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Prejudice

Prejudice. Theories and research. Definitions (from previous lecture). Stereotypes Specific traits attributed to people based on group membership (stereotypes are protypes!) Prejudice (opposite of allophilia) Negative attitudes toward the members of a specific group Discrimination

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Prejudice

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  1. Prejudice Theories and research

  2. Definitions (from previous lecture) • Stereotypes Specific traits attributed to people based on group membership (stereotypes are protypes!) • Prejudice (opposite of allophilia) Negative attitudes toward the members of a specific group • Discrimination Negative behaviors directed toward members of a specific group

  3. Types of prejudice • Discrimination can be institutional or interpersonal, but prejudice is always interpersonal • Prejudice has two components • Emotional (how you feel about a group) • Cognitive (what you think about a group) especially the group’s intent and competence to pursue it • Prejudice has many targets • Racism • Linguicism • Ageism • Religious intolerance • Heterosexism • Political intolerance • Classism • Ableism • Sexism

  4. Four types of outgroups

  5. Perception of outgroups (measures) • As viewed by society, how _________ are members of this group? • Competent • Confident • Independent • Competetive • Intelligent • As viewed by society, how __________ are members of this group? • Tolerant • Warm • Good natured • Sincere Fiske et al., 2002, JPSP, 82, 878-902

  6. Perception of outgroups Student sample Allophilia Paternalistic prejudice Contemptuous prejudice Envious prejudice Fiske et al., 2002, JPSP, 82, 878-902

  7. Perception of outgroups Student sample Fiske et al., 2002, JPSP, 82, 878-902 Community sample in Amherst, MA

  8. Perceptions of outgroups

  9. Allport’s Scale of Prejudice intensity • Antilocution (1) Antilocution (or hate speech) means a majority group freely makes jokes and refers to a minority group in terms of negative stereotypes and negative images. Harmful or not? • Avoidance (2) People in a minority group are actively avoided by members of the majority group. Harmful how? • Discrimination (3) Minority group is discriminated against through the denial of opportunities and services (prejudice in action). • Physical Attack (4) The majority group vandalizes minority property and carries out violent attacks on individuals or groups. • Extermination (5) The majority group seeks extermination of the minority group.

  10. Theories of prejudice • Who/what do we blame for prejudice? • A few “bad apples”? • Morally neutral cognitive wiring (information processing)? • A morally corrupt society?

  11. Theories of prejudice formation • Psychodynamic theory • Realistic Conflict theory • Social Identity theory • Social Learning theory • Cognitive theory • Classical conditioning theory

  12. Theories of prejudice (psychodynamic) • The prejudiced personality • Process: Growing up in authoritarian families • Evidence • Some support (high submissiveness, high conformity) • Many limitations • Ignores situational factors (1952 Virginia mine study) • Ignores sociocultural influences (Princeton study) • Fails to explain uniformity (were all Nazis authoritarian?) • Fails to explain why specific targets are chosen • Fails to explain why most people are capable of out-group prejudice given the right conditions

  13. Theories of prejudice (realistic conflict) • Realistic Conflict Theory (Sherif, 1961) • Process • We compete over scarce resources • During competition, the “other” is considered an enemy to justify trying to “win” • Enemy is then dehumanized and scapegoated • Evidence • 1958 Southern State lynching study • Sherif’s Robber’s Cave study (next 3 slides) • Some limitations • Doesn’t explain why there is no inter-occupation conflict • Doesn’t explain why prejudice occurs when there is little competition

  14. Robbers Cave Experiment

  15. Robbers Cave Study Stage 1: In-group formation

  16. Robbers Cave Study Stage 2: Group competition

  17. Robbers Cave Study Stage 3: In-group formation

  18. Theories of prejudice formation/change • Social Identity Theory • Identity derived from group affiliation • People tend to attribute positive characteristics to own group and view the other group more critically (ultimate attribution error) • But why does this happen? • Self worth (self-esteem) derived from group achievement and favorable comparisons with other groups • Result: People automatically favor in-group members • Evidence • Minimum group experiments show in-group favoritism • But they don’t show out-group derogation

  19. Theories of prejudice formation/change • Social Learning Theory • Allport’s notion of lack of information coupled with hostility • Lack of information makes people rely on stereotypes • Hostility makes them look for a group to scapegoat • Stereotypes lead to prejudice • Social modeling of prejudice (parents/friends/teachers/media) • Few models of anti-racism

  20. Theories of prejudice formation/change • Classical conditioning theory • Process: Fear conditioned through secondary conditioning (e.g., walking down street with mom)

  21. Even the Well-Intentioned Have Bias • Fiske (2002) - in Western cultures: • about 10% of individuals show blatant racism • about 80% show subtle racial biases • Subtle racial biases: • avoidance of interactions • awkwardness • slips of the tongue • stereotypic assumptions and judgments

  22. Three theories of subtle prejudice • Modern or symbolic racism (Kinder & Sears, 1981) • Blaming the victim • Support of policies that all happen to disadvantage racial minorities • Ambivalent racism (Katz & Hass, 1988) • High scores on pro-Black attitudes (pity for the disadvantaged) • High scores on anti-Black attitudes (hostility toward the deviant) • Aversive racism (Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986) • A desire to be egalitarian and non-racist • Unconscious racist cognitions that are manifested during stress or ambiguity

  23. Scenes from Crash: Aversive Racism • Character development • Racism or not racism

  24. Fighting prejudice • Contact theory (antidote to realistic group conflict) • Equal status contact • Contact should have high acquaintance potential • Out-group members must not conform to stereotypes • Contact situation must encourage cooperation • Group contact must be supported by authority

  25. Fighting prejudice (continued) • Work on yourself • Become aware of personal (and societal) stereotypes • Get to know people as individuals who are part of groups • Avoid just-world beliefs • Be aware of self-fulfilling prophecies • Avoid blaming the victim • Work on others • Do not tolerate prejudicial remarks, including jokes • Share what you think and believe, without attacking • Promote multiculturalism • Change the metaphor • Educate yourself • Learn a foreign language • Diversify circle of friends

  26. Tolerance is not enough

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