1. Stereotyping Flashcards
(24 cards)
Threefold definition of bias
Cognitions (thoughts), Affect (Emotions), Behaviour (Actions)
Stereotyping within bias triangle
Stereotypes (thoughts) - prejudice (emotions) - discrimination (actions)
What are stereotypes
- cognitive constructs that categorise people into groups
- form of associative learning
- homogenising process in both the people being stereotyped and those stereotyping
Are stereotypes problematic
- not inherently -> problem arises when stereotype taken as ground truth without acknowledging individual variability
schemas + stereotypes
- mental constructs containing trait information, informed by culture and make prediction efficient.
- heuristic
- activated by situational context
- once crystallised, social decisions dependent on social cognition system not DM system
can we control them
- no, stereotypic information consumed is not a choice
BUT
endorsement of it is active
Cognitive Miser Archetype
- people are cognitively lazy so will rely on heuristics (mental shortcuts) whenever they are available
Anderson et al. (1990) = efficiency of stereotypes
- Stereotype vs trait words, Ps took longer on traits therefore concluded stereotypes are more efficient
LIMITATIONS:
- all traits were adjectives, all stereotypes nouns –> language diff?
- no control of valence
-Robinson + Harris replication
Robinson & Harris (2024) = efficiency of stereotypes replication
CHANGES:
- nouns and adjectives equal, valence balanced
FOUND:
- opposite of Anderson
- Ps were quicker with traits aswell as higher accuracy when traits were adjectives
Impression formation models
- stereotype activation inevitable
- stereotype activation-> trait inference
- cognitive resources (motivation + information) lead to individuated impressions from initial categorisations
Multiple Probable Attributions
- cultural narratives determines stereotype activation or trait inferences
problem with social categorisation
- stereotypes rely on societal importance of social groups for governing behaviour, rather than personality traits or character
Cognitive mechanisms applied to how categories are formed (5)
- Rule Based Categorisation
- Information Integration
- Prototype Distortion
- Bookkeeping Model
- Conversion model
Rule Based Categorisation
- Rule a person must meet to belong to a category or not
- Based on perceptual features- - Relevant rules must change for membership:
- for race: ancestral history vs skin colour-
- for gender and sexual orientation: self-identity vs sexualised body parts
Problems with Rule based categorisation
reliance on perceptual features may not be as efficient today as it was 300 yrs ago based on new, relevant social categories emerging
Information Integration
- Learning and inference process based on statistical integration
- Based on cultural narratives around groups and associations in society
- Relevant for natural stereotype formation and change -> cultures aren’t static therefore, stereotypes should change because so too will frequency of exposure
- Tool to create new associations
Implications of info integration
- way out of negative stereotypes
- e.g. social media consumption determines how you see world
Prototype Distortion
- Association with category exemplars
- Involves distortions around a prototype that emerges naturally over time => sufficient counter-stereotypic information changes exemplar
- Explain sub-typing phenomenon - preserve the social category but create a new category to fit the distortion
- May present sub-typing path to reduction of stereotyping
- E.g. African-Americans or Indian-American (recent immigrants from the continent or sub-continent) versus Descents of Enslaved Peoples or First Peoples.
PROBLEMS;
?how low can we go?
is there a limit to sub-typing before it becomes individuals. Homogenising people into categories loses relevance?
Bookkeeping Model
- adding disconfirming information
- gradual change over time since each new instance of info causes minor change that is compounded
- feature frequency model
Conversion Model
related to bookkeeping (extremes vs individual instances)
- extreme outliers have strong impact on perception of a group
- all or nothing
Subtyping Model
- stereotypes are hierarchical structures
- Distinctions with the stereotyped group in response to disconfirming information
-May insulate the superordinate stereotype from change
problems of binary
- Human categories are often mutually exclusive (strong non-binary argument)
- Most salient social category assigned first
- Context determines salience of a feature
familiarity of behaviour
- each behaviour is already familiar, and can be used as a categorisation schema
- how much variety do we see between people: thus, interaction with many people in many situations pushes away from stereotype e.g. contact hyp.
Travers et al. (2020): master categories particularly vulnerable to change
- Experiment Design: Participants judged the lightness or darkness of computer-generated faces with manipulated luminance, providing confidence ratings.
- Findings: Luminance alone didn’t drive responses; facial morphology influenced perceptions, with lighter-skinned individuals with African features judged darker.
- Stereotype Influence: Confidence judgments were based on stereotypical representations, but non-stereotypical responses occurred when morphological differences were minimized.
