Chapter 12 Prejudice & Stereotypes

stereotype

positive or negative beliefs that we hold about the characteristics of social groups

prejudice

an unjustifiable negative attitude toward an outgrip or toward the members of that outgroup

discrimination

unjustified negative behaviors toward members of outgrips based on their group membership

stereotype threat

performance decrements that are caused by the knowledge of cultural stereotypes

social categorization

natural cognitive process by which we place individuals into social groups

outgroup homogeneity

tendency to view members of outgrips as more similar to each other than we see member of in-groups

in-group favoritism

tendency to respond more positively to people from our in-groups than we do to people from outgroups

ultimate attribution error

people make trait attribution in ways that benefit their in-groups, just as they make trait attributions that benefit themselves

social identity

the positive self esteem that we get from our group memberships

black sheep effect

strong devaluation of in-group members who threaten the positive image and identity of the in-group

authoritarianism

personality dimension that characterizes people who prefer things to be simply rather than complex and who tend to hold traditional and conventional values

social dominance orientation (SDO)

personality variable that refers to the tendency to see and to accept inequity among different groups

contact hypothesis

idea that intergourp contact will reduce prejudice

jigsaw classroom

students from different racial or ethnic groups work together, in an interdependent way, to master material

common ingroup identity

attempt to reduce prejudice by creating a superordinate categorization