CLASS 26

Film on Prejudice Eye of the Storm 1970

Elliot’s clever class exercise In the late sixties, Jane Elliot developed a class exercise for her primary school class It has since became famous Showed how easily prejudice and discrimination can be created

Procedure A superficial cue (eye-color) was selected to categorize students into two groups She described one group as superior to the other: smarter, neater and more hard- working

Results Blue-eyed group acted superior, called the others names (e.g., ‘brown eyes’) and started fights Inferior group felt miserable Even their task performance was undermined

In short……. The categorization caused (a) prejudiced feelings toward the ‘inferior’ group (b) discrimination against that group (c) undermined their performance In short…….. a vicious circle

Did the exercise have a long-term benefit ? Later reunion of the class – 1994 Class members were less prejudiced than a control group Self-report only

Is the exercise unethical ? Some parents complained because… Without permission, Elliot induced children to experience prejudice and be prejudiced True, she debriefed them and had them discuss their feelings Nonetheless, teachers would not be allowed to do it today

Minimal Groups Research Tajfel’s group in England during the 1970s Lab research studies with college students (also included UBC students) Even a non-visible categorization produces prejudice and discrimination

Typical study Participants took modern art test and were categorized on ‘art appreciation style’ Actually they were randomly assigned to groups A & B Nonetheless, they immediately showed prejudice and discrimination Favored their own group and discriminated against the other group

Stereotype Threat Elliot’s exercise suggested that negative stereotypes can undermine performance confirmed scientifically in recent studies e.g. remind African-Americans that they do poorly in school  worse performance Perhaps it’s stressful or distracting The reverse – a performance lift from a positive stereotype -- seems unlikely

Learned or Innate ? Elliot argued for social learning: educate children BUT It was amazingly easy to produce prejudice in children and adults: we are predisposed to perceive in-groups and out-groups Evolutionary theory would say it was adaptive and therefore selected during our evolution Conclusion: Society should prepare for it, not deny it