Chapter 10: Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

Overview

• Prejudice: An evaluation of a particular group and its members, often involving negative biases (e.g., dislike towards certain racial or religious groups).

• Stereotyping: Generalized beliefs about the characteristics of a group, applied to individual members (e.g., believing all Asians are good at math).

• Discrimination: Unequal treatment of individuals based on their group membership (e.g., giving preferential treatment to one race over another).

The Nature of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

• Three Goals of Intergroup Bias:

  • Enhance the self and group (motivational goal).

  • Conserve mental resources (cognitive goal).

  • Preserve social positions, resources, and power (justificatory goal).

Key Definitions

• Stereotype:

  • Simplifies and navigates social interactions by applying generalized beliefs to individuals.

  • Does not inherently assign good or bad value.

  • Example: "All Asians are good at math."

• Prejudice:

  • Affective prejudgment of a group typically conveys a negative view.

  • Example: Dislike of Muslims due to preconceived notions.

• Discrimination:

  • Observable behaviors reflecting prejudice (e.g., unequal treatment in job opportunities based on race).

Types of Racism

• Old-Fashioned Racism: Overt and explicit expressions of prejudice.

• Modern Racism: Expressing support for egalitarian views while harboring negative feelings against minority groups.

• Aversive Racism: Holding explicit non-prejudicial claims but demonstrating implicit bias.

Origins of Prejudice

• Evolutionary Influences:

  • Survival mechanisms leading to intergroup bias through threat detection.

• Brain Structure:

  • Fast recognition of race (120 ms) compared to gender (145 ms) and age (180 ms).

• Individual Experiences:

  • Prejudices learned through social conditioning and experiences, including early racial and gender categorization by children.

Social Identity Theory (SIT)

• Components:

  • Personal identity: Individual traits.

  • Social identity: Group membership contributing to self-esteem.

• Ingroup Bias:

  • Automatic preference for one's ingroup, leading to positive evaluations and favoritism.

• Minimal Group Paradigm:

  • Groups formed on arbitrary criteria show bias even with minimal group differences.

Cognitive Biases Affecting Prejudice

• Outgroup Homogeneity Effect:

  • Belief that members of outgroups are more similar than ingroup members.

• Illusory Correlation:

  • Overestimating the correlation between distinct stimuli and characteristics.

• Confirmation Bias:

  • Seeking evidence that confirms expectations while ignoring contrary information.

Discrimination and Its Forms

• Interpersonal Discrimination: Direct actions against individuals.

• Institutional Discrimination: Practices embedded in institutional norms leading to unequal outcomes.

  • Example: Glass Ceiling for women in corporate settings.

Stereotype and Social Identity Threat

• Stereotype Threat:

  • Anxiety or discomfort about confirming negative stereotypes can hinder performance (e.g., racial stereotypes in academics).

Overcoming Prejudice

• Contact Hypothesis:

  • Mere contact can reduce prejudice if certain conditions are met (equal status, common goals, cooperation).

• Common Ingroup Identity Model:

  • Emphasizes shared identities to reduce bias by promoting commonality among groups.

Final Thoughts

• Observed decline in explicit prejudice, though bias persists in less visible forms.

• Need for understanding rationality and morality in intergroup bias.

This chapter outlines significant concepts related to prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination, including the social dynamics and cognitive processes that underline bias towards different groups, and strategies that may help in overcoming these societal issues.