Chapter 11 Stereotyping Prejudice and Discrimination Social Psychology

Chapter 11: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination Social Psychology by Tom Giliovich, Dacher Keltner, and Richard Nisbett

Characterizing Intergroup Bias Stereotypes - beliefs about attributes that are thought to be characteristic of members of particular groups Prejudice - a negative attitude or affective response toward a certain group and its individual members Discrimination - unfair treatment of members of a particular group based on their membership in that group

Sources of Prejudice l Social Sources – – l Unequal Status Social Identity Cognitive Sources – – – Stereotypes Perceived Similarities and Differences Illusory Correlation

Social Sources of Prejudice l Unequal Status – realistic conflict theory - direct competition between groups over valued resources (jobs, schools) l l Robber’s Cave Experiment Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Racial Violence and Economic Conditions

Frustration During Exercise Back

Social Sources of Prejudice l Social Identity – social categorization- divide world into in-group (“us”) and out-group (“them”) l in-group bias- view own group more favorably – Bele: You're finished Lokai. Oh, we got your kind penned in on Cheron in a little district. And it's not going to change. You half-white. Lokai: You half-black.

In-Group Bias from Exercise

Cognitive Sources of Prejudice “prejudice is by-product of our thinking processes” stereotypes- sweeping generalizations of social groups l influence social thought by: – – – process information consistent with stereotype quicker focus on information consistent with stereotype use tacit inferences to make inconsistent information appear consistent

Cognitive Sources of Prejudice l out-group homogeneity – l in-group differentiation – l out-group members seen as more alike in-group members seen as more diverse (heterogeneous) illusory correlations – overestimating rates of negative behavior in minority groups

Out-Group Homogeneity

Discrimination- negative behaviors directed toward members of some social group l subtle forms – – – tokenism- perform trivial actions for minorities reverse discrimination- leaning over backwards to treat targets of prejudice favorably “modern” racism

Characterizing Intergroup Bias 1. Modern Racism and Sexism Modern racism - prejudice directed at other racial groups that exists alongside a rejection of explicitly racist beliefs a. Benevolent Racism and Sexism

Characterizing Intergroup Bias 2. Measures to Assess True Attitudes a. Implicit Association Test (IAT) technique for revealing unconscious prejudices toward particular groups b. Priming and Implicit Prejudice Priming - procedure used to increase the accessibility of a concept or schema (for example, a stereotype)

Implicit Attitudes l Are automatically activated evaluations outside of a person’s awareness (unconscious) – – l Formed slowly through experience Very resistant to extinction Changing implicit attitudes – Can be changed without subject’s conscious awareness l Prime subjects with counterstereotypes

Being a Member of a Stigmatized Group 1. Attributional Ambiguity 2. Stereotype Threat - fear that one will confirm the stereotypes that others have regarding some salient group of which one is a member

Reducing Prejudice l Social Learning – l Increase intergroup contact – – – l teach parents to socialize children to be tolerant contact must involve cooperation and interdependence norms favoring group equality must exist focus on individual-based (vs. category) processing Extended Contact Hypothesis – knowing that members of in-group have formed friendships with out-group members may reduce prejudice

Reducing Prejudice (con’t) l l l Have groups work on superordinate goals Focus on similarities between in-group and nonthreatening out-group Recategorization – l reset boundaries between “us” and “them”, so former out-group is now included in in-group Focus on others’ specific traits and outcomes (attribute-driven processing) rather than on group stereotypes (category-driven processing)

Study Smarter: Student Website l http: //www. wwnorton. com/socialpsych Chapter Reviews Diagnostic Quizzes Vocabulary Flashcards Apply It! Exercises