Unit III - Stereotypes, Discrimination and Power

Gender Stereotypes

Shared beliefs about the traits, qualities, and tendencies associated with different sex categories

Generalization

The tendency to assume that a new member of a category has the same qualities as other category members

Communion

A dimension reflecting traits such as warmth, connectedness and kindness

Agency

A dimension reflecting traits such as competence, assertiveness, and competitiveness

Stereotype Content Model

theory proposing that stereotypes about social groups fall along communion and agency dimensions and that groups may be seen as high or low on both dimensions

Women-are wonderful effect

Tendency for people to view stereotypes about women more favourably than they view stereotypes about men. And accordingly, to view (traditional, gender conforming) women very positively

Think Manger - think male effect

an effect in which stereotypes of men and managers overlap more strongly than stereotypes of women and managers

Prototype

The most typical cognitive representation of a category; with social groups, the prototype is the cultural default for representing the group

Heternormative

the assumption that "normal" sexuality is heterosexual

Social role Theory

The theory that gender stereotypes stem from people's observations of the social and occupational roles that women and men typically perform

Gender Prescriptions

traits that people believe women and men should have

Gender Proscriptions

traits that people believe women and men should not have

Status incongruity Hypothesis

The assumption that gender role - violating women are viewed negatively because they are seen as too dominant, while role - violating men are view negativlty because they are seen as too low in status. These perceptions violate the gender status hierarchy and make people uncomfortable

Stereotype Threat

anxiety individuals feel when concerned that their behaviour or performance might confirm a negative group stereotype

Self - Fufilling prophecy

The interpersonal process in which a perceiver's expectation about a target influences that target's behaviour in such a manner that the target's behaviour fulfills the preceivers expecations

Direction Accuracy

accuracy regarding the direction of a sex difference

Discrepancy Accuracy

Accuracy regarding the specific size (and direction) of a sex difference.

Generic Beliefs

beliefs about categories as wholes, without reference to numbers or proportions

Statistical Beliefs

beliefs about categories that involve numbers or proportions

Big Five Personality Dimensions

Five primary dimensions that underlie differences in personality (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experiences)

Rank - Order accuracy

accuracy regarding the relative sizes of sex differences across different domains

Individualistic Cultures

Cultures (often found in Western Europe and North America) that value independence and self-reliance and prioritize individual goals and needs over group goals and needs.

Collectivistic Cultures

Cultures (often found in South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East) that value fitting in and group solidarity and prioritize group goals and needs over individual goals and needs.

Matrilineal society

A society that traces descent through the mother's kinship line and passes inheritance down from mothers to their offspring.

Patrilineal Society

a society that traces descent through the father's kinship line and passes inheritance down from fathers to their offspring

Matriarchal Society

A society in which husbands typically live near their wive's familites

Patriarchal Society

A society in which wives typically live near their husbands' families

Power

The capacity to determine one's own and other people's outcomes

Structural Power

the power to shape societies and social systems

Dyadic Power

The power to choose intimate partners and relationships, and to control the interactions and decisions that occur within those relationships

Resource Control

Controlling the creation or distribution of essential and desirable goods such as money, land, food, and other valued commodities.

Cultural Ideologies

Overarching sets of beliefs and assumptions about groups that justify unequal social hierarchies.

Androcentrism

A cultural ideology that defines men and their experiences as universal, and treats women and their experiences as deviations from the male norm.

Ethnocentrism

a cultural ideology that defines one's own culture as the universal standard and judges other cultures as deviations from the norm

Heterocentrism

A cultural ideology that defines heterosexuality as universal and treats sexual minority groups as deviations from the norm.

Privilege

automatic, unearned advantages associated with belonging to a dominant group

Double Jeopardy Hypothesis

Hypothesis that individuals who belong to two or more subordinate groups face more discrimination than individuals who belong to only one subordinate group.

Intersectional Invisibility Hypothesis

the prediction that people with multiple subordinate identities are noticed less than those with one subordinate identity

Sexism

negative attitudes towards individuals based solely on their sex, combined with institutional and cultural practices that support the unequal status of different sex categories

Ambivalent Sexism

A theory proposing that gender relations are characterized by both negative attitudes toward women (hostile sexism) and seemingly toward women (benevolent sexism)

Hostile Sexism

Negative, antagonistic attitudes toward women who violate traditional gender role norms.

Benevolent Sexism (BS)

subjectively positive but patronizing attitudes toward women who conform to traditional gender role norms

Modern Sexism

a socially acceptable form of sexism consisting of a denial that women still face gender discrimination, coupled with resentment toward women who seek social change

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)

The extent to which individuals believe that inequality among social groups is right and fair because some groups should have more status than others.

System Justification theory

the theory that people are motivated to justify the sociopolitical system that governs them (even if it treats them unfairly) because doing so reduces uncertainty

Gender discrimination

unjust treatment based solely on one's sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity

Microagressions

common, everyday insults and indignities directed toward members of subordinate social groups

Affirmative action

Active efforts to combat discrimination by increasing opportunities for protected groups

Attributional Ambiguity

difficulty in attributing negative treatment to group-based discrimination when other possible explanations for the treatment are present

personal-group discrimination discrepancy

The tendency for individuals to think that their social groups experience more discrimination than they do personally

Collective action

Behaviour enacted on behalf of a group with the goal of improving conditions for the entire group

Allies

individuals who publicly support and promote the rights of disadvantaged group members but who are not themselves part of the disadvantaged group