Lecture 21: Racism

Lecture Summary: Racism

1. Attributions

  • Definition: Attributions refer to the process of explaining behavior or events.

  • Examples of Attributions:

    • Jeremy left the waitress a generous tip.

    • Peter cheated on an exam.

Dispositional vs Situational Attributions

  • Dispositional Attribution: Refers to attributing someone's behavior to their internal characteristics, such as personality traits.

  • Situational Attribution: Considers the external circumstances that might affect a person's behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

  • Definition: The tendency to believe that a behavior is due to a person’s disposition rather than the situation in which the person finds themselves.

  • Notable Psychologist: Lee Ross (1941 – 2021)

Case Study: Derek Chauvin and George Floyd

  • Conviction: In 2022, Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.

  • Dispositional Attribution (Prosecution):

    • Argument: Chauvin's restraint was excessive and unnecessary.

    • Evidence: Past incidents of excessive force used by Chauvin indicated high anger and low empathy.

    • Conclusion: View Chauvin as responsible and advocate for punishment.

  • Situational Attribution (Defense):

    • Argument: Chauvin acted according to his training, implying the responsibility lies with the training system.

    • Conclusion: Suggested rehabilitation of Chauvin rather than punishment.

Implications of Chauvin's Case

  • Quote: “It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism that is a stain on our nation’s soul.”

2. Dispositions

  • Stereotypes: Biased beliefs about the characteristics of groups of people.

  • Prejudice: Biased feelings or evaluations of groups based on those beliefs.

  • Discrimination: Biased actions treating people differently due to their group membership.

Modes of Bias

  1. Explicit Bias:

    • System 2

    • Characteristics: Slow, effortful, rule-governed, flexible.

  2. Implicit Bias:

    • System 1

    • Characteristics: Fast, effortless, emotional, associative learning.

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

  • Definition: A method to assess automatic associations and biases, such as the association between good/bad and different racial identities (e.g., Black/White).

  • Findings:

    • Predicatively correlates with behavior in various contexts,

    • E.g., Amygdala activation in response to unfamiliar Black faces.

Statistics from Project Implicit

  • Expected bias in various groups:

    • Young / old: 80%

    • Able-Bodied / Disabled: 76%

    • Gender / Career: 76%

    • White / Black: 68%

3. Situations

  • Racism: A system of advantage based on race.

  • Key Influencing Factors:

    1. Media

    2. Segregation

    3. Hierarchy

Effect of Media

  • Research indicates exposure to pro-White biases in media increases pro-White biases in viewers (e.g., Nalini Ambady et al., 2009).

Segregation Studies

  • Findings from studies on perceptual narrowing and pessimistic attitudes suggest segregated experiences may foster negative biases toward out-group members.

4. Solutions

  • Gordon Allport Quote: “This issue is basic, for without the knowledge of the roots of hostility we cannot hope to employ our intelligence effectively in controlling its destructiveness.”

  • Power of Knowledge: Emphasized as crucial for addressing and combating racism, underscoring the necessity of educational interventions.