Chapter 10 + 11: Understanding and reducing prejudice

Prejudice definition

Negative attitude toward a person based solely on group membership

Why prejudice is unjustified

Ignores individual traits and judges without evidence

Group variability principle

Any group has wide variation so generalizations create errors

Why prejudice is harmful

Has historically led to violence and oppression against innocent groups

Stereotype vs discrimination

Stereotypes are beliefs about groups discrimination is negative behavior toward groups

Prejudice main causes (Allport)

Hostility plus categorization ingroup bias ethnocentrism

Hostility plus categorization

Negative feelings linked to social group membership

How prejudice forms via emotion

Frustration or threat produces hostility that attaches to groups

Categorization role in prejudice

People instantly classify others into social groups

Outgroup generalization

Negative experience with one member spreads to entire group

Realistic group conflict theory

Prejudice arises from competition over scarce resources

Resource conflict effects

Perceived threat increases intergroup hostility

Intergroup anxiety

Chronic conflict increases anxiety which fuels prejudice

Ingroup bias definition

Preference for own group over outgroups

Familiarity effect

People prefer familiar groups and feel uneasy with outgroups

Self-serving bias and prejudice

Positive self-view extends to positive ingroup view

Social identity theory

Self-esteem partly comes from group membership

Self-esteem threat effect

Threat increases derogation of outgroups

Scapegoating

Blaming outgroups for personal or group problems

Minimal group effect

Even arbitrary groups show ingroup favoritism

Tajfel minimal group study

Fake group labels produce resource allocation bias

Love prejudice idea

Ingroup favoritism stronger than outgroup hatred

Ethnocentrism definition

Judging others using one’s own cultural standards

Cultural worldview effect

Internalized norms shape judgments of other groups

Symbolic racism

Prejudice expressed as opposition to policies benefiting outgroups

Terror management theory

Mortality awareness increases defense of worldview and prejudice

Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)

Belief that society is dangerous and must maintain order tradition and authority

Core feature of RWA

Preference for obedience to authority and social conformity

RWA prejudice target

Gruops seen as deviant dangerous or threatening to social order

Origin of authoritarian personality

Strict parenting leads to rigid black and white thinking and obedience to authority

Social dominance orientation (SDO)

Belief that society should be hierarchical with dominant and subordinate groups

Core feature of SDO

Preference for group inequality and dominance of stronger groups over weaker ones

RWA vs SDO prejudice focus

RWA targets deviant groups SDO targets low status or inferior groups

Modern prejudice trend

Overt discrimination has decreased but subtle forms of prejudice persist

Evidence of progress in prejudice

Legal changes and increased public support for interracial and same-sex equality

Institutional discrimination definition

Systemic unfair restrictions embedded in laws policies and institutions

Why prejudice still persists

Biases can be subtle automatic and embedded in social systems

Ambivalent racism definition

Coexistence of pro equality and anti minority attitudes shaped by conflicting values

Core conflict in ambivalent racism

Individualism vs egalitarianism produces shifting racial attitudes

Aversive racism definition

Conscious egalitarian beliefs combined with unconscious negative biases

Aversive racism behavior pattern

Equal treatment when responsibility is clear but bias appears in ambiguous situations

Implicit prejudice definition

Automatic unconscious negative associations with outgroups

How implicit prejudice is measured

Physiological responses and cognitive tests like the Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Stereotype definition

A stereotype is a cognitive schema about a social group that includes traits beliefs expectations and examples and helps organize social information but can lead to overgeneralization

Schema vs stereotype

A schema is a general mental structure for organizing information while a stereotype is a schema specifically about a social group

Why stereotypes develop

Stereotypes develop because people use cognitive shortcuts to simplify complex social information and reduce mental effort in social judgment

Positive stereotypes

Positive stereotypes can still be harmful because they overgeneralize traits to all group members and can reinforce inequality or patronizing attitudes

Overgeneralization in stereotypes

Overgeneralization is the tendency to apply group-level beliefs to all individuals in the group ignoring individual differences

Kernel of truth hypothesis

The kernel of truth hypothesis suggests some stereotypes reflect average group differences but these differences are often exaggerated and incorrectly applied to individuals

Personality stereotypes evidence

Research shows little evidence that personality-based stereotypes accurately reflect real personality differences across groups

Social role theory

Social role theory explains stereotypes as arising from observing groups in social roles leading people to infer traits from role behaviors

Gender stereotypes and roles

Gender stereotypes form partly because men and women are often in different roles leading to assumptions like men are agentic and women are communal

Stereotype content model

The stereotype content model proposes stereotypes are based on warmth and competence which shape emotional reactions toward groups

Warmth and competence outcomes

High warmth low competence leads to pity high warmth high competence leads to pride low warmth high competence leads to envy and low warmth low competence leads to disgust

Illusory correlation

An illusory correlation is the mistaken belief that two rare or distinctive events are related such as linking minority groups with negative behaviors due to attention bias

Functions of stereotypes

Stereotypes simplify cognition justify prejudice and help explain negative feelings toward outgroups in socially acceptable ways

Justification suppression model

The justification suppression model states that people use stereotypes to justify pre-existing negative emotions toward outgroups

Dehumanization and infrahumanization

Dehumanization is viewing outgroups as less than human while infrahumanization is denying them uniquely human emotions like hope guilt or admiration

Front

Back

What is a stereotype in social cognition?

A cognitive schema about a social group that includes beliefs traits behaviors and associations and can be positive or negative but often overgeneralized to all members of the group

How do stereotypes differ from schemas generally?

Schemas can apply to any concept while stereotypes are schemas specifically about social groups and their typical traits behaviors and attributes

Why do stereotypes develop according to the cognitive perspective?

They develop as mental shortcuts that simplify social information processing and are reinforced through repeated exposure and categorization of groups

What is the cultural transmission explanation of stereotypes?

Stereotypes are learned through socialization including parents peers media and institutions and are shared at both cultural and individual levels

What is an illusory correlation in stereotype formation?

The perception that two unrelated things such as a group and a behavior are associated especially when both are distinctive or rare

What is the kernel of truth hypothesis?

The idea that some stereotypes may reflect small real group differences in averages but are exaggerated and overgeneralized to all members of the group

Why can even accurate group differences still produce stereotypes?

Because people overgeneralize average differences to all individuals and assume essential traits rather than recognizing within-group variation and overlap

What does social role theory say about stereotypes?

Stereotypes arise from observing groups in different social roles and incorrectly inferring stable traits from role-based behaviors

How do social roles contribute to gender stereotypes?

Observed differences in roles like caregiving or leadership lead to trait assumptions such as women being communal and men being agentic even when roles explain behavior

What are the two key dimensions in the stereotype content model?

Warmth and competence which are shaped by perceived status and perceived competition or cooperation between groups

How does the stereotype content model classify groups?

Groups high in warmth and competence evoke pride while low warmth high competence evokes envy low warmth low competence evokes disgust and high warmth low competence evokes pity

What is dehumanization in stereotyping?

Viewing outgroup members as less than fully human often comparing them to animals which justifies extreme prejudice and violence

What is infrahumanization?

A subtle form of dehumanization where outgroups are seen as lacking uniquely human emotions like hope or remorse while still experiencing basic emotions

How do stereotypes function as cognitive tools?

They simplify social perception allowing fast judgments and reducing cognitive effort especially under time pressure or cognitive load

How do stereotypes justify prejudice?

They provide explanations for negative feelings toward outgroups making emotional reactions seem rational or acceptable

How can stereotypes justify discrimination?

By portraying outgroups as inferior or less human which rationalizes unequal treatment and even violence

How do stereotypes maintain the status quo?

They reinforce system justification by suggesting group differences are natural and that existing inequalities reflect inherent traits

What is system justification theory?

The idea that people are motivated to see existing social systems as fair and legitimate which leads to endorsement of stereotypes that justify inequality

How do stereotypes affect perception and interpretation?

They bias what we notice and how we interpret ambiguous behaviors often leading us to see stereotype-consistent meaning in unclear situations

What is the outgroup homogeneity effect?

The tendency to perceive members of outgroups as more similar to each other than they really are compared to ingroup members

Stereotype threat

Fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group

Social identity threat

Feeling that one’s group does not belong or is devalued in a domain

Role model strategy

Exposure to successful ingroup members that reduces stereotype impact and boosts performance

Reappraisal of anxiety

Interpreting anxiety as normal (not failure)

Self-affirmation

Reflecting on core values to protect self-worth and buffer against stereotype threat

Affirmation effect (finding)

Value affirmation improved academic outcomes for stigmatized groups over time

Confrontation strategy

Directly challenging biased behavior or statements from others

Do-nothing effect

People often fail to confront prejudice in real situations despite claiming they would

Target empowerment model

Strategies that reduce discrimination impact by avoiding overt confrontation and reducing threat

Compensatory behavior

Altering behavior (e.g.

Self-disclosure strategy

Sharing personal information to increase likability and reduce perceived bias

Cost of compensation

Can lead to feelings of inauthenticity and cognitive exhaustion in interactions

Concealment strategy

Hiding a stigmatized identity to avoid discrimination

Rejection identification theory

Identifying strongly with one’s stigmatized group buffers negative effects of discrimination

Social support coping

Reducing stress from stigma by connecting with others who share the same stigmatized identity

Reducing prejudice (general challenge)

Changing prejudiced beliefs is difficult because they are tied to identity

Institutional change and prejudice

Changing laws

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court ruling that ended school segregation

Role of media in reducing prejudice

Exposure to counterstereotypic media representations can weaken stereotypes and reduce implicit bias over time

Counterstereotypic exemplars

Seeing successful individuals from stigmatized groups reduces automatic stereotype activation and prejudice

Dual process model of prejudice

Process 1 is automatic stereotype activation while Process 2 is controlled regulation that can override biased responses