Define and distinguish the concepts of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Explain what is meant by modern and implicit racism and explain how each is measured empirically.

Prejudice: Negative feelings about others because of their connection to a specific group.

Discrimination: Negative behaviours directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group.

Stereotypes: Beliefs that associate a whole group of people with certain traits or characteristics

Modern Racism is a subtle form of prejudice that surfaces when it is safe, socially acceptable, and easy to rationalise. The research by Parsons et al. (2009) on the calling of strikes by baseball umpires is a good example of how subtle racism is still apparent in modern society. Modern racism can be experimentally observed in our society.

Implicit Racism is that which operates unconsciously and unintentionally. Nevertheless, it can affect outward judgements, feelings, and behaviours. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is the most common way in which implicit racism can be detected. The computerised test measures how quickly positive (or negative) terms are associated with particular ethnic groups. Implicit racism can be measured by the IAT.

Discuss recent psychological findings regarding the processes of interracial perception and interaction.

Findings suggest that the older we get the less racist we become but that our implicit attitudes remain the same. This could be because we become more aware that racism is socially unacceptable and try to suppress our beliefs.

Explain social identity theory and in particular, how it accounts for ingroup favoritism. Discuss the role of ideology when it comes to understanding prejudice.

According to social identity theory people favour ingroups over outgroups in order to enhance their self-esteem. Self-esteem consists of a personal identity as well as the various social identities we get from our groups. Thus, we boost our self-esteem by viewing our ingroup more favourably than outgroups.

Explain the different ways in which stereotypes form. Describe the human tendencies towards social categorization, dehumanization, and the formation of ingroup/outgroup distinctions, and discuss the repercussions of these tendencies.

Social categorisation is the classification of people into groups on the basis of common attributes. Because we generally have little contact with outgroups stereotypes about them develop. Dehumanisation is when we perceive fellow human beings as objects, this has allowed horrific events to occur throughout history.

Describe the ways in which stereotypes are perpetuated, including illusory correlation, attributional processes, subtyping, and confirmation bias.

Illusory correlation is one way. We overestimate the strength of correlation between two variables that are particularly novel or deviant. Stereotypes by their very nature favour familiarity of ingroups over outgroups, so the behaviour of outgroups is often perceived as novel and/or deviant, thus increasing the perception of strong correlation. We also overestimate the strength of correlation between things we already expect to see. If we have an existing belief that blonde people are not as smart as dark-haired people we will interpret ambiguous events involving blonde-haired people as indications of their intelligence, thus perpetuating the stereotype. Observations of dark-haired people are not interpreted in such a way.

Attributional biases can perpetuate stereotypes. Fundamental attribution error (see Lesson 4) results in stereotypical behaviours by others being attributed to internal or personal causes, while unexpected/nonstereotypical behaviours are attributed to situational factors.

Stereotypes also survive disconfirmation through subtyping. In this case, exceptions to a stereotype are placed in a separate category rather than used to revise the held stereotype.

Stereotypes can also be maintained and strengthened through confirmation biases (the tendency to interpret, seek, and create information to confirm expectations. Stereotypes can also cause a perceiver to act in such a way that the stereotyped group member really does behave in a stereotype-confirming way (self-fulfilling prophecy).

Discuss the question of whether stereotyping is automatic or intentional.

Most social psychology researchers believe that stereotyping is an automatic process – it often occurs beyond our conscious awareness and is therefore uncontrollable.

We are motivated to protect or enhance our self-esteem or self-image, and this can induce negative stereotypes. For example, if our self-esteem is threatened, stereotyping others can make us feel better about ourselves, thus increasing the chances of automatic activation.

Some people have a desire to control prejudice, either for external (societal) reasons or internal (personal) reasons. People who are motivated internally to control stereotypes are more successful at doing so, although even they can be brought undone by automatic and implicit processes.

Describe the effects of discrimination from the target’s perspective. Explain the concept of stereotype threat. Consider the different situations likely to elicit stereotype threat, and the different populations susceptible to stereotype-threat effects.

Stereotype threat is a theory describing the worry that targets of negative stereotypes feel in situations where the stereotype is relevant. For example, Figure 5.16 from Kassin et al. (2011) shows how stereotype threat can hamper academic achievement. In an American study, black and white students took part in difficult test of verbal ability. Some students were told that it was a test of their intelligence, while others were told it was a task unrelated to intelligence. The figure shows that black students did significantly worse than the white students on the test if it was introduced as a test of intelligence. If the test was not introduced as one of intelligence the black and white students performed equally well. Therefore, reactions to the stereotype threat can directly interfere with performance.

It has also been shown that the threat can cause individuals to dismiss the domain as no longer relevant to their self-esteem and identity.

Stereotype threat can affect any group for which strong, well-known negative stereotypes are relevant in particular settings – see the examples of studies in which stereotype threat has been activated (page 190 in Kassin et al., 2011).

It is important to note that an individual can feel threatened or emboldened by a stereotype depending on which social identity has been activated. For example, one study showed that Asian-American women primed with their ethnic identity performed better on a test of maths ability, than if they were primed with their gender identity. Thus, being identified as “good at maths” (the ethnic identity stereotype) emboldened the participants, whereas being identified as “poor at maths” (the gender stereotype) negatively affected performance.

Further research has shown that an individual does not have to believe in the negative stereotype for it to affect performance. Simply knowing about the stereotype seems to be sufficient for stereotype threat to be activated.

Explain the contact hypothesis and the conditions that enable intergroup contact to reduce prejudice

To avoid stereotyping we should focus on the individual. When we have specific, personal information about an individual, particularly if they are part of our “outgroup”, we are less likely to stereotype. We can also develop skills in avoiding stereotyping by priming with counter-stereotypic examples and engaging in perspective taking of the stereotyped group.

Allport’s contact hypothesis – the theory that direct contact between hostile groups will reduce prejudice.

The contact hypothesis was tested in the legal case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The case challenged segregation of blacks and whites in the US education system, arguing that it was unconstitutional not to allow black people into “white” schools. The challenge was upheld and a gradual process of desegregation began – black people started to attend traditionally “white” schools. Plenty of hostility ensued, encapsulated nicely by the photo at the bottom left of page 193 in your textbook. From a social psychologist’s perspective, this was the perfect way to test the contact hypothesis. Would desegregation lead to reduced prejudice?

Initial results were unsupportive of the contact hypothesis. A review found that only 13% of studies investigating prejudice before and after desegregation supported the contact hypothesis (i.e., prejudice towards black people by white people reduced). Alarmingly, 53% of studies reported an increase in prejudice. Over time though, it has been shown that intergroup contact does reduce prejudice, particularly if the conditions listed in Table 5.6 from Kassin et al. (2011) are satisfied (see next slide).

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Topics include: The social self, perceiving persons, prejudice and discrimination, attitudes, attraction and close relationships, law, health, conformity and compliance and much much more.