Week 11 Stereotypes & Prejudice

Question 1

What is stereotyping?

Answer 1

the process of ascribing characteristic of people based on their group memberships

Question 2

What is prejudice?

Answer 2

a usually negative attitude towards members of a group - based solely upon their membership to that group (study of intergroup behaviour)

We can also have positive prejudicial attitudes towards members of our own group, ie. in-group prejudice

Question 3

What is discrimination?

Answer 3

Discrimination = the negative actions towards and individual or members of a group on the basis of group membership

Question 4

What is positive / reverse discrimination?

Answer 4

Discriminating against one’s in-group (usually majority) for members of an out-group (usually minority)

Question 5

What is tokenism?

Answer 5

It involves instances in which individuals or business public perform trivial positive actions for members of groups they believe are prejudiced against, and often leads to an excuse not to do anything more substantial

Question 6

Causes of prejudice - What does LaBon say about group influence?

Answer 6

the madness of crowds from observations of protests, behaviours from crowds was due to a dehumanising process

thus easier and safer to display prejudice

Question 7

Causes of prejudice - What does Zimbardo say about groups via deindividuation?

Answer 7

In large groups people become deindividuated through

1. the anonymity provide in large groups
2. the lowered sense of personal responsibility for their actions

thus easier and safer to display prejudice

Question 8

Causes of prejudice - What did Adorno say about prejudice?

Answer 8

Claimed that the authorisation personality type believed to be caused by parenting practising and upbringing, ie. harsh discipline lead to targeting weaker and more vulnerable groups

Question 9

Causes of prejudice - What did Rokeach say about prejudice could be caused by?

Answer 9

Rokeach in 1960 developed ‘dogmatism’ a cognitive style of thinking that is rigid, intolerant and close minded
Distinguishing prejudice from “normal people” (psychoanalytical foundations)

Question 10

What do categorisation explanations show about why we form prejudicial attitudes?

Answer 10

Allport = Formation rational process of in-group and out-group categorisations
Sheriff = In group behaviour and attitudes are influenced by the interests of one group in relation to the competitive interests of the other group (Israel & Palestine)

Question 11

How do cognitive miser help explain prejudice?

Answer 11

Cognitive misers are a rational process that claim that stereotyping and prejudice stems from our need to grossly simplify information about other

We do this due to the complexity and hugeness of our social world- we cannot afford to know people intimately

Question 12

What does Hamilton say about the rational process of stereotypes?

Answer 12

Stereotypes are producers of generalised and necessary cognitive process that are inadvertently produce error

A correct/accurate perception can only be achieved through individual perception

Question 13

What are the 3 levels in the hierarchical system of self-classifications?

Answer 13

Subordinate/interpersonal level = personal categorisation

Intermediate level of group membership = when you’re a member of some social in-group

Superordinate level of self as a human being = talking about ourselves as human beings

Question 14

What are the 3 ways of obtaining a more positive social identity? Remember even children do this.

Answer 14

[individual, permeable] Social mobility = you leave into a group that is more positive/higher status

[Group, permeable] Social creativity = you measure/distinguish your group based on a particular dimension that puts your group in a more positive light

[Group, impermeable] Social change = after a recognition that your group is actually worse, and you engage in social change, ie. protests, riots to change your group status

Question 15

Out of social mobility, creativity and change, which 2 are when permeable barriers exist? And which one is when you perceive the barriers to be impermeable?

Answer 15

Permeable = social mobility & creativity

Impermeable = social change

Question 16

What is the Contact hypothesis in reducing group prejudice and what are the 3 things needed for it?

Answer 16

A. the theory that direct contact facilitates that breakdown of prejudicial attitudes

1. Has to be equal status
2. Has to have positive contact
3. Groups have to be cooperative over conflictual goals!

Question 17

Is the contact hypothesis supported?

Answer 17

No -
1. In shierriff studies - contact increase prejudice/violence

2. Prejudicial people who have contact with another group often think that this individual is an exception to their group, it doesn’t change their overall negative perception of that group

Question 18

What is the re-categorisation attempt to reduce group prejudice?

Answer 18

redefining the boundary between us and them, by working with the “Other” to complete a bigger goal

This works only because the groups are still maintained by just redefined

Question 19

Why doesn’t the re-categorisation attempt work in real life?

Answer 19

This only works in Sherriffs groups, in real life other political, sociohistorical and economic factors override the psychological attempts to re-categorise group memberships

Question 20

The ethnic preference technique measure in-group biases and out group rejection through picture selection of dolls, what are the general findings? (3)

Answer 20

1. Children from racially dominant group will more accurately identify with the ethnic membership compared to children from minority group
2. Show in-group bias for ethnic pick
3. This peaks at 5-7 years of age

Question 21

What are the criticisms of the ethnic preference technique?

Answer 21

1. It’s a forced choice measure …
2. Does it actually measure prejudice or just distinguishing race?
3. Does preference for one always accurately imply rejection for the other?

Question 22

How does the trait attribution technique produce similar results to the ethnic preference technique and why?

Answer 22

The dominant racially children also show in group positively and out group rejection peaking at 3-6 years of age

Question 23

What does the sociocognitive approach say about the development of prejudice?
(Aboud, 1988)

Answer 23

1. That prejudice is an affective perceptual process
2. Children show prejudice due to a fear of the unknown and an attachment to the familiar, largely determined by physical attributes like skin colour
3. As cognitive processes take over, older children have a better understanding of individual personality traits over group physical traits

Question 24

What are three criticisms of the sociocognitive approach?

Answer 24

2. People are still prejudicial as they get older
3. Does not consider the social context
4. Cannot explain non-visual prejudices like religion or autism

Question 25

What is the social identity approach to development of prejudice?

Answer 25

1. People are motivated to see ingroup as positively distinct from outgroup
2. People take on the norms of a particular group and identify with the beliefs of their group - which also includes prejudicial beliefs

Question 26

What are the 3 ways that social identity approach help explain?

Answer 26

1. How prejudice can change and decrease over time, how individual prejudices may change to align with the wider changes of the group
2. Accounts for how parents and children prejudicial attitudes are often different due to cultural-generational changes
3. Explains how children have non-visual prejudices, because it is taught as part of their social identity

Question 27

What is the most likely explanation for why prejudice occurs?

Answer 27

It seems to be most influenced by the surrounding social context and the social group membership

Question 28

What are the implications for a SIT explanation of prejudice?

Answer 28

One might never overcome prejudice (due to belonging to their social group)

OR

One might never acquire ethnic prejudice if one never chooses to identify with their social group that holds prejudicial attitudes

Question 29

In minimal groups, what are the 2 ways that prejudice & discrimination occurs according to SIT theory?

Answer 29

1. When group boundaries are impermeable
2. When status relations are perceived to be unstable (as a way for group members to maintain positive distinctiveness)