Stereotyping & Prejudice Exam 2

What are the problems with claiming that someone has a “prejudiced personality”

You can’t label someone as “a prejudiced person” because prejudice is not consistent or predictable.

• Situational factors strongly influence behavior

What is empathetic concern?

Sympathy and compassion for others in response to their suffering

Relationship between empathy & prejudice

Dispositional empathy (ability to understand others emotions) is slightly related to lower prejudice

Limits of empathy

We are more likely to be empathetic towards our ingroup than outgroup members

What is the “women are wonderful” effect?

Women are generally evaluated more positively than men by both men & women

However, women are percieved as less competent and less deserving of rights

What is the overall gender difference in prejudice?

Women are slightly but consistently less prejudiced than men.

How big are gender differences in prejudice? E.g., men being more prejudiced than women

Small but reliable (not large differences)

Do gender differences in receiving prejudice vary by group?

Yes—larger for gay men, smaller for lesbians

What is the overall takeaway about gender and prejudice?

Gender differences exist, but attitudes are complex and mixed

General rule of prejudice and race

Preference for own racial group over other groups

T/F: If you have a preference towards your own (stigmatized) racial group, it reduces your prejudice towards other stigmatized groups

False

What are the two responses to being confronted with discrimination against one’s own group

1. Derogate other groups to maintain self-esteem

2. Bolster coalitional attitudes with other stigmatized groups

When one is being confronted with discrimination against their own group, what is the default response?

Derogate other groups to maintain self-esteem

ex: “How the Irish Became White” explains how Irish immigrants derogated Black Americans to elevate their status and gain acceptance as “White”

When one is being confronted with discrimination against their own group, when does one bolster coalitional attitudes with other stigmatized groups?

When other groups & their discriminatory experiences are perceived as similar

What is an ideology?

A system of beliefs and values about how social relationships should be managed

What are ideologies comprised of?

1. Beliefs about how the world is

2. Values about how the world should be

Core difference between liberal and conservative ideology across countries

1. Resistance vs. Openness to Change

2. Acceptance vs. Rejection of Inequality

T/F: Only conservatives are prejudiced

False, Libs/Cons are both prejudiced, but it’s directed toward different groups

Value Dissimilarity Hypothesis

Believing outgroup doesn’t share ingroup’s values

• form of prejudice

What was the research question in the Value Dissimilarity Study (Chambers et al., 2013)

What matters more for our attitudes toward others? Political-moral values or racial group?

What was the procedure in the Value Dissimilarity Study (Chambers et al., 2013)

Participants learned about a person (White or Black) who held values that were liberal or conservative, then rated their impressions of the person

What were the results of the Value Dissimilarity Study (Chambers et al., 2013) after participants learned about the persons race + political values

Political values mattered more for judging than racial prejudice.

In general, which political ideology is less prejudiced

In general, liberals are less prejudiced than conservatives.

However, the target of prejudice matters a lot.

Why does the target of prejudice matter when it comes to which political ideology is “more prejudiced”

Perception that the group’s values conflicts with your own → more negative attitudes & prejudice

What is Authoritarianism

Desire for sameness & obedience to authority

No diversity

ex: nazis

What is Social dominance orientation

Desire for group dominance

• No equality

What is social dominance orientation brought on by?

Perceived group threat or competition (e.g., immigration, affirmative action)

System justification

Desire to justify a system as it is

• no change

What are Authoritarianism, Social Dominance orientation, and System justification all linked to?

Conservatism

T/F: Authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and system justification are always linked?

False

• Only weakly to moderately correlated with each other

Janice is a hardcore libertarian. To her, the Canadian govt has always been too powerful and coddles people with welfare. People should be free to follow their own self-interests. If some people become super-rich and others stay poor, that's fine by her.

What is Janice low/high in: Authoritarianism, Social dominance orientation, sytem justification

Low in authoritarinism

High in social dominance orientation

Low in system justification

What is an Authoritarian Personality

 personality type that is more susceptible to unquestioning obedience to authority

What are the three basic concepts of Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA)

1. Authoritarian Submission: Submission to legitimate authorities

2. Conventionalism: Adherence to conventional norms

3. Authoritarian Aggression: Aggressiveness against groups that defy authorities or conventions

People high in RWA tend to be more 

1. prejudiced against many groups

2. Mentally inflexible (more likely to rely on stereotypes)

3. Lack of openness to new experiences

4. Believe world is dangerous

5. See the world in terms of ingroups & outgroups

What is Social Dominance Theory?

An evolutionary theory explaining that societies naturally form group-based hierarchies, which lead to conflict and oppression between dominant and subordinate groups.

What are the key types and features of hierarchies in Social Dominance Theory?

1. Universal hierarchies:

• Age-based

• Gender-based (exist in all societies)

2. Arbitrary-set hierarchies:

• Based on race, religion, class

• Emerge when there is economic surplus

3. Variation:

• Societies and individuals differ in how much they support or reduce hierarchy

What is the personality aspect of Social Dominance Theory

Social Dominance Orientation

Social dominance theory can manifest in support of..

1. Ingroup domination (if part of oppressor group)

2. Ingroup subordination (if part of oppressed group)

People high in Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) are more likely to…

1. Be prejudiced against many groups

2. See world as zero-sum

3. See society as competitive “dog eat dog” world

4. Pursue hierarchy-enhancing professions (ex: police officer)

System Justification Theory

People are motivated to defend, bolster, and justify existing social systems

• Ex: working class justify anti-labor laws

Why do we want to see unjustly systems as just?

Palliative function: relieving pain w/o dealing with cause of pain

• It is painful to believe there is injustice in world

What is an example of palliative function in the LGBT community?

LGBT people that minimize the extent to which their group is the target of discrimination report higher subjective well-being

What is the downside to palliative function in LGB ppl?

LGB people who minimized discrimination reported higher internalized stigma

• would take up offer to become heterosexual if given chance

What is a manifestation of system justification?

Compensatory stereotypes: Stereotypes that compensate for a negative quality with a positive quality (or vice versa)

• “poor but happy”

• “rich but miserable”

• asians: “smart, but uncreative”

System justification helps people meet which needs?

Existential needs: reduces threat + insecurity

Relational needs: Need to share similar perceptions of the world with others

Epistemic needs: Reduce uncertainty & ambiguity

When Alex learns that LGBT people are more likely to bullied, Alex reasons that is because LGBT people are doing something to egg their bullies on. What individual difference is Alex most likely to be high on?

System justification – "they must've done something to deserve it”

Explicit vs implicit prejudice

Explicit: Conscious and/or Deliberate & Slow and/or Controllable
Implicit: Unconscious and/or Automatic & fast and/or Difficult to control

Explicit racial attitudes among white ppl

Most (58%) of white ppl claim they have no explicit pref for white or black ppl, 39% of ppl claim they have a preference for white ppl

• but this is not the full story!

Implicit Measures

Measure for assessing thoughts outside or conscious awareness or control

How do implicit measures indirectly assess thoughts

Indirectly assess thoughts through performance on tasks, NOT self-report

• Removes the lack of truth and self-control from self report

What types of evaluations do implicit tests reveal?

Evaluations that we

• We hide from others

• Are hidden from ourselves

• Are difficult to control

How do white ppl perform on the implicit bias test for race?

Most are pro-white

How do black ppl perform on the implicit bias test compared to white ppl?

More in the middle

What is the implicit gender-science stereotype

Both genders are more likely to associate women w/ arts & men w/ science

How does the implicit gender-science stereotype change based on your major?

Women in arts are more likely to have higher implicit stereotypes. Women in engineering or life sciences have lower implicit stereotypes rates

Men in arts show lower implicit stereotypes. Men in science show higher implicit stereotypes

• Note: It only lowers & does not flip (no one ever associates science w/ women & arts w/ men)

Where do implicit prejudices & stereotypes come from?

Our understanding of social hierarchy: what groups are higher status

Our personal identity: Who we are, what our experiences have been

How can we measure when implicit bias plays a role in behavioral changes?

Through interpersonal interactions

• Ex: White participants with higher implicit racial bias tended to have more awkward + stilted conversations with the Black experimenter

• Ex: white doctors w/ highest implicit bias will have worse doctor-patient relationships w/ black patients

What does research on implicit bias in hiring show about methods and results?

• Method: Sent applications with Swedish vs. Arab/Muslim names and measured hiring managers’ biases

• Key finding:

  • Explicit bias → weak link to callbacks

  • Implicit bias → stronger negative effect on callbacks for Arab/Muslim applicants

When factors affect if implicit prejudices & stereotypes are influential in our behavior?

1. Motivation & Ability

2. Discretion

3. Organizations & Institutions

How does motivation and ability affect if implicit prejudices & stereotypes are influential in our behavior?

You have no time to think things through → more likely for implicit bias to affect behavior

• Stressed, tired, drunk, lazy, on a deadline

When does discretion affect if implicit prejudices & stereotypes are influential in our behavior?

• When criteria for decision making is unclear

• When information is ambiguous or incomplete

Ex: Ppl usually think the man would be a better chief of police regardless of the ambiguous traits each officer is given

How does organizations & Institutions affect if implicit prejudices & stereotypes are influential in our behavior?

When policies & systems allow for it

• ex: Prior to “blind auditions” for orchestras, mostly men were accepted. After “blind auditions,” women started being accepted as well

Forms of blinding

1. Blinding: Eliminating the possibility of knowing a person’s group

2. Dimming: Reducing the intensity of group status (ex: Don’t Google how a person looks)

3. Temporary Cloaking: Make a blinded decision, remove blinding, then see if there are unintended consequences

What is the prejudice continuum?

Prejudice exists on a continuum from blatant → subtle

What is Jim Crow Racism/old-fashioned racism

Whites’ absolute belief in their (biological) superiority over other races + firm belief racial separation

Use of government to establish a system of segregation and other forms of discrimination

Symbolic prejudice

Set of beliefs about Black ppl as an abstract group rather than as individuals

ex: Beliefs portray Black people as morally inferior because they violate traditional values (hardworking, self-reliant)

What does symbolic prejudice manifest as?

Support for acts that can be justified on a non-racial basis, but that maintain the racial status quo

• Opposition to bussing (historically), welfare, affirmative action, voting against Black candidates, pro-school choice

Symbolic prejudice is characterized by themes that

1. Justify policies that are designed to promote inequality

2. Endorse equality as an abstract principle

3. Think anger over inequality & unfair treatment is unjustifie

4. Think black people seek special favors from the government rather than working harder

5. Think black people are getting more than they deserve economically

What is the misperception of racial inequality?

A lot of people underestimate the racial wealth inequality that exists in America

• Ex: Asked “For every $100 in wealth accumulated by an average White family, how much wealth has the average Black family accumulated in 2010?”

  • 2010 Perceived: $80

  • 2010 Actual: $12

What is the paradox of symbolic prejudice

People with symbolic prejudice endorse racial equality in principle, but oppose policies that could bring it about

What is negative liberty? What is it related to?

The freedom from external restraints for ones’ actions

• Equality of opportunity: Everyone deserves the same chance to succeed

What is positive liberty? What is it related to?

The ability to take control over one’s life and accomplish one’s goals

• Equality of outcome: Everyone should have the same level of wellbeing

T/F: higher symbolic racism predict higher agreement with equality of outcome

False, it predicts lower agreemenet of equality of outcome

• Equality of outcome: Everyone should have the same level of wellbeing

Key components of symbolic prejudice around the world

1. Move away from biological superiority

2. Focus on outgroup violation of shared cultural value

3. Justification of inequality and unfair treatment due to negative internal characteristics of outgroup

• Ex: Malaysia prime minister saying that malays have to change their character for affirmative action to work

Aversive Prejudice

Having positive explicit attitudes toward Black people while holding negative implicit attitudes toward Black people

• Characterized by feelings of unease and discomfort rather than

  hostility

  • Ex: Clutching purse around black ppl

What is the Partner Discomfort Study?

Measured blood pressure of white participants after interacting with white ppl vs black ppl in a word search

• Blood pressure much higher around black ppl – people w/ aversive prejudice are uncomfortable & anxious around minorities

T/F: Many aversive racists support equality & see themselves as egalitarian

True

This results in a strong motivation to appear unprejudiced

How does aversive racism lead to discrimination under certain conditions?

• Clear “correct” behavior: Fair responses

• Unclear “correct” behavior: discriminating responses

What two factors affect discriminating responses due to aversive racism?

Intimacy: The degree to which you would feel intimate (close) to the person

Scriptedness: The degree to which there is a clear script that defines what behaviors are to be performed in an situation

What type of interactions w/ black ppl do white people w/ aversive racism prefer

White ppl prefer interactions w/ Black ppl that are more scripted and less intimate

What is the habituation paradigm?

A method where infants are repeatedly shown the same stimulus until they get “bored” (look less), indicating it has been encoded.

What is dishabituation in infants and what does it tell us?

When a new stimulus is shown, infants will look longer if they detect a difference. This increase in looking time (dishabituation) shows they recognize something as novel or different.

How does the habituation paradigm show infants recognize social categories (e.g., age, gender)?

Infants are habituated to one type of face (e.g., same-age woman)

Then shown new faces:

• Longer looking → different category (e.g., man or older woman)

• Shorter looking → same category (e.g., same-age woman)

This shows they can distinguish categories.

What is the preferential looking method and how is it different from habituation?

Infants are shown multiple stimuli without prior habituation, and researchers measure which one they look at longer.

• Longer looking = preference or interest, not necessarily recognition.

What determines what infants prefer to look at?

• Often visually interesting/novel (“cool”) stimuli (baby will stare at fluorescent lights longer than a bottle of pepper even if they are both new stimuli)

• With age, experience shapes preferences (e.g., exposure to certain faces)

How did they measure nonverbal race preferences in infants? What did they find?

White newborns AND 3-month olds saw images of people from different races (NO HABITUATION)

• measured the looking time (preference) that each baby had

  • 3 month olds: looked at white faces the longest → shows preference

  • newborns: no race-based differences in looking time

What does it mean that white 3 month olds had preferences for white faces while white newborns did not?

Nonverbal preferences based on race develop w/ experiences

How did they measure nonverbal accent preferences in newborns? What did they find?

5-6 month-olds from English-speaking households watched videos of two women. One spoke English, the other spoke Spanish (NO HABITUATION)

• Showed women side-by-side

Measured looking time for English speaker vs. Spanish speaker (preference)

• Result: Infants preferred English speaker

When does conscious awareness of social categories begin?

With the development of language in babies

T/F: Development of awareness for all social categories occurs at the same time

False, the development specific social categories varies

Two rules for when awareness of social categories develops:

1. Visibility of social category

2. Primacy of social category in everyday life

Order of development of social categories

1. Age develops very early

2. Gender develops early (2-3 years)

3. Race/ethnicity comes later (4-5 years and up)

   1. Varies based on your racial/ethnic identity and local culture

How did they measure what cues children & adults use to determine race?

Adults & 4-9 year olds in Northeast US (81% White, 11% Black, 8% other) saw White & Black faces, had to label as “White or European-American” or “Black or African American

• Faces differed in skin color & facial features (physiognomy)

What did they find from the study that measured what cues children & adults use to determine race?

Adults rely on a combination of skin color & facial features; children rely primarily on skin color

At what age does racial prejudice develop?

Prejudice tends to be higher around 5-7, when children:

• Have internalized social categories

• Haven’t internalized egalitarian norms yet

T/F: Prejudice increases with high amount of contact with outgroup members

False,

Prejudice increases when there is no contact

Prejudice decreases when there is high contact

How did they measure implicit attitudes across development when there are high opportunities for contact w/ minority groups?

(predominantly) White participants in Boston from kindergartners → 5th graders → adults

• measured self-reported preference & implicit pro-white attitdues

• results: self-reported preference decreased, implicit pro-white attitude stayed same

Why explicit prejudice declined for White participants in Boston?

• Learn social and cultural norms about race

• Internalize moral lessons about equality & fairness