Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Chapter 9: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Learning Objectives
9.1 Identify why we seem to have stereotyping instincts and the dangers they can lead to.
9.2 Understand types of prejudice and how four theories explain the motivation behind it.
9.3 Analyze various research-based interventions to reduce prejudice and discrimination.
I. Introduction
Prejudice and stereotypy are behind numerous murders of people of color and ethnic minorities in the United States.
II. Why Do We Keep Using Stereotypes?
A. Definitions
Stereotype: An oversimplified belief describing all members of a certain group.
Prejudice: Emotion-centered judgments or evaluations about people based on their perceived membership in a group.
Discrimination: Behaviors directed toward people because of their perceived membership in a group.
B. Distinctions Among Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Psychology differentiates between “positive” and “negative” stereotypes:
Negative Stereotypes: Familiar beliefs that a group exhibits some negative traits.
Positive Stereotypes: Beliefs that attribute positive, complimentary traits to a group (Siy & Cheryan, 2016), though they can lead to negative outcomes.
C. Stereotyping Makes Our Mental Lives Easier
Instinctual Nature of Stereotypes:
The brain employs a “spam filter” to minimize cognitive load based on the principle of least effort.
Adaptive Categorization:
Instinctual filtering of significant information helps quickly identify survival threats.
First impressions are often based on appearance.
“Us versus them” thinking is a recurring theme throughout the chapter.
D. Stereotypes Are Supported by Automatic Neural Signatures
Stereotypes may be ingrained in our brain functions.
Neural Signatures: Established neural pathways in the brain processing specific types of information, often subconsciously.
Study by Cunningham et al. (2004): White participants viewed images of Black or white faces for durations of either 525 ms or 30 ms.
30 ms condition showed heightened fear response in the amygdala toward Black faces.
525 ms condition allowed engagement of logical thinking processes in the prefrontal cortex, mitigating fear responses.
E. Stereotypes Strengthen Our Identity
Social Identity Theory:
Ingroup: Any group a person belongs to.
Outgroup: Any group a person does not belong to.
Comfort and validation arise from shared experiences and agreements within ingroups.
The Minimal Group Paradigm:
An experimental method (Tajfel, 1970) illustrating ingroup favoritism and outgroup bias with arbitrary group assignments based on traits with no significance.
Subsequent experiments demonstrated persistent bias even in random group assignments (Billig & Tajfel, 1973; Tajfel et al., 1971).
F. Stereotypes Can Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Expectations Affect Behavior:
Expectations about behavior can lead to those very behaviors manifesting.
Kernel of Truth Theory:
Stereotypes have origins in truths but become exaggerated over time, leading to harmful generalizations.
Social Role Theory:
Observing certain behaviors reinforces stereotypes, such as women being seen as nurturing because of their roles as caregivers.
Societal conditioning leads children towards gendered expectations based on stereotypes of inherent traits linked to gender.
G. Becoming Our Own Worst Enemy: Stereotype Threat
Stereotype Threat:
Anxiety regarding confirming negative stereotypes, distracting individuals and leading to poor performance (see Steele, 1997).
Examples include female students in male-dominated fields and minorities in predominantly white classes.
Golfers and the Yips:
An example of stereotype threat affecting performance in sports (Roberts et al., 2019; Roberts et al., 2013).
Impact of Worry: Distraction from the threat of confirming stereotypes worsens performance.
Reframing Stereotype Threats:
Reframing offers individuals a way to view stereotype threats as opportunities for growth and overcoming prejudice (see Alter et al., 2010).
Experimental findings indicate that simply informing participants about a lack of group performance differences can alleviate stereotype threat (Spencer et al., 1999).
H. Stereotypes Are Reinforced by Culture and Institutional Discrimination
Culture:
A set of shared beliefs and norms that shape identities and perpetuate stereotypes, often unnoticed until altered.
Example: Culture influencing the understanding of privilege as described by Whitley & Kite (2010).
Group Privilege:
Dominant groups gain easier lives, often without awareness of their privilege (e.g., economic, educational advantages, etc.).
White Privilege: Unique advantages afforded to white individuals within white-centric societies, e.g., shopping without suspicion, favorable representations in media.
Accumulated privileges create overwhelming disadvantages for oppressed groups.
Intergenerational Transfer and Social Learning Theory:
Social Learning Theory: We imitate rewarded behaviors and cultural beliefs, perpetuating stereotypes over generations.
Social Agents: Influencers (parents, media) transmit beliefs across generations, reinforcing stereotypes.
Institutional Discrimination:
Unequal treatment perpetuated by societal institutions through mechanisms like the legal system and media representation.
Example: Disparities in police stops and racial profiling (see Andrews, 2016).
Ingroup Heterogeneity vs. Outgroup Homogeneity:
Ingroup heterogeneity: recognizing diversity within one’s own group.
Outgroup homogeneity: perceiving all outgroup members as identical.
III. How Do Stereotypes Turn Into Prejudices?
A. Three Types of Prejudice
Old-Fashioned Prejudice:
Obvious and overt prejudices now deemed inappropriate in modern society.
Example: Negative media portrayal of overweight individuals.
Modern-Symbolic Prejudice:
Roots in the belief that equality is achieved, resenting minority groups seeking resources.
Holds myths that ongoing disparities are due to cultural failings rather than discrimination.
Ambivalent Prejudice:
Combines benevolent and hostile prejudices.
Benevolent Prejudice: Positively views certain group members, yet holds paternalistic, limiting beliefs.
Hostile Prejudice: Negative judgments against those defying stereotypes or societal norms.
Example: The “Madonna/whore complex” where only compliant individuals are positively viewed; others face hostility.
B. Realistic Conflict Theory
Realistic Conflict Theory:
Prejudice arises from justifications for ingroup entitlement to limited resources.
Historical context: Colonization often justified by perceived deservingness of resources.
C. Scapegoating
Frustration-Aggression Theory:
Frustrations lead to aggression toward vulnerable outgroups.
Scapegoat Theory:
Prejudice emerges from attributing frustrations to outgroups.
Historical observations noted correlation between economic downturns and increased aggression towards marginalized groups.
D. Stereotype Content Model
Stereotype Content Model:
Proposes that judgments of warmth and competence shape our reactions to outgroups, leading to varying emotional responses.
E. Prejudiced Personality
Interactionist Perspective:
Personality traits and situational factors jointly influence social behaviors.
Authoritarian Personality:
Characterized by submission to authority and aggression toward those who defy authority.
Consistently associated with personal prejudice through various studies.
Social Dominance Orientation (SDO):
Preference for hierarchy and dominance over outgroups.
High SDO linked to unethical behaviors and socio-political prejudices.
Religiosity:
Examines how religious beliefs correlate with prejudice, recognizing intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations and their varied effects.
IV. How Can We Reduce Prejudice and Discrimination?
A. The Contact Hypothesis and Robbers Cave Experiment
Contact Hypothesis:
The principle that getting to know disliked groups reduces prejudice.
Robbers Cave Experiment (Sherif, 1956):
Studied prejudice formation between two groups of boys at a summer camp.
Initial segregation led to conflict and prejudice, which was mitigated through cooperative tasks requiring collaboration towards common goals (superordinate goals).
B. Superordinate Goals
Promoting Cooperation:
Facilitating joint efforts enhances intergroup relations.
Example of cooperative tasks used to diminish prejudice in the Robbers Cave Experiment.
C. Modern Applications of Superordinate Goals
Jigsaw Classrooms:
A collaborative learning technique requiring students to rely on one another.
Challenges include potential blame among group members impacting effectiveness.
Forming Friendships:
Individual contacts positively impact prejudice reduction, with quality of interaction proving more effective than quantity.