groups, which in turn creates stereotypes for those groups. This happens because there are more opportunities to learn about in-groups and it is easier to thing of in-group individuals and their differences.
What is the propinquity effect? Describe a study that demonstrated the effect.
the propinquity (proximity) effect is the tendency to become attracted to people with whom we see and interact regularly ex. Festinger et al (1950)--examined friendship patterns in 17 married student housing buildings at MIT. Couples were randomly assigned. 65% of the couples responded that their best friends lived in the same building (41% lived next door, 22% lived two doors down, etc)
