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Chapter 2. Prejudice. Prejudice & Discrimination. Prejudice Negative attitude that rejects an entire group Discrimination Depriving group of certain rights/opportunities Ethnophaulism Ethnic slurs; derisive nicknames; speaking about/to a group condescendingly. Merton ’ s Typology.
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Chapter 2 Prejudice
Prejudice & Discrimination • Prejudice • Negative attitude that rejects an entire group • Discrimination • Depriving group of certain rights/opportunities • Ethnophaulism • Ethnic slurs; derisive nicknames; speaking about/to a group condescendingly © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Merton’s Typology • Unprejudiced nondiscriminator –or all weather liberal • Unprejudiced discriminator –or reluctant liberal • Prejudiced nondiscriminator –or timid bigot • The prejudiced discriminator –or all-weather bigot © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
LaPiere’s Study • Merton’s typology points out that people do not always act as they believe • Richard LaPiere (1934, 1969) • Exposed the relationship between racial attitudes and social conduct © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
LaPiere’s Study • Traveled with a Chinese couple across the United States • Despite alleged intolerance, couple treated courteously at hotels, motels, restaurants © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
White Privilege • Identified advantages: • Being considered financially reliable when using checks, credit cards, or cash. • Taking a job without having coworkers suspect it came about because of race. • Never having to speak for all the people of your race. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
White Privilege • Watching television/reading a newspaper & seeing people of your race widely represented • Speaking effectively in a large group without being called a credit to your race. • Assuming that if legal or medical help is needed, your race will not work against you © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Prejudice • Four theories of prejudice • Scapegoating • When an individual (group) projects & blames their own inadequacies or problems onto another group • Criticisms of Scapegoat Theory • Fails to explain why one group is used as a scapegoat and not another © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Prejudice • Fails to explain why two individuals who share the same experience vary in tolerance • Does not explain personality differences • Authoritarian Personality • Adorno et al 1950 – study of authoritarianism and prejudice © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Prejudice • Authoritarian Traits • Rigid adherence to conventional values • Uncritical acceptance of authority • Power and toughness • Intolerance and aggression toward those that don’t conform to conventional values © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Prejudice • Criticisms of Authoritarian Personality • Focus on right wing group & ignore left wing group • Prejudice related to other traits such as social class • Methodology employed • Focused on only extreme forms of prejudice and not on other forms of prejudice © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Prejudice • Exploitation • Prejudice is rationally and economically motivated on the basis of self interests • The dominant group benefits from prejudice in that it is rooted within the exploitation of a group • Criticisms of Exploitation Theory • Not all subordinate groups are exploited equally © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Prejudice • Prejudice occurs for reasons other than economic • Prejudice is not necessarily rational and may undermine dominant group interests • Normative • Prejudice patterned into cultural norms & values of: • A group or society; a function of conforming to group norms of intolerance © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
What are Stereotypes? • Stereotypes • Unreliable generalizations about members of a group • Don’t take individual differences into account • Stereotypes are often exaggerated and negative images of a group • Stereotypes come from a variety of sources © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Power of Stereotypes • Stereotypes often become a self-fulfilling prophecy • Affect how we feel • Affect how we relate to others © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Power of Stereotypes • Stereotyping In Action: Racial Profiling • Any police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin • Rather than the person’s behavior • Can be an explicit use of stereotypes © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Color-Blind Racism • The use of race-neutral principles to defend the racially unequal status quo • Recognition that race is rarely invoked in public debates on social issues • White attitudes toward African Americans • Attitudes are subject to change © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Color-Blind Racism • Less progress was made in the late 20th & beginning of the 21st centuries • Than was made in the relatively brief period of the 1950s and 1960s • The pursuit of a color-blind agenda has created lower levels of support for politics • That could reduce racial inequality if implemented © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Mood of the Oppressed • Opinion polls have demonstrated interest in White attitudes on racial issues: • Longer than they have measured views of subordinate groups • Bias of White researchers • Dominant group more important to study because it’s in a better position act on beliefs © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Mood of the Oppressed • Research literature of the 1940s-1960s emphasized low self esteem of minorities • Should not assume minority status influences personality traits in a good or bad way • Such assumptions may create a stereotype • Characteristics of minority-group members are nor entirely the result of subordinate racial status © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Mood of the Oppressed • Many studies of personality imply that certain values are normal or preferable • But the values chosen are those of the dominant group • Prejudice and its affect on the self esteem of the subordinate group • Prejudice affects perceptions on fairness or equality of opportunity © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intergroup Hostility • Content and extent of prejudice and stereotypes between ethnic - racial groups • Members of oppressed groups have adopted the widely held beliefs of: • The dominant culture concerning oppressed groups © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intergroup Hostility • Some groups feel they get along better with Whites than other minority groups • Low-income people compete with each other • And do not see the larger societal forces the contribute to their low status © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reducing Prejudice • Obvious way to eliminate prejudice is to eliminate its causes • The desire to exploit • The fear of being threatened • The need to blame others for one’s own failure © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reducing Prejudice • Answer rests with programs directed at society as a whole • Prejudice is attacked indirectly when discrimination is attacked • Despite contrary prevailing beliefs, prejudice can be legislated • Statutes and decisions do affect attitudes © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reducing Prejudice • Studies on how to change negative attitudes toward groups find encouraging: • Education • Mass Media • Intergroup Contact • Workplace training programs © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Education and Mass Media • Research consists of two types: • Artificially (experimentally) created situations • The influence on attitudes of motion pictures, television, and advertisements • Media has had both positive and negative effects depending on the: • Program, situation and subjects exposed © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Education and Mass Media • Well constructed programs tend to have an impact on reducing prejudice • To be effective: address cognitive, affective, & action tendency dimensions • Some programs only focus on the cognitive or affective © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Education and Mass Media • Formal education is related to a reduction in prejudice • Formal education may not reduce prejudice uniformly within a group. • Mass media may reduce prejudice without the need of specially designed programs © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Avoidance versus Friendship • Social Distance • The tendency to approach or withdraw from a racial group • It is difficult to quantify the extent of prejudice between groups © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Avoidance versus Friendship • Measure the relative extent of prejudice between groups • Emory Bogardus’ Scale • Used to measure social distance empirically • And describes different degrees of social contact or social distance © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Corporate Response: Diversity Training • Prejudice carries a cost • Most organizations have initiated some form of diversity training • The effectiveness of diversity training programs • Diversity training should not be separated from other aspects of the organization © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ways to Fight Hate • 1. Act • 2. Unite • 3. Support The Victims • 4. Do Your Homework • 5. Create An Alternative © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ways to Fight Hate • 6. Speak Up • 7. Lobby Leaders • 8. Look Long Range • 9. Teach Tolerance • 10. Dig Deeper © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.