Comprehensive Study Guide: Prejudice, Communication, and Religious Oppression
Chapter 2: Understanding Prejudice and Its Causes
Nature vs. Nurture:
Prejudice is not innate; it is learned behavior. Hauser (2006) identifies a "rudimentary form of empathy" in babies who cry when hearing other babies cry.
Definition provided by Harry Bridges (1900–1990): "No one has ever been born a Negro hater, a Jew hater, or any other kind of hater."
Conceptual Definitions and Misconceptions:
Bias: A mildly positive or negative feeling about something or someone.
Stereotype: Associating positive or negative traits with a group of people.
Prejudice: A stronger, always negative feeling referring to a group; a predisposition to behave negatively toward group members.
Bigotry: Prejudice that reaches the intensity of hatred.
Misconceptions: Prejudice is not just "ignoring facts"; prejudiced people often interpret facts to confirm their views. It is not exclusively irrational; rational figures like Aristotle, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther have held prejudices.
Language and Media Patterns:
Black/White Syndrome: A pattern where "black" phrases (black deed, blacklist) have negative connotations while "white" phrases (white lie, white knight) have positive ones.
Sexist Language: English lack of a neutral pronoun. Terms like "businessman" or "fireman" invoke mental images of men. Miller and Swift (2000) found that students drawing "early man" or "early people" predominantly drew men.
Derisive Terms for Men: Often attack masculinity by implying femininity (e.g., "sissy," "wimp") or through terms suggesting a woman controls them (e.g., "pussy whipped").
Perpetuation via Rationalizations (Vega, 1978):
Denial: Refusing to recognize problems (e.g., the "reverse discrimination" argument against affirmative action). Statistics show White men are only 32\% of the workforce but hold 70\% of top-earning jobs.
Victim-Blaming: Attributing social problems to flaws in the minority group (e.g., blaming poor people for being lazy or telling rape victims to wear different clothes).
Avoidance: Recognizing problems but offering false/partial solutions (e.g., saying "sexism will disappear if we don't pay attention to it" or "it takes time") to delay action.
Causes of Prejudice (Levin & Levin, 1982):
Frustration: The "Scapegoat Phenomenon" where groups are blamed for problems they didn't cause.
Uncertainty: Reliance on stereotypes due to lack of knowledge or interaction.
Threat to Self-Esteem: Achieving a sense of superiority by projecting inferiority onto others.
Competition: Economic competition for status, wealth, and power.
Theories of Discrimination:
Interest Theory: Discriminating to protect power and privilege (e.g., fear of property values dropping).
Institutionalized Discrimination Theory: Unintended consequences of institutional policies/practices that favor the dominant group based on historic advantages.
Chapter 3: Communication, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution
Interpersonal Communication: Defined by Kougl (1997) as a dynamic process where meaning is assigned to verbal and nonverbal behavior.
Five Misconceptions about Communication:
Natural human ability: It is actually learned (Heath's study on class-based communication styles).
It is always a good thing: Can be used for domination/hatred (Hitler vs. MLK).
It will solve all problems: Sometimes it creates problems or involves "games" (Berne's "Ain't It Awful").
Communication can break down: It never stops; if verbal stops, nonverbal continues.
Competence equals effectiveness: Knowing a subject is different from the skill to teach it.
Circular Model of Communication: Includes (1) Attitudes, (2) Observations/Assumptions, (3) Conclusions/Judgments, and (4) Verbal/Nonverbal Action.
Levels of Cultural Awareness (Kimmel, 2006):
Chauvinism: My culture is superior.
Tolerance: Awareness without judgment but still maintaining distance.
Minimalization: Emphasizing universality to hide differences.
Understanding: Recognizing and respecting cultural relativism.
Values Needed for Conflict Resolution (Deutsch, 2006):
Fallibility: Accepting you might be wrong.
Equality: Treating every human with value.
Reciprocity: The Golden Rule.
Nonviolence: Believing only peaceful solutions last.
Moral Reasoning Continuum (Perry, 1970):
Dualism: Black-and-white, right-versus-wrong thinking; authority has all answers.
Multiplicity: Recognizing multiple opinions but longing for one right answer.
Relativism: Seeing truth as relative and context-dependent; comfortable with ambiguity.
Commitment: Making personal choices among many options while respecting the choices of others.
Chapter 4: Immigration and Oppression
Oppression Defined: Inequitable distribution of resources, refusal to share power, and imposition of ethnocentric culture (Andrzewjewski, 1996).
History of Xenophobia:
British colonists aimed to "Anglicize" the New World. Benjamin Franklin feared Pennsylvania would become "Germanized."
Nativism: Ideology protecting "native" inhabitants from "dangerous" immigrants. Key themes: Anti-Catholicism, Anti-radicalism, and Racism.
Know-Nothings: An 1850s political party that was anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic.
Eugenics and Intelligence Testing:
Francis Galton coined "eugenics."
Early researchers (Yerkes, Terman, Goddard) used biased IQ tests on immigrants. Goddard claimed 80\% of immigrants at Ellis Island were "feeble-minded."
Immigration Legislation:
1924 National Origins Act: Established quotas favoring Northern Europeans.
1965 Immigration and Nationality Act: Eliminated racially biased quotas, leading to shifts where 80\% of immigrants came from Central/South America and Asia.
Myths and Realities:
Welfare: Immigrants use welfare at rates similar to native-born citizens. Undocumented workers are mostly ineligible but pay billions in taxes (7 billion/year to Social Security they can never claim).
Jobs: Immigrants typically take low-wage jobs native-born workers refuse and contribute to economic growth as entrepreneurs.
Crime: Neighborhoods with large immigrant populations often have lower crime rates ("selection bias").
Linguistic Issues:
English Language: Over 90\% of U.S. residents speak English fluently.
Bilingual Education: Meta-analyses (Goldenberg, 2008) show teaching children to read in their first language promotes higher reading achievement in English.
Chapter 5: Race and Oppression
Native Americans:
Estimated population of >10 million in 1492 dropped to <100,000 by 1920 due to extermination and culture-eradicating policies.
Treaty Violations: The U.S. has violated nearly every one of the >400 treaties made to seize resources (land, gold, oil).
Contemporary Issues: Mascot controversies, "Casino Indian" stereotypes (only 1/3 of tribes have casinos), and child welfare issues where Indian children are disproportionately placed in non-Indian homes.
African Americans:
Slavery: The Middle Passage resulted in 5 to 6 million deaths. Slaves resisted through literacy, sabotage, and the Underground Railroad (Harriet Tubman freed >300).
Post-Civil War: Transition to Jim Crow South via Supreme Court rulings; the emergence of the NAACP in 1910 and the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s.
Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks, MLK, and Malcolm X. Achievement of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965).
Asian Americans:
Historical Hostility: Chinese Exclusion Act (1882); relocation of Japanese Americans to interment camps in WWII via Executive Order 9066 (2/3 were U.S. citizens).
Model Minority Myth: Portrays the group as universally successful to distract from ongoing discrimination and poverty among segments of the population.
Latino Americans:
Diversity: Includes Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central/South American groups.
Puerto Rico: Citizens of the U.S. since the 1917 Jones Act, yet often viewed as foreigners.
Cubans: Often arrived with more resources/education, benefiting from the Cuban Refugee Program.
Chapter 6: Religion and Oppression
Early Colonial Religious Diversity: Puritans practiced intolerance (executing Quakers). Pennsylvania and Rhode Island established early models of religious liberty.
The Great Awakening: Shifted focus from sectarian differences to a unified "denominational" Protestant view.
Establishment of Secular Government: The Constitution (Article VI) and First Amendment created a "wall of separation" between church and state, though practice lagged (e.g., states required Protestant oaths for office until the 1800s).
Anti-Catholicism: Peaked in the 1830s–40s (monastery burnings, Bible Riots). Subsided after the Civil War due to shared military service and shifts in focus toward race.
Anti-Semitism: Promoted by figures like Henry Ford and Father Coughlin; Jewish people were historically treated as a separate "race."
Post-1965 Diversity: Increase in Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Islam is predicted to be the second-largest religion in the U.S. by 2050.
Religion in Schools: Schools should teach about religion objectively but cannot lead devotion/prayer (Engel v. Vitale; Abington v. Schempp).
Chapter 7: Rejecting Oppressive Relationships (Pluralism)
The Up/Down Metaphor (Terry):
Ups: Dominant groups (White, Male, Christian, Middle Class). Often "dumb ups"—ignorant of the struggles of "downs" because they don't have to know.
Downs: Subordinate groups (People of Color, Women, LGBTQ+, Poor). Must know the "up" world to survive.
Four Perspectives on Diversity:
Anglo Conformity: Everyone should adopt White Anglo-Saxon norms.
Melting Pot: Different cultures blend into a new "American" identity (often masks White supremacy).
Separatism: Groups should live apart to avoid inevitable conflict.
Pluralism: Equal coexistence of diverse cultures in a mutually supportive relationship.
Five Themes for Promoting Pluralism:
Failure of Anglo conformity (unjust and unrealistic).
Impact on self-determination (respecting intrinsic worth).
Necessity of human interdependence (society needs everyone).
Diversity as an ideal (strength in arts, language, and problem-solving).
Current existence of diversity (it is our reality; we must value it).
Social Change Tactics: (1) Dialogue, (2) Confrontation, (3) Economic Pressure (Boycotts), (4) Research, (5) Inside-Outside Alliances, (6) Violence (usually a result of failed options).