Chapter 2: Social Categorization and Stereotyping

psychology of diversity

social categorization

involves thinking about people primarily as members of social groups rather than individuals

why do we place people into social categories?

it helps us to avoid the mental labor of perceiving different people as individuals

primary categories

the most visible characteristics of an individuals that come to mind the quickest

what are examples of primary categories?

age, sex, and race

amygdala

the emotional center for sensing social stimuli

what are areas of the brain that are associated with social categorization?

the fusiform area and the anterior cingulate cortex

the fusiform area

used for facial categorization

the anterior cingulate cortex

helps “mask” racial bias by inhibiting racial bias to outwardly project socially prescribed egalitarian racial attitudes

what is categorization mainly driven by?

attention

why does social categories occur?

because of distinctive features, a situation that highlights a social category, or because a category is associated with a perceived threat to our values

perceptual similarity

tendency to group people who appear similar to people we encountered in the past based on a distinctive feature

salient categories

info about salient categories is more immediately available

research on solo status shows…

as people become more noticeable in a group, their actions stand out and acquire greater performance in perceivers’ eyes

how do we perceive new people?

according to the info or memory of people similar to them

what happens when we perceive another person as a potential threat?

we are more likely to categorize them as a member of an “out-group”

what are in-groups and out-groups?

they refer to social groups or categories where of which we are and are not a member

how do social category-based beliefs affect how we perceive a person?

they set up expectations we have for people from a particular group and in turn affect how we view them and judge them based on their group membership

stereotype

set of beliefs about members of a social group and usually consists of personality traits, behaviors, and motives

how can one interrupt the automatic tendency to stereotype?

by using more attention and effort to be on something else like complex mental tasks

what affects how likely we are to stereotype an individual?

the context in which we perceive or interact with that person from a stereotyped group

what role does motivation play in stereotyping?

automatic stereotyping can occur less if we are motivated to avoid stereotyping others in the first place

what does dispositional mean in the context of stereotypic beleifs?

these beliefs inform us about the inner qualities of individuals based merely on their group membership

dispositional assumptions inherent in stereotyping are typically….

negative, inaccurate, and are applied uniformly to each individual in that social category

where do stereotypes come from?

personal exposure to people from other social groups, our attention to the covariation of unusual events and people, and are learned from family members

the just world hypothesis

belief that people get what they deserve

the myth of meritocracy

belief that if people work hard, they will ensure that they have a good life

illusory correlation

when an individual’s disposition and behavior influences our thinking about all of the members of their group

when are dominant responses?

recalling well-learned, stereotypic beliefs tend to be the first response to encountering socially different people

research shows that stereotypes are generally accurate based on what?

low discrepancy between perception of a group with a group’s actual level on a particular characteristic

subtyping helps us…

maintain our stereotypes towards the general out-group

what are the consequences of social categorization and stereotyping for perceiving diversity?

we believe groups are more different than they are, that individuals within groups are more similar than they are, and we explain “their” behavior differently than “ours”

out-group homogeneity effect

means that we tend to think that “they” are all the same but “we” are a collective of different individuals