Psych 241 midterm

Intergroup Bias

Systematic tendency to perceive one's own group (the ingroup) more favorably than a group to which one does not belong to (the outgroup).

-Bias can manifest itself in terms of attitude (prejudice), behavior (discrimination), or cognition (Stereotyping)

Stereotypes

Generalized belief that links a whole group of people with certain characteristics

Prejudice

Negative attitudes or feelings toward a certain group and its individual members

Discrimination

Action or behavior in favor or against an individual based on their group membership

Blatant to Subtle Forms of Bias

Intergroup bias may emerge in blatant of subtle forms

-Blatant forms of bias may emerge in racist epithets or derogatory sexist comments

-Social norms have lead to a decline in such expressions as they are seen as morally wrong

-Bias is hurtful when people treat cultural differences as problematic, mock another for being different, or exclude others based on their identity

-Bias maybe more subtle in form of aversive racism or implicit stereotyping or prejudice

Aversive Racism

Form of racism that surfaces in subtle ways when it is safe, socially acceptable, and easy to rationalize

Implicit Bias

Stereotypes or prejudice considered unconscious or implicit when people express them without awareness and without being able to control their responses

-Implicit prejudice and stereotypes broadly represent mental association between a group and feelings or beliefs

Measuring Implicit Bias

The Implicit Association Test

-reaction time measure (Asked to pair certain terms)

-measures strength of association between concepts

-ex. easier for us to pair good and flowers, so we have faster responses than for good and insects

Stronger association = faster responses

Stereotype content model (Fiske et al., 2002)

-The stereotypes we have of different groups can range along two dimensions of competence and warmth

-As a result, we have different emotional reactions to different types of groups

Sexism

Gender stereotypes are distinct as they aren't only descriptive but also prescriptive

-Both men and women across many cultures believe that men are competent and independent, while women are warm and expressive

Social Role Theory

-Stereotypes come from roles and behaviors that societal pressures may impose on a particular group

-Stereotypes attached to groups are often a function of historical and culturally embedded social constraints

Gender and Social Role Theory

-Small gender differences are magnified in perception by the contrasting social roles occupied by men and women

-Influence occurs in three steps:

--Combination of biological and social factors influences division of labor in the first place

--People behave in ways that fit the roles they play

--These behavioral differences provide a continual basis for social perception that men are dominant and women are domestic by nature

Gender Backlash

violation of gender stereotypes can result in social and economic backlash

Sources of Intergroup Bias

•Economic

-Realistic Conflict

•Motivation

-Identity

-System Justification

-Uncertainty Reduction

•Cognition

-Social Categorization

-Biased processing

•Individual Differences

•Culture

Economic Perspective

-Competition for material resources can lead to intergroup bias

-Scape-goating when dominant groups become frustrated and displace aggression onto relatively powerless, visible and disliked outgroups

-Poor economic conditions appear to be related to increased hatred toward outgroups

realistic conflict theory

competition for limited resources fosters prejudice, stereotypes and hostility

-Main conclusions:

--Competition between two groups sufficient for intergroup hostility

--Resource conflict doesn't have to e real

--Subordinate goals that require groups to work together helps reduce hostility between them

Motivational Perspective

-humans live, work, play and fight in groups

-fundamental motive is need to belong and affiliate

Minimal Groups Paradigm

Paradigm in which researchers create groups based on arbitrary criteria and then examine how members of these 'minimal groups' behave toward each other

Social Identity Theory

Our self concept and self esteem are not only derived from personal identity and accomplishments, but also from the status and accomplishments of groups to which we belong

-SIT: People favor ingroups over outgroups in order to enhance their self-esteem

System Justification

System justification theory argues for ideological motive to justify the status quo even if it negatively impacts one's own group

Uncertainty Reduction

-We are motivated to know who we are and how we relate to others - we like to feel relatively certain about things in life

-Social identification one way to reduce uncertainty by offering prototypes and defining our place with respect to others

Cognitive Perspective

Intergroup biases result from the ways in which we process info about people

social categorization

the classification of people into groups on the basis of various common attributes

-Adaptive and helpful in processing complex world

-However, problematic because it can lead to overestimation of between group differences and underestimation of within group differences

-Stereotypes especially likely when we are tired, cognitively loaded, or low on mental energy

outgroup homogeneity effect

-Social categorization can lead to outgroup homogeneity effect

-It's the tendency to assume that there is greater similarity among members of outgroups than among members of ingroups

-Occurs because; often have more contact with ingroup members to notice divergent opinions and because we don't treat ingroup members as representative of the whole, we think of it as idiosyncrasies of the individual

biased information processing

Stereotypes also influence how we communicate, process information and interpret events

self-fulfilling prophecies

Sometimes our stereotypes create a self-fulfilling prophecy by leading us to act toward outgroup members in ways that encourage the very behavior we expect

Subtyping

Explaining away exceptions to a stereotype by creating a subcategory that differs from the group as a whole

-Tend to be more critical of exceptions to the tule than those congruent with the stereotype

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)

Extent to which one sees hierarchy of groups and desires their ingroup to dominate over others

Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA)

Extent to which one values conventionalism, authoritarian aggression and submission

Motivation to Control Prejudice

Expressions of intergroup biases may be influenced by the extent to which one is motivated to control prejudice

Baumgartner et al. (2012)

-Intergroup discrimination associated with increased grey matter in:

--Temporal Parietal Junction (TPJ) and Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex (DMPFC)

-Mediated by degree of mentalizing

--Empathy

Neuroanatomy and Discrimination

-White matter integrity at TPJ and connectivity between TPJ and DMPFC predict reduced intergroup bias

-Non biased mentalizing mediated both links

Cultural Influence

-Socialization refers to process by which people learn the norms, rules, and info of a culture or group

-Intergroup bias is influenced by media and socialization

Being a member of a stigmatized group

-members of a stigmatized group may suffer setbacks in health, wealth, employment prospects, and more

-Biases have negative consequences through:

--Negative health outcomes, Attributional ambiguity, Stereotype threat

Negative Health Outcomes

Research from many parts of world find stigmatized groups tend to experience worse health outcomes than advantaged groups or the majority

attributional ambiguity

-Stigmatized group members often face dilemma of how to attribute experiences they have

-This may impact their experience of both positive and negative feedback

Stereotype Threat

Stereotype threat is fear of being evaluated or confirming negative stereotypes about one's group

-Stereotype threat can:

--Negatively impact performance in a domain of importance; and

--in the long run, lead members of stigmatized groups to disidentify with the domain

Reducing Prejudice

Reducing prejudice entails changing the values and beliefs by which people live

Dual process view of prejudice

Process 1 (Experiential): Stereotypes and biased attitudes are brought to mind quickly and automatically through a reflexive or experiential process.

Process 2 (Rational): People employ reflective or cognitive processes to regulate or control the degree to which those thoughts and attitudes affect their behavior and judgment.

prejudice isn't always easily controlled

-People face limitations when they attempt to control their biases

-Controlling biases can have negative effects

The Contact Hypothesis

Ingredients for positive intergroup contact

-Equal states between groups in situation

-Intimate and varied contact that allows people to get acquainted

-Intergroup cooperation toward a superordinate goal

-Institutional support

-Research

Why does optimal contact work?

Key mechanisms by which optimal contact creates positive change:

• Reducing stereotyping (decategorizing)

• Reducing anxiety

• Fostering empathy

• Generalization of positive change depends on the

stages for intergroup contact that play out over time.

• Contact situations might need to be designed specifically to reduce minority-group members' own biases against the majority.

Reducing Prejudice without Contact

Perspective taking and empathy

Attitudes

Evaluations of a target expressed with some level of intensity.

-Attitudes represented by ho wwe evaluate a person, a group, an object, an issue or an ideology

Attitudes vary in strength along positive and negative dimensions leading to attitudes that are positive, negative, ambivalent, or indifferent

Attitudes and Behavior

Behavior -> Attitudes

-Intuitive assumption that attitudes or how we evaluate an obhect will influence how we behave towards it

-Called into questions in 1930s with La Piere's classic study

-Review suggested that attitudes only weakly predict behavior

-However several factors may impact the relation between the two

Factors That Affect How Well Attitudes Predict Behavior

-Matching attitude to behavior

-Knowing people's true attitudes for predicting behavior

-Measuring implicit attitudes (spontaneous behavior prediction) and explicit attitudes (deliberate and reasoned behavior prediction)

Attitude Accesibility

Accessible attitudes predict behavior, but attitudes aren't always accessible

-Self-awareness

-Priming

Theory of Planned Behavior

Planned behavior best explained by compined influence of:

-Attitudes

-Subjective norms

-Perceived behavioral control

Three factors combine to influence behavioral intentions which in turn influence behavior

Problems with Theory of Planned Behavior

-It is very rational and deliberative

-Intentions are not great predictors of behavior

-Behaviors are sometimes spontaneous and unintentional

-It doesn't take into account implicit attitudes and how behavior may be influenced by implicit associations that may be different than explicit attitudes

Recent Research: Prediciting Behavior from Attitudes

Attitudes are a strong predictor of behavior

Persuasion

A shift in attitude or behavior as the result of influence of appeals by other people or other sources

Commercials

-Create a behavior...purchase a product

-How do ads do this?; by creating a positive attitude towards the product in the consumer

-Major assumption: If attitude is created -> leads to behavior (purchasing the product)

Salience

Repetition

-Novel stimulus->more exposure->more liking

Complexity

-We like what we know or expect

Simpler=more liking quicker, but less liking in long run

-Like songs on radio that are catchy, we know pattern already

-Normal/Excited range of heart beat

Complex=less liking in beginning, but more overtime, longer lasting

-Like classical music. More subtleties in music that you didn't notice before that keep you interested

Positive Associations

Not just an evaluation, but a cognitive link between product and positive event

-Humor

-Attraction

-Famous people

-Music

-Positive image, event, or ideal

-Nostalgia

Two routes to persuasion

central route and peripheral route

Central or Systematic Route

Process by which people think carefully about the content of a message and are influenced by the strength and quality of the argument

Peripheral or Heuristic Route

Process by which people are influenced by superficial cues in a message such as the length of the message, the attractiveness of the communicator, or the theatricality of the message.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route

Which route do we take?

Central route influenced by:

-Personal relevance of message

-SUM: Increased motivation and ability

-Whether the message makes us feel responsible for some action

Peripheral route triggerred by:

-Factors that reduce our motivation

-Factors that interfere with our ability to attend to the message

Persuasive Communication

Persuasive communication involved three components:

-Message (What was said?)

-Source (Who said it?)

-Audience (To whom?)

Message

-Informational Strategies

-Message Tone

-Strength of argument and repitition

-Fear Appeals

-Emotion appeal and objective statistics

Primary Effects

Info presented first has the most influence

Recency Effects

Info presented last has the most influence

Source

-Credibility: Refers to the combination of expertise and trustworthiness

-Attractiveness and Similarity

Audience

Various characteristics about the receiver influence persuasion

-Need for cognition: Personality variable that distinguishes people on the basis of how much they enjoy effortful cognitive activities

-Mood

-Age

Media and Persuasion

-Assumption that other people are more prone to being influenced by persuasive messages than we are

-Evidence for media effects, but effects are surprisingly weak

-Although media may not influence specific choice for one product versus another, it may shape our conception of reality

Resistance to Persuasion

Why are attempts at persuasion not always effective?

-Attentionl biases: People are inclined to selectively attend to info that confirms their original attitudes

-People also selectively evaluate info they agree vs. disagree with

Inoculation

Exposure to weak versions of a persuasive message increases later resistance to that argument

Previous commitment

when people make public commitments to their attitudes, they are more resistant to subsequent counter-attitudinal messages

Reactance

People react to threats to their freedom or by asserting themselves and perceiving the freedom as even more attractive

Jonestown

A settlement in Guyana, led by Jim Jones, where a mass suicide occurred.

social influence

-Refers to the effects of other people on an individual's beliefs, attitudes, values, or behavior

-Types of social influence:

--Social learning

--Conformity

--Compliance

--Obediance

-History replete with examples of people doing unexpected things because of social influence

Social learning

the capacity to learn from observing others

-We can either be encouraged or discouraged from engaging in both new or known behaviors

Albert Bandura's Observational Learning

A form of cognitive learning in which new responses are acquired after watching others' behavior and the consequences of their behavior.

Bandura's bobo Doll

Experiment to find out what happens to children's behavior after watching violence in person, or on television

Conformity

Altering behaviors or beliefs to bring them in accordance with others

Informational Influence

Influence producing conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgment

Normative Influence

Influence that produces conformity when a person wants to fit in or fears negative consequences of appearing deviant

Private Conformity

Change in beliefs when a person truly accepts the position taken by others

Public Conformity

Superficial change in behavior produced by real or imagined group pressure without change in opinion

Sherif's Conformity Research

-Used the autokinetic illusion

-First had people come in and individually complete the task, but then sit with others and make the same estimates

-Individual judgments soon became group norm and norm influenced perception

-Year later, similar estimates were revealed when tested individually

Normative Social Influence

Conforming in order to be liked and accepted or to fulfil others' expectations. This type of conformity results in public compliance of the group's beliefs and behaviors

-Conformity when we use others to know how to fit in

When do we conform to informational social influence?

1. When the situation is ambiguous

2. When there is a crisis

3. When others are experts

Social Pressure Study (Asch)

75% of participants conformed at least once giving an answer they knew to be wrong.

Factors Affecting Conformity

Group size, Group unanimity, Culture, Gender, Individual Differences, Age Differences

Compliance

-Changes in behavior elicited by direct requests from others

-Different strats for compliance that rely on various psychological processes

Foot in the Door Technique

a compliance technique in which a person makes an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies, followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest

-Compliance may occur here because:

--When people comply with a small request they may engage in self perception process of seeing themselves as helpful

--After agreeing to an initial request, people may feel that refusing a second one would be a public inconsistency

Free Gift Technique

-giving a small gift to someone or doing a small favour increases the likelihood to complying with a subsequent request

-Norm of reciprocity: Norm dictating that people should provide benefits to those who beenfit them

-Situations in which receiving a gift from different person may lead to compliance because of positive mood

Door in the Face Technique

-Making a very large request that one will certainly refuse and then following that it with a more modest request

-Technique may be effective because pressure to respond to change in position of the requester. The second request may be seen as a concession on their part requiring concession on ours

Liking Technique

people are more likely to comply with requests from those who are likable, similar, or attractive

Scarcity Technique

Strategy in which appeal of item increased by making it appear rare or temporary

That's Not All Technique

strategy in which something is added as a bonus or reduced as a discount from the original offer

Low Balling Technique

Strategy in which the person secures agreement with a request, but then increases the size of the request by revealing hidden costs

Obedience

-Definition: behavior change produced by the commands of authority

-In many ways, social order depends on respect to authority

Milgram's Obedience Study

An experiment in which Milgram found that people will usually obey an authority, even if they might think what they are doing is wrong.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Obedience

Studies Conducted worldwide

-Evidence of even higher rates of obedience in most countries compared to US

-No gender differecnes observed across studies

-Recent replications in US have found high obedience rates similar to original work

Obedience to Authority

Although tempting to dismiss findings as not applicable to ourselves, several reasons to consider otherwise:

-Participants didn't wish to harm either

-Participants didn't mindlessly obey

Impression Formation

-Bottom up: we match their actions, gestures, facial, expressions, and we listen to them

-Top down: we use our schemas

Impression from bottom up

gathering individual observations of a person in order to form an overall impression

-Negativity bias

-Thin slices

-Theory of mind

Negativity Bias

-Evolutionary advantage to weighting negative behavior more strongly

-Norm adherence failure

--Attribution: person level or internal

--Labelled "Bad" behavior