Overview of Lecture Prejudice Negative Contact Discrimination Stereotypes

Associating members of certain groups with certain characteristics What are stereotypes Associating members of certain groups with certain characteristics E.g., Perceived to be alike; have similar (negative) traits

Stereotypes Causes of How to reduce them

Why Stereotypes Form Negative historical relations between groups Inequalities in societal roles Socialization experiences Media portrayals Stereotypes

Negative historical relations between groups Why Stereotypes Form Negative historical relations between groups e.g., slavery, indentured labor Inequalities in societal roles e.g., more women in low-paying jobs, earning less Stereotypes

Socialization experiences Why Stereotypes Form Socialization experiences e.g., parents, teachers, peers Media portrayals E.g., African Canadians as “gangsta rappers”, Caribbean Canadians as “ganja” smokers Stereotypes

Negative historical relations between groups Why Stereotypes Form Negative historical relations between groups Inequalities in societal roles Socialization experiences Media portrayals Stereotypes Causes similar to explaining negative contact

Why Stereotypes Persist Activated automatically Reinforced via social norms Information that confirms beliefs is easily recalled Trait-based explanations for behavior Sub-grouping exceptions Create expectations for interaction Enable in-group members to feel “different” from out-group members

Why Stereotypes Persist Activated automatically E.g., from observable characteristics Reinforced via social norms E.g., it is ok to derogate gays nowadays Stereotypes

Why Stereotypes Persist Information that confirms beliefs is easily recalled E.g., times you saw women driving badly vs. times you saw women driving well Stereotypes

Why Stereotypes Persist Provide trait-based reasons to explain why people behave the way they do E.g., Women get into more accidents because they are bad drivers Sub-grouping exceptions of out-group E.g., successful Black Stereotypes

Why Stereotypes Persist Create expectations for interaction E.g., Blacks are violent, so this Black man is going to be hostile so I better be prepared Stereotypes

Why Stereotypes Persist Enable in-group members to feel “different” from out-group members E.g., Women are bad drivers, Men are good drivers, so they are different Stereotypes

Stereotypes Causes of How to reduce them

How to reduce Stereotypes 1. Stereotypes activated automatically? Counter automatic activation of stereotypes with guilt (self regulation) Replace/modify negative associations with positive experiences & information Reduce Stereotypes

How to reduce Stereotypes 2. Reinforced via social norms? Change old social norms with new ones Change motivation to comply w/norms Reduce Stereotypes

Information confirming beliefs is easy to recall? Counter recall tendencies with other needs Make in-group dependent on out-group e.g., learning to distinguish Chinese editors from each other bec. of supervisory relationship Create need in in-group members for out-group members to like them e.g., business case for selling products/services to women Reduce Stereotypes

Trait-based explanations for behavior? Change explanations Increase focus on situation E.g., Why are more Blacks in the criminal system? Different out-group members display non-stereotypical traits in different settings Teach statistics Representativeness of sample outgroup member Reduce Stereotypes

Trait-based explanations for behavior? Change explanations Reduce tendency to blame negative outcomes to out-group members by thinking about out-group in complex ways E.g., teach about collectivism, power-distance Reduce Stereotypes

Sub-grouping exceptions of out-group? Increase knowledge of many individual out-group members to prevent sub-group creation Differentiate out-group members from each other E.g., cultural circles exercise enabled differentiation by providing contact with different members of the same ethnic group Reduce Stereotypes

Have expectations for interaction? Counteract expectations Out-group members behave in non-stereotypical ways that disconfirm stereotypes e.g., Women’s driving records Out-group members confident they do not have the expected trait e.g., Women is confident of her driving skills Reduce Stereotypes

Stereotypes enabling in-group to feel different from out-group? Change ability of stereotypes to maintain differences Create Super-ordinate Groups Tendency to view out-group members as alike and negative is no longer functional Emphasize Multiple Identities Emphasize those categories which unite groups Reduce Stereotypes

Notice inter-relationships Prejudice Negative Contact Discrimination Stereotypes

Prejudice Stereotypes Negative Feelings Negative Thoughts Negative Associations Stereotypes Positive Associations

Prejudice Stereotypes Recalling stereotype inconsistent information Create Super-ordinate groups Emphasize Multiple Identities Changing explanations Prejudice Negative Feelings Negative Thoughts Negative Associations Positive Associations Stereotypes

Processes underlying Valuing Diversity Training Self-insights into own biases increased motivation to regulate discriminatory behavior Provide experience or information that contradicts stereotypes

Processes underlying Valuing Diversity Training Change knowledge of and understanding about different groups Provide historical information about groups Info on group differences in values, behaviors, norms, beliefs

Processes underlying Valuing Diversity Difficulties with Training Adult attitudes hard to modify bec Lifelong exposure and experience with mass media’s stereotypes May react with defensiveness and avoidance to info that creates change May feel they are being attacked or blamed during training

Activated automatically Reinforced via social norms Causes of How to reduce them Counter activation or replace w/positive associations Change social norms Counter recall tendencies with interdependence Change explanations with a more complex understanding Increase knowledge of more & varied members Members act in counter stereotypical ways Change ability for stereotypes to enable feeling of difference Activated automatically Reinforced via social norms Information that confirms beliefs is easily recalled Trait-based explanations for behavior Sub-grouping exceptions Provide expectations for interaction Enable in-group members to feel “different” from out-group members