VL13 - Prejudice

defining prejudice Prejudice is a widespread phenomenon, present in all societies of the world. What varies across societies are the particular social groups that are the victims of prejudice and the degree to which societies enable or discourage discrimi- nation. Social psychologists define prejudice as a hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people based solely on their group member- ship. It contains

• cognitive (stereotypes)

• affective and (emotions)

• behavioral components (discrimination)

  
  

detecting Hidden prejudices Because of a shift in normative rules about prejudice, many people have learned to hide their prejudices in situations where they might be labeled as racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and so on. Accordingly, researchers have developed unobtrusive measures to iden- tify suppressed prejudices, such as sending out identical résumés that vary only the applicant’s name or another identifying feature to see whether employers are biased against a particular group; or using the “bogus pipeline,” in which participants believe a machine is registering their real attitudes. A popular method of identifying unconscious (implicit) prejudices is the implicit association test (iat), a measure of the speed of people’s associa- tions between a target group and negative attributes. However, controversy exists about what the IAT actually measures and whether it predicts prejudiced behavior.

the effects of prejudice on the victim

• the self-Fulfilling prophecy The prevalence of stereotypes and prejudices can create a self- fulfilling prophecy both for members of the majority and for victims of prejudice.

• tereotypethreat Onecauseoftheaveragediffer- ence in academic performance is stereotype threat, the anxiety that some groups feel when a stereotype about their group is activated—for example, that women are not as good at math as men, that Asian people are smarter than White people, or that old people are less mentally competent than young people.

Causes of prejudice Three aspects of social life that increase the likelihood of prejudice are conformity to social rules, the importance of social identities and “us-them” thinking, and realistic conflict over resources or power.

• pressures to Conform:

  normative rules Institutional discrimination reflects society’s norms

• social identity: us versus them

  Prejudice is enabled by the human tendency to organize people into in-groups and out-groups

• realistic Conflict theory

  According to realistic conflict theory, prejudice is the inevitable by-product of real conflict between groups for limited resources, whether involving economics, power, or status

reducing prejudice Prejudice may be universal, but social psychologists have investigated many of the conditions under which intergroup hostility can be reduced and better relationships fostered. It is not enough simply to provide prejudiced people with information that they are stereotyping the out-group; they will often cling even more tightly to their beliefs.

• the Contact Hypothesis

• When Contact reduces prejudice

  • interdependence;

  • a common goal;

  • equal status;

  • the opportunity for informal contact;

  • the chance to interact with multiple members of the out-group rather than one “token”;

  • and social norms of equality

• Cooperation and interdependence: the jigsaw Classroom