Psych Week 8 Social Categories and Intelligence

What is social categorization?

Dividing people into groups ("us" vs. "them") based on characteristics like race, gender, religion, or nationality.

Why does group membership matter?

It affects relationships, expectations, and social preferences.

What is an explicit preference?

A preference measured by directly asking someone who they like.

What is an implicit preference?

an automatic preference measured indirectly using tasks like the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

How does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) work?

It measures how quickly people associate groups with positive or negative concepts.

Faster responses = stronger automatic association.

What happened to race preferences as children got older?

Race preferences became stronger by age 5.

What happens to explicit racial preferences as people age?

They decrease.

Adults often report little or no explicit bias.

What happens to implicit racial bias as people age?

It stays relatively stable.

By what age do children show implicit racial bias?

Around 6 years old.

What explicit preference do many White children show by kindergarten?

Preference for White friends.

What implicit association do many White children develop?

White = good and Black = bad

Do White adults usually report explicit racial bias?

No, but implicit bias often remains.

What is the asymmetry in race preferences?

Black children in the U.S. show lower levels of both explicit and implicit racial preference than White children.

What are the three major factors that influence category-based bias?

• Contact

• Status

• Language

What is the Contact Hypothesis?

More positive contact with outgroup members reduces prejudice and conflict.

What did Bar-Haim et al. (2006) find in his study of whether infants prefer faces they are more familiar with?

• White Israeli infants preferred White faces.

• Black Ethiopian infants preferred Black faces.

• Black infants living in Israel showed no preference.

Conclusion:
Exposure and familiarity shape preferences.

How did school diversity affect racial bias?

White children in mostly White schools showed more negative evaluations of Black peers.

Children in diverse schools showed little or no race effect.

What did Pauker et al. (2016) find? ( Hawaii vs Mass)

Children in Massachusetts showed increasing stereotyping with age.

Children in Hawaii showed less stereotyping.

Why does social status matter in racial attitudes?

Children notice which groups have higher status in society and incorporate those patterns into their attitudes.

Why might minority-group children show different racial preferences than White children?

They balance:

• Positive feelings toward their own group

• Awareness of societal status hierarchies favoring White people

What is Minimal Group Theory?

If people are told that a group is important, they quickly begin to favor their own group.

What did Jane Elliott's blue-eyes/brown-eyes classroom activity show?

Even arbitrary groups can quickly produce favoritism and discrimination.

What is generic language?

Statements about an entire group.

Example:
"Zarpies hate ice cream."

What is specific language?

Statements about one individual.

Example:
"This Zarpie hates ice cream."

What effect does generic language have?

increases essentialist thinking—the belief that all members of a group share the same traits.

Why is generic language important?

It may help pass stereotypes from one generation to the next.

What is colorblind parenting?

voiding discussions about race and emphasizing that everyone is the same.

What problem can result from colorblind parenting?

Reduced awareness of bias and increased stereotyping.

What happened when researchers taught parents that children already show racial bias?

Parents became more motivated to discuss race and address bias.

What did Apfelbaum et al. (2008) find in the Guess Who task?

White 5- to 7-year-olds & parents

• Parents do not discuss race

• Predict no racial attitudes for children

• Children attribute more positive traits to White than Black people

• Teaching White parents that White children are (already) biased increased’ motivation to address the bias (and talk about race)

8- to 11-year-olds (Apfelbaum et al., 2008) • Guess who task

• 2 conditions: race matters vs. not • Children reluctant to mention race • Harms performance

What did Kinzler et al. (2009) find about race and accents?

White children preferred a native-accented Black child over a White child with a foreign accent.