CHAPTER 14: Social and Cultural Groups Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social and Cultural Groups Cross-Cultural Perspectives Multicultural Perspectives Intergroup Discrimination

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Cross-Cultural Perspectives Cultural Diversity: A Fact of Life

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism: A Tale of Two Cultural Worldviews §Individualism l A cultural orientation in which personal goals and preferences take priority over group allegiances §Collectivism l A cultural orientation in which cooperation and group harmony take priority over purely personal goals

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism Self-conceptions §People from individualistic cultures see themselves as individualistic and distinct from others (top). §People in collectivist cultures see themselves as interdependent, part of a larger social network (bottom).

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism Self-Conceptions: Uniqueness or Conformity? §Which subfigure within each set do you prefer? §U.S. Americans like those that “stand out” as unique. §Koreans like those that “fit in” with the group.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism §Bilingual students in Hong Kong completed “I am ___” sentences in English or Chinese. §Students responding in English focused more on personal traits. §Students responding in Chinese focused more on group affiliations.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Multicultural Perspectives Acculturation and Ethnic Identity §Acculturation l The process by which individuals are changed by their immersion in a new culture §Ethnic Identity l The part of a person’s identity that is defined by an ethnic heritage, language, history, customs, and so on §Acculturative Stress l The stress and mental-health problems often found in immigrants trying to adjust to a new culture

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Multicultural Perspectives Acculturation and Ethnic Identity Acculturation Strategies

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Multicultural Perspectives Acculturation and Ethnic Identity Cultural Identity and Acculturative Stress §Hispanic American college students answered questions about Hispanic and American identities and acculturative stress. §Students who embraced both cultures reported less acculturative stress.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination §Discrimination l Behavior directed against persons because of their affiliation with a social group §Stereotype l A belief that associates a group of people with certain traits

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Stereotypes: The Cognitive Roots §Stereotypes are Formed Via Two Processes l Social Categorization The classification of persons into groups based on common attributes l Outgroup-Homogeneity Bias The tendency to assume that “they” (members of groups other than our own) are all alike

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Stereotypes: The Cognitive Roots §Is Stereotyping Inevitable? l People can bring stereotypes into mind automatically, without awareness, and stereotypes can bias judgments of others. l However, people can stop themselves from using stereotypes as a basis of judging others. By encouraging people to take the perspective of someone from a stereotyped group By imagining individuals who do not fit the stereotype

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Prejudice: The Motivational Roots §Prejudice l Negative feelings toward others based solely on their membership in a certain group

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Prejudice: The Motivational Roots §Two Major Motivational Theories of Prejudice l Realistic-Conflict Theory The theory that prejudice stems from intergroup competition for limited resources l Social-Identity Theory The theory that people favor ingroups and discriminate against outgroups in order to enhance their own self-esteem r This theory helps explain Ingroup Favoritism –The tendency to discriminate in favor of ingroups over outgroups.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Prejudice: The Motivational Roots Social Identity Theory §Personal identity and social identity both contribute to self-esteem. §Viewing and treating ingroups more favorably than outgroups can boost self-esteem.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Prejudice: The Motivational Roots Social Identity Theory §Social-identity theory makes two predictions: l Threats to self-esteem should increase the need to show prejudice l Expressions of prejudice should restore one’s self-esteem

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Prejudice: The Motivational Roots Derogation in the Service of Self-Esteem I §Subjects were given positive or negative feedback, then rated a female job applicant they thought was Jewish or Italian. §Subjects with lowered self- esteem, due to negative feedback, rated the Jewish woman lower than the Italian woman.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Prejudice: The Motivational Roots Derogation in the Service of Self-Esteem II §Subjects given negative feedback who could belittle the Jewish woman showed an increase in self-esteem.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America §Racism l A deep-seated form of prejudice that is based on the color of a person’s skin l Difficult to assess l Racist acts can be subtle l Best strategy is to use indirect questions and measures (e.g., reaction time, the speed of responses)

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America The Implicit Association Test (IAT) The IAT detects implicit attitudes about African Americans by the speed it takes to respond to black-bad/white-good pairings compared to black-good/white-bad pairings.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America Racial Disparities in Medical Care §Black patients were less likely to receive many types of medical care compared to White patients. §This discrimination occurred regardless of socioeconomic status.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America §White and nonwhite people disagree about the degree of racism that still exists. §Professional athletes were surveyed and large differences were found in who believed that black athletes were discriminated against. l 63% of black athletes l 2% of white athletes §See same trend in the U.S. military.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America The Treatment §Subjects worked in separate three-person groups. §Groups were brought together for a neutral or a cooperative interaction. §Subjects working on the neutral task showed favoritism in evaluating members of their own group. §Subjects working on the cooperative task showed no favoritism. l “They” became a part of “Us”

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America The Treatment: The Contact Hypothesis l The proposition that in certain conditions, direct contact between members of rival groups will improve relations §The necessary conditions are: l The groups should have equal status l There should be personal interactions among the individual members l The groups should have a common goal that requires cooperation l The contact should be supported by social norms

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America The Treatment: The Contact Hypothesis §A successful example is the “jigsaw classroom”. §In this model, everyone needs everyone else if the individual and the group as a whole are to succeed. §Compared to schoolchildren in traditional classes, those in jigsaw classrooms: l Liked each other more l Were more tolerant l Liked school more l Had higher self-esteem l And, test scores improved for minority children