Unit 2

What is a “Race”

• Before the 1500s, the word “Race” was used to depict breeds of animals. Extended from animals to humans during the 17th century

• Linnaeus: 4 Primary racial Groups: Homo Europeaus, Homo Asiaticus, Homo Americanus, Homo Afer.

Geonome variability

• Humans are remarkably homogeneous. All humans share 99.9% of the same genetic information.

• Modern humans can be traced back to a relatively small and homogeneous population.

• From a scientific viewpoint, the common usage of race is misleading: it implies people differ categorically.

• Race is a social construct.

Social Construction of Race

Race as a social construction is a “fold idea”

It becomes an important mechanism for limiting and restricting access to privilege, power, and wealth.

Racism

Systematic of targeted racial groups who have little social power by the members of the dominant racial group who have relatively more social power.

Oldfasion racism:

• Believe in innate superiority of the White Race

• Low in acceptance of equality

• Accept traditional racist beliefs (scientific racism.)

• Strong negative emotions

• Seeks to exclude or dominate and control minority groups.

• Jim Crow racism mandated racial segregation from the 1880s to the 1960s.)

Introduction to Social Attitudes

• Social attitudes are influenced by categories that define how we relate to differences in others.

• The focus of this discussion is on race, although gender and age will also be explored in later sessions.

Historical Context of Race Terminology

• The term "race" originally described breeds of animals in animal husbandry, later evolving to classify humans in the 17th century.

• Early uses of "race" were similar to ethnicity, referring to lineage, beliefs, customs, and social authority, rather than biological differences.

Linnaeus and Racial Classification

• Carl Linnaeus in 1758 proposed a classification of humans into four groups based on physical traits, treating them as different species:

  • Homo Europeans (Caucasians)

  • Homo Asiaticus (Asians)

  • Homo Americanus (Native Americans)

  • Homo afer (Africans)

• This classification had implications for perceived intelligence and justification of slavery and colonialism.

The Concept of Discrete vs. Continuous Variables

• Discussions of race often categorize people based on visual markers (e.g., skin color) which are actually continuous variables.

• Skin tone exists on a spectrum, and many individuals do not fit neatly into racial categories.

• Traits often associated with race (e.g., hair texture) do not necessarily cluster together, challenging the notion of distinct racial categories.

Genetic Perspective on Race

• Modern genetics reveals that humans are 99.9% genetically identical, debunking the traditional biological narrative of race.

• Genetic variation is not categorical but dimensional, where most differences are superficial adaptations to environmental factors (e.g., skin color as a response to UV exposure).

• This emphasizes that using race as a biological concept is misleading and oversimplifies human diversity.

Race as a Social Construct

• Race is better understood as a social construct based on cultural perceptions, which have been historically used to limit access to power and privilege.

• Dominant groups define racial categories to their advantage, affecting social dynamics and reinforcing inequality.

• Aspects of race are defined through social constructs, evidenced in census data which has expanded from a few categories to 63 in recent years.

Racism: Definitions and Evolution

• Racism defined as the systematic subordination of marginalized racial groups by those with greater social power, primarily in the context of America.

• Old-fashioned racism is characterized by overt prejudice and segregation, rooted in beliefs of racial superiority.

• Jim Crow laws exemplify institutionalized racism, mandating segregation in public facilities from 1876 to 1965 based on the false premise of "separate but equal."

Examples of Old-Fashioned Racism

• Characteristics of old-fashioned racism include:

  • Belief in the innate superiority of the white race.

  • Low acceptance of equality, with segregation promoted to maintain distance from minority groups.

• The term "Jim Crow" originates from a 19th-century minstrel show caricature.

Contemporary Forms of Racism

• Today's racism is subtler, often manifesting through microaggressions and systemic inequalities rather than overt signs.

• Examples include practices such as refusing service based on race without clear justification.

• Studies demonstrate biases in law enforcement, employment options, and social interactions.

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Transformation of Racism/Prejudice

Implicit prejudice

• Negative stereotypes still exist and are absorbed in the negative emotions associated with those stereotypes

• Individuals are not aware having them

• Affect people’s emotional responses to and behavior towards minority groups

• Prejudices which people are not aware of having that can be assessed through implicit cognition and some behavioral measures

• Learned through social talk

Measures

Prejudice now more subtle rather than overt - shown by:

Bogus pipeline research

Physiological and implicit cognition measures (e.g., priming, IAT)

Behabioral assessments

Self-reports (MRS) (Not really reliable) 

Target group day-to-day experiences

PBS documentary White Supremacy

• The Turner Diaries is a diary of hatred, by a white nationalist group.

• 9/11 attacks targeted European people, specifically Muslim or Arabic.

• 1995 Oklahoma bombing made by a white person, mcveigh,  from New York inspired by the Turner Diaries.

• He was in the Klu Klux Clan

• mcveigh wanted a revolution

• 1993 Klu Klux Clan declared war on US Government 

• Since Obama was president an outrage of white supremacy appear because they didn’t think Obama was fit to be president because he was black.

• Trump does not acknowledge the amount of white supremacy we have in the country

• 2018 and 2019 saw uptake of white supremacy.

• 20 people arrested of white supremacy crimes founds pictures of mcveigh

Contemporary (“Color-blind”) Racism

Symbolic racism

Modern Racism 

Aversive Racism

Types of Racism

Symbolic Racism

• Decline of overt anti-Black prejudice in the 1960s led to the emergence of symbolic racism, which focuses on moral objections to the behaviors of people of color rather than innate racial superiority.

• Symbolic racists deny biological differences but justify negativity based on perceived moral deficiencies: violence, reliance on government assistance, and sexual immorality.

• They resist changing the racial status quo, believing that minorities violate American values, like self-reliance and hard work.

Modern Racism

• Identified by McConahay, modern racism features ambivalence toward stigmatized groups, resulting in mixed feelings and cognitive dissonance when faced with conflicting beliefs.

• Modern racists view racism as a past issue, interpreting minority fights for equal rights as undue demands, contributing to discrimination under the pretext of other factors.

• An example scale measuring modern racism includes statements about perceived inequality and the deservingness of minorities versus expectations of hard work.

Aversive Racism

• Gardner and Dovidio described aversive racism, where individuals claim to support equality but still harbor implicit biases.

• Aversive racists avoid contact with people of color due to discomfort, leading to discriminatory behavior rationalized by non-racial excuses.

• Studies show that, under circumstances where participants could justify their actions, white individuals helped Black victims less frequently than white victims in emergencies, reflecting aversive racist tendencies.

Institutionalized Racism in Different Systems

• Education System:

  • Racial disparities exist in school disciplinary practices, with Black students facing harsher punishment than white students, contributing to the racial achievement gap and increased dropout rates.

• Healthcare System:

  • Black individuals face more circulatory issues compared to white individuals; studies indicate that higher levels of white racial bias correlate with decreased healthcare access and higher death rates among Black citizens.

• Criminal Justice System:

  • The US has the highest incarceration rate globally, 

Benevolent versus Hostile Prejudice

Hostile Prejudice - refers to the traditional form of prejudice. Negative beliefs and emotional responses to targets of prejudice

Benevolent Prejudice is expressed in terms of positive beliefs and emotional responses.

Holds apparently positive beliefs and emotional responses to targets of prejudice.\

03/11/2025 

Four Roots of Evil

Egotism and Revenge

• The goal is to make someone suffer

• Can serve goal of revenge, e.g., death penalty.

• Egotism at core revenge.

• Egotism refers to having a high opinion of oneself.

• Revenge and egotism can overlap significantly when individuals seek to restore their self-esteem through vengence.

• Studies indicate people will endure losses in exchange retaliation against those who humiliated them.

\Low self-esteem has a higher chance of causing violence.

Most aggressive people do not have low self-esteem, but they believe they are superior and egotistical.

People who are depressed are generally not violent and are not linked to crimes

Psychopaths commit a large number of crimes and are described as narcissistic.

Bipolar Disorder and Violence

• In contrast to depression, which is not linked to violence, the manic phases of bipolar disorder can lead to aggressive behavior when individuals perceive threats.

• Manic individuals may react violently when they feel blocked or thwarted in their pursuits.

Stable vs. Unstable Self-Esteem

• High self-esteem doesn't inherently lead to aggression. However, threatened egotism can induce violent responses.

• People with unstable self-esteem are more sensitive to ego threats, which can escalate to aggression.

Elliot Rodger:

2014 May 23rd, a student at USCB stabbed his roommates, got into his car, and tried to shoot a sorority member but couldn't get in, so he shot people outside and committed suicide.

He was angry at women because no women wanted to date him. Also wanted to punish men who were sexually active because he was jealous.

Egotism - “I'm the perfect guy, and yet you throw yourselves at these obnoxious men instead of me, the supreme gentleman.” Basically, he is telling himself that he is the perfect guy, demonstrating narcissism. 

Is revenge equitable?

• Spiral of revenge = Retaliation often far in excess of original transgression.

• Role of “magnitude gap”

• Humiliation (victimization) = excessive vengeful perception

Goal of Revenge

Suffering and satisfaction. It feels good to get revenge.

• Zero-sum issue (Winner takes all) (and the “tall poppy effect”)

• Tall poppy effect - getting pleasure or satisfaction from the downfall of higher-ups.

Trivializing the victim

• Empathy diminishes with social distance (devaluation, dehumanization, moral exclusion)

• Psychopathy - no problem using people to get what they want.

Fanatical Evil: Ideology as a source of hate 

Generally, they think that they are doing a good thing

In most wars, both sides see themselves as the good guys.

History of religious violence - crusades, inquisition.

• Contemporary examples include the Islamic State and Boko Haram.

3/13/2025

Psychological process of all or none (black/white) thinking

Ends justify the means - solving problems (instrumental evil)

Individual vs the group

Can evil serve good? The Faustian Bargain. (The Deal With the Devil)

ISIS (Islamic State)

Extremsit interpretation of Islam, promotes religous violence

Seeks establishment of islamic state in iraq and syria

Has commited mass atrocities and war crimes on “a historic scale”

3/25/25

Unique Features of Hate (Bias) Crime.

• More violent and lethal than any other assault crime

• Generated by fear

• Perpetrated by groups which results in: Diffusion of responsibility, becoming more daring, discontinuity effect.

• Many hate crimes are reactive (aimed at people perceived to be infringing on another groups sense of sovereignty.)

Unique Impact of Hate (Bias) Crime.

• Can add additional fear for hate crime victims as they can feel that they were chosen as a target for a specific purpose.

• May no longer feel safe and be betrayed by the system they live in

• Terror may appear as society tends to have a slow response to hate crime.

Hate Crimes: Victim Impact (How might they feel?)

• Victims are attacked for being different, misunderstood, and for being hated.

• Stress and vulnerability may be raised and may be longer.

• Victims may reject the aspect of themselves that was the target of the attack (disidentification)

• Hate crimes often seem senseless and random. Hateness as a motivation is harder to explain and to understand.

• If membership in a target group is readily visible: 

Victims may feel particularly vulnerable to repeat attack

Or may become afraid to associate with other members of their group

Or fail to seek needed services to decrease their vulnerability.

Hate Crimes: Community Impact

• Victimization is projected onto all community members

• Members of target groups are also reminded of their vulnerability (Nazi symptoms, Satan symbols.)

Psychology Effect

• May experience nervousness, anxiety, depression and stress

• Intrusive thoughts about the crime (Can’t get rid of those thoughts) which leads to

• Trouble concentrating or working

• Anger and a desire to retaliate

• Feelings of being exhausted or weak for no reason

• Fear of future trouble in life

• Distrust of people

• Fear of crime

• Difficulty with coping

• Secondary victimization or secondary injury (When society’s response to victimization ends up being disabling. Rape victims are often blamed for what happened to them is a good example of this)

Offenders Typology (Levin and McDevitt Study) DQS 6

• Thrill seeking (65%)

• Reactive (defensive (25%)

• Retaliatory (8%)

• Missionary (<1%)

• Identity-conflict (~1%)

Thrill-Seeking Offenders (65%)

• Offender characteristics- 

-Generally groups of (male) teenagers, youth

-Not associated with organized hate groups

• Precipitating (trigger) event

-Generally none

• Motivation

-Psychological or social thrill (looking for fun)

-Gain acceptance of like-minded peers

-Gain bragging rights may be seen as a “badass”

• Victim

- Any member of a stigmatized group

- Members of any group that is seen as inferior

• Location

Generally outside of offender “turf”

May seek out areas

• Other characteristics

Attacks are random

Hate/bias graffiti 

Reactive (aka Defensive) Offenders (25%)

• Characteristics

Sense of entitlement regarding their rights

Usually no prior history of criminal behavior or overt bigotry

Not associated with organized hate group

• Trigger Event

Perception of threat to way of life, community, place of work or privilege (Black family moves in, offender may feel uncomfortable)

• Motivation

Protect/defend against the threat

To use fear

• Victim

Individual or group perceived to be the threat

• Location

Offenders own neighborhood

• Other characteristics

May be average citizens defending their way of life

When threat goes away criminal behavior also goes away

Retaliatory (8%)

• Characteristics

Retaliating in response to a perceived hate crime

• Trigger Event

Previous hate offense or act of terrorism against a member of the perpetrators group

• Motivation

Revenge

”you got one of us, we will get one of you”

• Victim

Any member of the targeted group

• Location

Typically the target group’s own territory

• Other characteristics

Relatively new category

3/27/25

Missionary (<1%)

• Characteristics

Psychotic, suffering from mental illness.

perceive victim groups as evil.

• Trigger Event

None necessary

• Motivation

Believes to be instructed by a higher deity or order

They believe they must get even (for the misfortunes they or their ingroup have suffered).

• Victim

Anyone that the perpetrator perceives as responsible for their frustrations

• Location

Areas where members of the target group found

• Other characteristics

Often commits suicide

Publish a manifesto

Identity-Conflicted Offenders (~1%)

• Characteristics

Part of identity associated with target group

Manifest in hate towards others who represent what they internally conflict with.

• Trigger Event

Engage with target group member

• Motivation

Self-hatred or self protection (if I eliminate other gay men I can feel safe even though im gay.)

• Victim

Any member of the targeted group with whom they share common traits or characteristics

• Location

Typically where targets congregate

• Other characteristics

Gay men targeting other gay men

Hate Groups

Currently, there are more than 1400 active hate groups in the US.

Most common are white supremacist groups.

Cloaked hatred under “American patriotism” and/or religion.

Increase in numbers during periods of immigration, economic instability.

Violence: Social, Biological & Psychological Perspectives

Documentary notes “What makes a psychopath?”

The scale:

GLIB

GRANDIOSE

STIMULATION SEEKING

NO REMORSE

Etc. to 40

Drive Theories: The Motive to Harm Others

The frustration-aggression hypothesis

Genetics v. Biological environmental influences v psychosocial environment

Nature-nurture debate 

Aggression is inherited and instinctual - it derives from Lorenz’s survival of the fittest.

Stigma: The Experience of Prejudice

Social Stigma:

The situation of the individual who is disqualified from full social acceptance

• Being in a non-privileged group due to appearance or behavior

• Being Socially Marked

• Being devalued, spoiled, or flawed in the eyes of others

Privilege = accepted to mainstream society. The benefit of not being stigmatized.

Stigma Two Types

Discredited Stigma: “Differentness” is already known about or is immediately evident (Physcial disabilities, race, age, weight, tatoos)

Discreditable Stigma: “Differentness” is neither known about by those present nor immediately perceivable by them. (Criminal record, religion, mental illness)

Stigma Harmful vs. Benign - Six Dimensions

Course (Stability)

• Short vs. (life) long (Acne vs. ethnicity)

Disruptiveness (Physical and mental disabilities)

Concealability (private, hidden stigma)

Aesthetic qualities

• Attractiveness - less attractive may be stigmatize, ageism, handicapism

Origin: Onset controllable v uncontrollable

• HIV, obesity, drug addiction v. cancer, heart disease, race, sexual orientation

Peril: Perceived dangerous

Consequences of Stigmatization

Attributional Ambiguity

Uncertainty experienced by the stigmatized regarding the cause of others' behavior towards them (This person gave me a good grade because I’m gay or I’m black, etc)

Stereotype Threat 

(Holding racial stereotypes can be hazardous to your performance)

• Debilitating effect of worrying or being anxious about confirming a stereotype about one’s group (Stereotype vulnerability)

• Greater effect when there’s stronger identification with stereotypes group

• EX: A woman taking a math test might feel anxious about confirming the stereotype that women are not good at math, potentially leading to worse performance

• More in depth EX: If whites and blacks were to take a test where it is a test of intelligence, white people tend to do better while blacks do worse because of the stereotype that blacks are less intelligent. Because of this thought, it can give the black people anxiety, thus giving anxiety. Now, if it wasn’t told that it was a test of intelligence, white and black people tend to do the same.

Long-term effects?

• Chronic stereotypes threat can threaten a person’s sense of self-integrity

• Damages performance, motivation, and well-being

Vulnerability to Stress

Prejudice/discrimination as stressors

• Stereotype threat

• Chronic exposure to other threat-producing situations

• Exposure to hate and violence

Stress symptoms related to prejudice and discrimination

• Immune system suppression

• Insomia

• Digestive system problems

• Poor coping strategies

Threats to Self-esteem (SE)

Seeing self through the eyes of someone who is not prejudiced - Contributes to a positive self-image self-esteem

• Ways to maintain SE

Attribute negative evaluations to prejudice

Devalue outcomes on which one’s group performs poorly compared to other groups

Stigma by Association

“Courtesy Stigma”: Associating with stigmatized persons may result in bearing some of the stigma

• Ex: Mother blamed for son’s schizophrenia

Simply interacting with a stigmatized person can have deleterious effects