Chapter 3 Social Categorizations and Stereotypes

1. Chapter 3 Social Categorizations and Stereotypes Prepared by S. Saterfield from Whitley & Kite, “The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination”, 2006

2. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Effective Information Processing • Must process information for survival making quick decisions about people and objects allows perceivers to move ahead • Challenge is to strike a balance between efficiency and accuracy • Social Judgment Process • Categories used must often • How do people develop these categories

3. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Seeing the world in two categories We and them • Tendency perpetuates stereotypic judgment and prejudice

4. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Categorization—is term psychologist use for the process of simplifying the environment by creating categories on basis of characteristics (such as hair color or athletic ability) that a particular set of people appear to have in common

5. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Social Group—thought this process of categorization people places others and themselves into categories • People develop beliefs • Use beliefs to guide their future interactions with individual social groups • People use categories to make judgments about other people on a daily basis

6. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Understanding the categorization process is fundamental to understanding stereotypoing and prejudice

7. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Stereotypes—belongs to a categories called SCHEMAS • Cognitive structuresthat contain a person’s knowledge and belief’s about a particular object or social group • Influence the perceiver's acquisition and interpretation of information about members of social groups • Sets up expectations for how members of social groups will act

8. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Two aspects of categorizations to understand Prejudice • Contents Schema of people’s stereotypic beliefs • Association across time or group members • Factors that make content vary • Process Schema by which people form and use social categories • How are they represented in memory? • How & when are these representations retrieved and utilized? • What motivations and biases influence the process?

9. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • People remember information in terms of general principles rather than specific individual facts • People fill in the blanks or memory with what their experiences and beliefs tell them should be there

10. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Types of Categorization • Basic social category—which a wealth of information is available in memory • Race, age, gender • Use information to draw conclusions about person’s traits, social role, and physical characteristics • All basic categories have “privilege” status: information about them is readily available to perceivers. • Other social categories

11. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Other social categories • Physically attractive people are treated differently • People are categorized based on • Sexual orientation • Religion • Weight • Disability status • Skin tone or hair color • Nationality • Common stereotypes

12. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • People attend to demeanor, making snap judgments about people based on nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, posture, and gait • Judgments can be based on color, black and white moral virtues, ascribed to good and bad guys or athletics.

13. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • People’s use of commonplace expressions that convey stereotypic information about ethnic groups or nationalities. • From a paper represented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA), 15 common expressions were presented to report positive or negative these expressions were believed to be. • Let’s see you beliefs

14. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Welsh on a bet: To cheat by failing to pay a gambling debt (you aren’t going to welsh on me, are your?) To go back on one’s word (he welshed on his promise ) • Positive or Negative?

15. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Dutch Treat: A meal or entertainment for which each person pays his or her own expenses • Positive or Negative?

16. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Indian giver: A person who gives a gift and the takes it back. • Positive or Negative?

17. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Jew down a price: To bargain sharply with, beat down a price. • Positive or Negative?

18. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Get your Irish up: To become angry or outraged (don’t get your Irish up over a little matter like that). • Positive or Negative?

19. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Ugly American: Of or pertaining to the United states or its inhabitants. Ugly: Disagreeable; unpleasan; objectionable • Positive or Negative?

20. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Excuse my French: Links the French Language with negative language • Positive or Negative?

21. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Got Gypped: To defraud or rob by some sharp practice • Positive or swindle; cheat. From relationship to Gypsy • Positive or Negative?

22. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Chinese Fire Drill: A state of chaotic, often clamorous disorder • Positive or Negative?

23. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Get off Scot Free: No consequences or payment. Related to use of Scotch as frugal and thrifty, sometimes in an offensive way. • Positive or Negative?

24. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Barbarian: A person living outside; a person not living in a Christian country or within a Christian civilization • Positive or Negative?

25. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Jewish American Princess: A pampered young Jewish women, especially one who takes material advantages for granted • Positive or Negative?

26. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • Mexican Stand Off: A stalemate, a confrontation that neither side can win. Originally an American cowboy expression describing a gun battle wit no clear winner • Positive or Negative?

27. Social Categorization and Stereotypes • My Nigga: A shortening of the word Nigger to show endearment to others. Usually used by members of a social group, however has garnered acceptance for anyone who embraces the rap culture. • Positive or Negative?