Reducing stereotypes, prejudice + discrimination

Two types of approaches

• Individual

• Intergroup

Individual: direct instruction description + limitation

• Promoting acceptance of outgroups through media or school programs

• Often met w/ resistance because social groups that people belong to often guide them back to old ways of thinking

Individual: social sanctioning (1)

Online criticism by high-status ingroup members can reduce racist behaviour (although effects may be short-lived)

Individual: cognitive + emotional interventions - perspective-taking (1)

Envisioning oneself in an outgroup member’s shoes can increase empathy + positive attitudes

Individual: cognitive + emotional interventions - loving-kindness meditation (1)

• Inducing unconditional kindness can reduce implicit prejudice

Note on cognitive + emotional interventions

• Recent meta-analysis shows that effects may be small

Intergroup: the contact hypothesis description, important note

• Idea that prejudice can be reduced if members of different groups are in frequent contact with each other

• Simply bringing groups together not sufficient + may even increase prejudice

Conditions for effective contact (3)

• Equal status in interaction

• Shared (superordinate) goal

• Community support for intergroup contact

Benefits of one-on-one interaction + 3 conditions met (2)

• Personalisation

• Generalisation

• Shared common identity

Personalisation def

Seeing outgroup members as individuals

Generalisation def

Positive feelings for particular outgroup members generalise to the group as a whole

Shared common identity (1)

Groups come to see themselves as sharing a common identity

The two main diversity ideologies

• Multiculturalism

• Colour-blindness

Multiculturalism def

Encourages the acknowledgement + appreciation of people’s unique cultural + ethnic identities

Multiculturalism pros (4)

• Increased perspective taking

• Increased support for pro-diversity policies

• Encourages positive evaluations of + behaviours towards outgroup members

• Reduced anxiety about anticipated interracial interaction

Multiculturalism cons (5)

• Feelings of exclusion among white people

• Identity-threat to high-status group members

• Increased race essentialism

• Negative interpersonal outcomes, such as minority-spotlight effect (minority group identities become uncomfortably salient)

• Organisational multiculturalism may hide/legitimise discrimination

Colour-blindness def

Encourages treatment of people as unique individuals + promotes downplaying or ignoring cultural or ethnic group differences

Colour-blindness pros (1)

• Theoretically emphasises equality + inclusiveness

Colour-blindness cons (4)

• Increased ethnocentrism + ingroup favouritism

• Can be cognitively taxing → in turn lead to subtle non-verbal discrimination → increasing perceived prejudice

• Can lead to reduced ability to detect + report discrimination

• May allow white people to see themselves as unprejudiced → can legitimise discrimination + inequalities

Effectiveness of diversity training (2)

• May be limited: seems to primarily improve attitudes in women + White people who are low in prejudice to begin with

• Little evidence to show that leads to increasing hiring or retention of underrepresented groups

Most effective strategies to reduce workplace prejudice/discrimination (1)

• Fostering contact that meets 3 conditions of equal status, interdependence + cooperation