Stereotypes Prejudice Discrimination

							Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
     Discrimination
       Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
            Discrimination
• True Colors
   – What are your thoughts?
   – Does it ring true?
       Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
            Discrimination
• True Colors
   – What are your thoughts?
   – Does it ring true?

   – Can we use social psychological principles to
     understand what happened?
      Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
           Discrimination
• stereotypes
  – a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a
    group of people (Ashmore & Del Boca, 1981)
  – a type of schema
       Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
            Discrimination
• prejudice
  – a biased evaluation of a group (often targeted at
    it’s individual members), based on real or
    imagined characteristics of the group members
    (Nelson, 2002)


  – a type of attitude
      Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
           Discrimination
• discrimination
  – negative act towards a person or group of people
    because of their group membership
      Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
           Discrimination
• ABC’s of social psychology
  – Affect: prejudice
  – Behavior: discrimination
  – Cognition: stereotypes
      Stereotypes, Prejudice, &
           Discrimination
• What did we see in True Colors?
  – What stereotypes?
  – What examples of prejudice?
  – What examples of discrimination?
                 Stereotypes
• How stereotypes are formed?
  – categorization
                   Stereotypes
• How stereotypes are formed?
  – categorization
  – ingroups and outgroups (Social Identity Theory; Tajfel &
    Turner, 1986)
     • ingroup bias (Ostrom & Sedikides, 1992)
     • outgroup homogeneity bias (Hamilton, 1976)
                Stereotypes
• How stereotypes are formed?
  – categorization
  – ingroups and outgroups
  – social learning
                         Stereotypes
 • stereotypes make information processing
   more efficient
     –   name and 10 personality characteristics
     –   Nigel: caring, honest, reliable, friendly…
     –   stereotype: Nigel is a doctor
     –   cognitive load task
     –   recall characteristics and facts about Indonesia


(Macrae, Milne, & Bodenhausen, 1994)
                         Stereotypes




(Macrae, Milne, & Bodenhausen, 1994)
                Stereotypes
• Why do stereotypes persist?
  – subcategorization
                  Stereotypes
• Why do stereotypes persist?
  – subcategorization
  – illusory correlations
                 Stereotypes
• Why do stereotypes persist?
  – subcategorization
  – illusory correlations
  – selective attention to stereotype-relevant
    information
                 Stereotypes
• Why do stereotypes persist?
  – subcategorization
  – illusory correlations
  – selective attention to stereotype-relevant
    information
  – once formed, very difficult to change
                           Stereotypes
 • stereotype threat
     – African American and White participants
     – difficult verbal task
     – IV: intellectual ability (threat) or verbal task (no
       threat)
     – DV: performance on the verbal task




(Steele & Aronson, 1995)
                           Stereotypes
 • stereotype threat
     – no threat condition: AA and White participants
       performed equally
     – threat condition: AA performed more poorly
       than the White participants

     – also shown to occur when race is made salient



(Steele & Aronson, 1995)
               Prejudice
• Where does prejudice come from?
• What can be done about it?
         Origins of Prejudice
• cultural/group norms
  – conformity to the group norm can influence
    prejudice
            Origins of Prejudice
• social dynamics
  – Realistic Group Conflict Theory   (Levine & Campbell,
    1972)
            Origins of Prejudice
• social dynamics
  – Realistic Group Conflict Theory   (Levine & Campbell,
    1972)
  – Scapegoat Theory
            Origins of Prejudice
• social dynamics
  – Realistic Group Conflict Theory   (Levine & Campbell,
    1972)
  – Scapegoat Theory
  – Just World Theory
          Origins of Prejudice
• universal cognitive processes
  – e.g., minimal group paradigm
          What Can Be Done about
                Prejudice?
 • stereotype suppression
     –   5 minutes writing about a skinhead
     –   IV: suppress negative thoughts or not
     –   5 minutes writing about the second skinhead
     –   DV: How stereotypic is the writing?




(Macrae, Milne, & Bodenhausen, 1994)
          What Can Be Done about
                Prejudice?
 • stereotype suppression
     – suppression condition: less stereotypic thinking
       the first time, but more stereotypic thinking the
       second time




(Macrae, Milne, & Bodenhausen, 1994)
     What Can Be Done about
           Prejudice?
• contact hypothesis
  – increasing exposure to members of outgroups
    can increase positive evaluations of the outgroup
    and decrease prejudice and stereotyping
     • e.g., Sherif’s Robber’s Cave studies
     What Can Be Done about
           Prejudice?
• contact hypothesis
  – Allport (1954): “…the effect of contact will
    depend on the kind of association that occurs,
    and on the kinds of persons who are involved.”
         What Can Be Done about
               Prejudice?
• contact hypothesis
   – four necessary criteria:
        •   equal status members
        •   common goals
        •   intergroup cooperation
        •   support of a legitimate authority (e.g., social norms)




(Allport, 1954)
         What Can Be Done about
               Prejudice?
• contact hypothesis
   – an additional criterion:
        • must be friendship potential




(Pettigrew, 1998)
        What Can Be Done about
              Prejudice?
• Jigsaw Classroom
   – 6-person learning groups
   – each responsible for teaching and learning the
     material
   – pay more attention to and respect each other
     more




(Aronson, 1979)
                 Discrimination
• difficult to demonstrate at the individual level
   – women tend to acknowledge having been
     discriminated against as a group, but few report
     being personally being discriminated against




(Crosby, 1981)
                  Discrimination
• normally assessed at the aggregate level
   – Florida homicide cases 1976-77
   – rate of first degree murder prosecution based on
     the race of the victim and defendant




(Radelet, 1981)
                  Discrimination
• normally assessed at the aggregate level
   –   AA defendant/White victim         90%
   –   White defendant/White victim      50%
   –   White defendant/AA victim         50%
   –   AA defendant/AA victim            40%




(Radelet, 1981)
                Discrimination
• normally assessed at the aggregate level
   –   White man                $11, 362
   –   African American man     $11, 783
   –   White woman              $11, 504
   –   African American woman   $12, 237




(Ayres, 1991)
                Conclusion
• stereotypes are cognitive schemas
• stereotypes facilitate information processing,
  but are resistant to change
• prejudice is a negative evaluation (i.e., an
  attitude)
• discrimination is a negative action