Prejudice - Class Notes

Question 1

What is prejudice?

Answer 1

An unjustifiable, negative attitude toward someone based solely on their membership in a group.

Question 2

What are the two types of groups that people can be in?

Answer 2

Ascribed and chosen.

Question 3

What are ascribed groups?

Answer 3

Groups we are born into or that we do not choose.

Question 4

What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?

Answer 4

Prejudice refers to a negative attitude or evaluation, discrimination refers to negative behaviours toward a group or its members.

Question 5

What are stereotypes?

Answer 5

Overgeneralized, inaccurate beliefs about a group and/or its members.

Question 6

How can good stereotypes have negative effects?

Answer 6

It places people in a box, and can prevent one from achieving in a wide variety of other careers because they are seen as only good at one thing.

Question 7

How do stereotypes relate to discrimination?

Answer 7

Discrimination can be based on stereotypes, but having stereotypes doesn’t always lead to discrimination, nor does discrimination require stereotypes.

Question 8

What are 3 reasons why stereotypes are not always true?

Answer 8

Stereotypes are often based on one’s own limited experience, they are often based on isolated publicized events, and generalizations are by definition not always true.

Question 9

What does survey research indicate about prejudice?

Answer 9

Overt prejudice towards out-groups has been declining since the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 10

Is prejudice disappearing?

Answer 10

No, subtle measures indicate that prejudice is still around, even for those who claim to not be prejudiced.

Question 11

In the experiment where MIT researchers sent out job applications with black and white names, what were the percentages of responses?

Answer 11

10% response rate for white names, 6% response rate for black names.

Question 12

In Ayers’ experiment, where he sent out white and black men and women to negotiate a car deal, what order were the final prices in?

Answer 12

White males got the lowest price, followed by white females, then black males, then black females who had the highest price.

Question 13

How does a polygraph affect people’s admission to prejudice?

Answer 13

They admit to racist/prejudiced attitudes more often when hooked up to a polygraph.

Question 14

How is automatic prejudice assessed?

Answer 14

Word associations or timing people’s recognition. E.g., people shoot more bystanders in video games if they are dark skinned, white participants are more likely to see hostile/negative emotions in neutral black faces compared to white faces.

Question 15

What are 5 reasons for prejudice?

Answer 15

Historical roots, realistic group conflict theory, social learning theory, terror management, and social identity theory.

Question 16

What is realistic group conflict theory?

Answer 16

The theory that prejudice arises from competition between groups for scarce resources.

Question 17

What is the explanation behind realistic group conflict theory?

Answer 17

Once there is an unequal distribution of resources among groups, those who are most well endowed with resources must justify why they deserve more, and those less well endowed must justify their lower position.

Question 18

What is the cognitive basis of prejudice?

Answer 18

We are all cognitive misers; prejudice and stereotypes are like heuristics, they help us make sense of a complex social world by categorizing people.

Question 19

What is the out-group homogeneity effect?

Answer 19

Thinking that everyone who belongs to a certain race looks alike. Seeing in-group members as coming in all shapes and sizes, but out-group members are similar.

Question 20

What is the terror management perspective on the motivation behind maintaining stereotypes?

Answer 20

It is existentially comforting to feel as though one has a clear understanding of the world. Once stereotypes are formed, we are motivated to maintain them because of their comfort.

Question 21

How is stereotyping thought to increase prediction and control?

Answer 21

“Knowing” how someone will act is thought to be indicative of their future behaviour. E.g., hiring an Asian because they should be good at math.

Question 22

What are 2 ways in which prejudices and stereotypes may affect victims?

Answer 22

Self-fulfilling prophecies and stereotype threats.

Question 23

What is stereotype threat?

Answer 23

A disruptive concern, when facing a negative stereotype, that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

Question 24

What is the terror management explanation for prejudice?

Answer 24

Out-groups with other world-view threaten our world-view, and we must validate our beliefs of reality in order to stave off fear of death.

Question 25

What is the social identity theory for prejudice?

Answer 25

We all need self-esteem, and we want to see our group as more favourable.

Question 26

What are 4 ways in which we can reduce prejudice?

Answer 26

Education, increasing contact between groups, creating a cooperative reward structure, and changing our perspective.

Question 27

What is the contact hypothesis?

Answer 27

Operates on the assumption that if we increase contact between groups, we will see that other groups are just like us and that stereotypes are not true.