10. Prejudice II Flashcards
(20 cards)
What are the theories of prejudice?
- Realistic Group Conflict Theory (Sherif, 1966)
- Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)
What is Realistic Group Conflict Theory (RGCT) (Sherif, 1966)?
Prejudice results from conflict of interests
- Conflict of interests -> leads to competition and hostility
- Harmony of interests -> leads to cooperation and friendliness
RGCT Evidence
(Sherif, 1966)
Harmony of interests of the ingroup promotes friendship
- Boys met each other
- Friendships emerged
- Groups were assigned & friends put in outgroups
- Friendships changed, so most friends were in the ingroup
When does intergroup cooperation not work?
(Worchel et al., 1977)
- Groups work on seperate tasks; they have to cooperate, compete, and work independently
- When they are brought together to work on 2 more tasks, 50% of the time they fail
- If they liked the outgroup members they were more likely to succeed
- If they failed, they liked each other even less than before
RGCT Criticisms
- Behaviour is not just motivated by logic & conflict of interests; sometimes behaviour is illogical (based on identity)
- Overlooks power dynamics
What is Social Identity Theory (SIT)
(Tajfel & Turner, 1979)?
Prejudice results from differing social identities
- How people see each other as enemies WITHOUT logical reasons (conflict of interests)
Original Evidence: Social identity theory
Minimal Groups study (Tajfel et al., 1971)
- People assigned to 1 of 2 groups based on arbitrary choice (which painting do you like?)
- This formed their ‘social identity’
- They never met ingroup members
- Yet they either assigned more money to ingroup members, or assigned less to outgroup members at the expense of ingroup members
According to social identity theory, why do people act collectively?
- Social categories are a basis for identity (∴ how much we value ourselves)
- People strive to achieve/maintain a positive social identity
How can we achieve a positive social identity (‘positive distinctiveness’)?
‘Positive distinctiveness’:
- Highlighting how ingroup is superior to outgroup
- Discriminating against outgroup to maintain ingroup superiorirty
Why does ingroup favouritism occur?
‘Positive distinctiveness’ is motivating
Further Evidence: SIT
- Immigrants are defined as such based on national group membership
- National identity should inform how people feel about immigrants
- However, some countries have strong anti-racism norms (Portugal), resulting in national identity NOT correlating with anti-immigrant prejudice (Vala et al., 2008)
- National identity is particularly associated with prejudice among those who believe nationality is not changeable
Intergroup Threat Theory (Stephan & Stephan, 2000)
Group conflict can arise when people believe that outgroups are a threat
Realistic threats
- Over resources
- This occurs regardless of the outgroup’s success over acquiring said resources
- E.g. if immigrants are employed, they are ‘stealing jobs’; if unemployed, they are a burden on the economy (resource = jobs)
Symbolic threats
- Over ideas: cultural values, religion, beliefs, ideology, philosophy, morality
Evidence: Intergroup Threat Theory
- (Riek et al., 2006): realistic and symbolic threats are associated with negative outgroup attitudes
- (Dovidio and Esses, 2001): immigrants can be seen as a threat regardless of their success in the host country
Intergroup Threat Theory: who makes the threats?
Threats do not have to be real, just perceived as real
- Politicians use immigrants as scapegoats (threat to jobs, women, way of life)
How do we reduce prejudice?
Intergroup Contact (Allport, 1954)
How does Intergroup Contact (Allport, 1954) work?
- Groups coming into contact with each other will reduce prejudice
- Can cause increase in prejudice
- Requires 4 conditions to be met to prevent this
Intergroup Contact (Allport, 1954)
What are the four conditions of Intergroup Contact (Allport, 1954)?
Participants must:
- be of equal status
- be pursuing common goals cooperatively
- be backed by social and institiutional support
- have acquantaince potential
Evidence: Intergroup Contact
Meta-analysis (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006)
- Contact reduced prejudice
- Four conditions not always necessary, but facilitating
- Stronger effects for dominant groups (lessening their prejudice against the subordinate)
Paluck et al (2019)
- Stronger reduction in ableism than racism
What is the asymmetry hypothesis?
Negative group contact has a greater impact than positive (Kotzur & Wagner, 2021; Tropp et al., 2018)
- decrease in perceptions of injustice
- reduced willingness to engage in collective action
(A minority of studies find the opposite effect)
Are there other options for reducing prejudice?
Yes! Diversity training, peer-influence, cognitive and emotional training, entertainment/media (e.g., Paluck, 2009)
