Chapter 13: Prejudice

Cause, Consequences, and Cures

Prejudice

A hostile or negative attitude to- ward people in a distinguishable group based solely or partly on their membership in that group; it contains cognitive, emotional, and behavioral component

Stereotype

A generalization about a group of people in which certain traits are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members

The Affective Component of Prejudice

Emotions towards a group

Discrimination

Unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group solely because of their membership in that group

The Behavioral Component of Prejudice

Discrimination towards a group

The Cognitive Component of Prejudice

Stereotype about a group

Stereotypes can be accurate in experience n portrayal in media but can be ___ as it blinds us to a person’s individuality.

Maladaptive to all parties

Institutional discrimination

Practices that discriminate, legally or illegally, against a minority group by virtue of its ethnicity, gender, culture, age, sexual orientation, or other target of societal or company prejudice

Microaggression

the “slights, indignities, and put-downs” that many minorities routinely encounter

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

A test that measures the speed with which people can pair a tar- get face (e.g., Black or White, old or young, Asian or White) with positive or negative stimuli (e.g., the words honest or evil), reflecting unconscious (implicit) prejudices

Two reasons why Prejudiced are suppressed

sincere motivation to be less prejudiced, avoid being labeled racist, sexist, etc.

Implicit Biases

Biases hidden from oneself

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The case wherein people have an expectation about what another person is like, which causes that person to behave consistently with people’s original expectations, making the expectation come true

Social Identity Threat

The threat elicited when people perceive that others are evaluating them as a member of their group instead of as an individual.

Normative Conformity

The tendency to go along with the group in order to fulfill the group’s expectations and gain acceptance

Social Identity

The part of a person’s self-concept that is based on their identification with a nation, religious or political group, occupation, or other social affiliation

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or religion is supe- rior to all others

In-Group Bias

The tendency to favor members of one’s own group and give them special preference over people who belong to other groups; the group can be temporary and trivial as well as significant

Out-Group Homogeneity

The perception that individuals in the out-group are more similar to each other (homogeneous) than they really are, as well as more similar than members of the in- group are

Blaming the Victim

The tendency to blame individuals (make dispositional attributions) for their victimization, typically motivated by a desire to see the world as a fair place

Realistic Conflict Theory

The idea that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination

Underlying Motive in Social Identity Theory

Self Esteem, only when the group is superior to others.

Scapegoating

When frustrated or unhappy, people tend to displace aggression onto groups that are disliked, visible, and relatively powerless

Interdependence

The situation that exists when two or more groups need to depend on one another to accomplish a goal that is important to each of them

How social identity threat happens

Identity becomes salient, negative stereotypes about your group can be applied to you

Consequences of Social Identity Threat?

disinterest in academic discipline, worst health outcomes, less belonging in environment, etc.

How does social identity threat influence outcome?

Increased anxiety, occupies working memory, influences interpretation of events.

How to reduce social identity threat?

Self-affirmation, learning about it, understanding other go through the same experience, social cues that signal acceptance

How to decrease prejudice (contact hypothesis)

Both groups are of equal status AND both share common goal. (mutual interdependence and supported by social norms)

Jigsaw Classroom (def.)

A classroom setting designed to reduce prejudice and raise the self-esteem of children by placing them in small, multiethnic groups and making each child dependent on the other children in the group to learn the course material

Why does Jigsaw Work

Break down perception of in group and out-group, creating feelings of “one-ness”, must do favors by sharing information, develops empathy for others.

Whats one of the most effective ways of improving race relations, improving empathy, and improving instruction.

The Jigsaw Classroom

Four ways Prejudice can take forms of:

Institutionalized (Jim Crow law), interpersonal (Airbnb) , blatant (white supremacy) or subtle.