WEEK 3 - Stereotyping and Prejudice

Question 1

Stereotyping

Answer 1

“The essential cognitive function of stereotyping is to systematise and simplify information from the social environment in order to make sense of the world” (Tajfel, 1981, p.146

) Stereotypes: widely shared, simplified and evaluative beliefs about the personality traits and behaviours of a social group and its members

Question 2

Stereotyping

Answer 2

• One of the most salient characteristics in initial contact with someone is their group membership (e.g., sex, race, age)
• The process of categorisation activates a stereotype-consistent impressions
• Any information which is not consistent with that stereotype may actually have difficulty being assimilated into the impression
• Slow to change
Affected by the social context

Question 3

Stereotyping

Answer 3

Stereotypes extend beyond individual cognition and aspects of prejudice and discrimination.
Additional clear findings from literature are: acquired at an early age as part of social development, slow to change and do so in response to wider social changes, become more pronounced derogatory and entrenched with social tension and intergroup conflict.

Question 4

Why do we use stereotypes?

Answer 4

Confirmation about the attitudes I have about a group
Simplify large amounts of social information using simple strategies
We don’t need all info … only functional info

Question 5

Are stereotypes cognitive misjudgements?

Answer 5

Cognitive misjudgement: This cognitive view of stereotypes suggests the problem lies with the accuracy of stereotypes – i.e., if stereotypes were more accurate, they are potentially useful in impression formation

• However, from a social perspective, others argue that the issue isn’t simply about accuracy of cognition – we need to look beyond cognitive processes to the functions of stereotypes and intergroup relations… (e.g., Tajfel, 1969)

Question 6

Stereotypes as covariation judgements?

Answer 6

Stereotypes clearly play a central role in impression formation. From a cognitive perspective, stereotypes are seen to be based on judgements of covariation - i.e., assumptions/ beliefs about the relationship between membership of a particular category (e.g., ‘working man’) and specific attributes (e.g., unintelligent)

• When someone is categorised as a member of such group, this produces a ‘perception’ in relation to the specific attribute (e.g., working man, therefore unintelligent).

Question 7

How accurate are stereotypes? – in social media?

Answer 7

Carpenter (2016) got participants to judge tweets from anonymous users.
Gender, age, political orientation, education level.
Stereotypes tended to be exaggerated and led to many inaccuracies.
Stereotypes on one feature could affect another – it appears stereotypes are passed to other domains.

Question 8

Meta-contrast effect – big problem!

Answer 8

A consequence of categorisation – exemplars within become more similar and differences between become more pronounced – perceptual asymmetry between categories (look alike but we are diverse)

Question 9

How do we use stereotypes?

Answer 9

Stereotype activation: schemas we already have are accessible to us
Devine 1989 – people have stereotypes which are culturally based and shared. – even if the person doesn’t endorse the stereotype.
Regardless of endorsement people still react in stereotypical ways.

Question 10

Some don’t endorse the stereotype but still use it?

Answer 10

Devine suggested that activation of stereotypes is automatic
Social category associations become active without the perceiver’s intention or awareness when he or she is presented with a category cue.
Greenwald and Banaji proposed that implicit stereotypes are supported on traces of experience that mediate attributions of qualities to members of a social category.

Question 11

Automatic process

Answer 11

Based on 4 processes: awareness, intention, efficient and controllability.
Devine used priming – activation of part of the schema can activate the rest of it e.g. if you hear doctor anything associated with a doctor is more accessible to you e.g. nurse, hospital

Question 12

How do we know stereotypes are there?

Answer 12

The Implicit Association Test (IAT, Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek & Banaji, 2003) measures the speed of association between categories
A test that ask people to associate positive - negative with us - them
The difference in speed can be attributed to implicit stereotypes (it is harder to relate positive traits AND a negatively stereotyped category)

Question 13

Does it work?

Answer 13

depends who you ask
There is evidence of stereotype activation. – not clear how its used or how it predicts behaviour
Some report clear explicit prejudice but score low at IAT for racism

Question 14

Is stereotyping inevitable?

Answer 14

If it is an automatic process, nothing we can do?
Well… Kunda and Spencer (2003) proposed that the use of stereotypes can be controlled (to some extent), based on the motivation we have to use the stereotype, as well as how useful the stereotype is
They distinguish between activation and application of the stereotype
Even if the stereotype is active, I could choose not to use it. It requires motivation and constant monitoring

Question 15

We challenge stereotypes before they occur

Answer 15

Macrae/Moskowitz and colleagues suggest that activation is affected by processing goal – do I need my stereotype to fulfil the task?
General attitudes: those with more positive attitudes are different than non CE
However,….
All proposed that when we control stereotypes they can rebound
Macrae and Colleagues found when requested not to use stereotypes, they activation had stronger effect on subsequent task – subtly

Question 16

Fiske and Neuberg (1990) - Challenging stereotype rebound effect :

Answer 16

suggested that we have a degree of control over the activation we have
It depends on whether we have enough awareness, cognitive resources and motivation. We can use information from the continuum between category-based evaluation to individuated responses

Question 17

Monteith (1993) - Challenging stereotype rebound effect :

Answer 17

suggested that we can regulate our responses to stimuli
Low-prejudice people respond less favourable to stereotypes AFTER they are made aware of their previous stereotype-based responses

Question 18

Kawakami and colleagues (2000) - Challenging stereotype rebound effect :

Answer 18

suggested we can simply say no to stereotypes – we can be train to avoid using stereotypes

Question 19

Definiing prejudice:

Answer 19

• A feeling, favourable or unfavourable, toward a person or thing, prior to or not based on actual experience (Allport, 1954)
• An avertive or hostile attitude toward a person who belongs to a group, simply because he belongs to that group and it is therefore to have the objectionable qualities ascribed to the group (Allport, 1954).
• A derogatory attitude or antipathy towards particular social groups or their members (Hewstone, 2008).

Question 20

Targets of prejudice

Answer 20

a persuasive phenomena, any social group can be turned into a target? – any category can be used for basis e.g. age, sex, physicality, mental health etc.

Question 21

Origins of prejudice

Answer 21

• Personality: Some people are more authoritarian than others (Adorno, 1950)
• Authoritarian personality is the result of the upbringing of the person – psychodynamic theories…
• Authoritarian people prefer strict rules, conventions and order
• Prefer submission to authorities and do not challenge orders, endorse and adherence to values that emanate from authority

Question 22

Limitations

Answer 22

The psychodynamic interpretation is problematic, as there is no evidence No account for differences in upbringing, but similar attitudes

• Pettigrew found similar levels of authoritarianism in different places in South Africa, but different levels of racism
• Realistic conflict theory: Resources are scarce, so we prefer to have them for our group (Sherif, 1957).
• Racial inequalities occur even in places in which resources are abundant

Question 23

Social dominance orientation

Answer 23

Social dominance orientation: Some groups are better than others (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999)
Tendency to accept social hierarchies and to legitimize them
Those at the top deserve to be a the top, those at the bottom… accept it…

Question 24

• Limitations

Answer 24

We are prejudice against groups that are not a threat to our status
Typically, prejudice is aimed at specific groups – not every group
Currently, SDO has several ‘flavours’ as more things were added to the theory

Question 25

Mere categorisation:

Answer 25

The boundaries between groups create ingroup favouritism, (e. g, minimal group paradigm; Rabbie & Horowitz, 1969)
We prefer those in our group, even if we have no idea who they are and who the ‘others’ are
But… How can we have specific targets for prejudice?
Social identity: Groups want positive distinctiveness and high self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1986)
We are prejudice against groups that are not a threat to our status

Question 26

Classic experiment: do we do as we say?

Answer 26

LaPiere (1934) conducted an experiment aimed to investigate the relationship between these components.
He wrote to 250 establishments (hotels, restaurants) asking about whether they would serve Chinese people.
92% replied ‘No’, 1% replied ‘Yes’
He went to these places with a Chinese couple requesting service… Only 1 place refused to serve them.

Question 27

Racial Seregation

Answer 27

• In 1954 the case Brown vs. Board of education, Topeka started changes in segregated schools in the US.
• This case highlighted the disadvantage of segregated groups (usually a minority).
• Racism: Prejudice and discrimination against people based on their ethnicity or race.
• Recent findings (e.g., Dovidio, Brigham, Johnson & Gaertner, 1996), showed that levels of racism declined since the 1930s.
• Words like ‘lazy’, ‘superstitious’ and ‘ignorant’ are not used in the discourse of people in industrialised western nations

Question 28

Other experiments

Answer 28

Gaertner and Dovidio (1977) conducted an experiment showing undetected forms of racism.
A female confederate (white or black) had an accident involving chairs. Participants were white females who either help or not the ‘victim’ in two condition: alone or with someone else in the room

Question 29

New forms of racism:

Answer 29

Aversive racism (Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986), Modern racism (McConahay, 1986), Symbolic racism (Kinder & Sears,1981), Regressive racism (Rogers & Prentice-Dunn, 1981). Ambivalent racism (Hass et al., 1991).

• Although slightly different, these theories proposed that there is a conflict between deep-seated emotional antipathy towards racial groups and modern egalitarian values that pressure people not to express racism.
• The result is that people deny the existence of racism, prejudice and discrimination, opposing

Question 30

Cross-categorisation:

Answer 30

Two or more social categories can cross one another. There will be a between category differentiation but simultaneously a within category assimilation, cancelling each other

Question 31

The contact hypothesis

Answer 31

• Members of different groups who interact with each other will have better relationships (Allport, 1954).
• The contact must be prolonged rather than casual contact.
  The contact should involve cooperation.
  There must e a framework of institutional support for integration. There should be equal status between the people involved.
• These findings have been extended to other applications, e.g., the extended contact hypothesis:
• If someone close to me have positive interactions with members of other group, I will have more positive attitudes towards the members of the other group.