PSY 321 Dr. Sanchez Stereotyping, Prejudice, & Discrimination Part II

How Stereotypes Affect their Targets

Target’s Perspective Stereotype threat Misunderstandings in Interracial Interactions How can prejudice be reduced?

Stereotype and Social Identity Threat Stereotype threat –the apprehension experienced by members of group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype in a particular domain –individual does not have to believe the stereotype for it to shape performance

Steele & Aronson (1995, Study 1) Black and White Ps Make racial stereotype of intelligence salient –Diagnostic of ability –Nondiagnostic (control) Examine test performance on a challenging verbal test.

Steele & Aronson (1995, Study 1)

Steele & Aronson (1995, Study 2) Black and White Ps Make racial stereotype of intelligence salient – Indicate Race – No race question Examine test performance on a challenging verbal test.

Steele & Aronson (1995, Study 2)

General Features –Threat is situational –Domain connected Strength varies with identification with domain –About social identity  applies to many groups Women in science, athletes, elderly individuals, SES, …….even Whites! Stereotype Threat

Research on Meta-stereotypes –Whites concerned with appearing prejudiced (Vorauer, Hunter, Main, & Roy, 2000; Vorauer, Main, & O’Connell, 1998; Vorauer & Kumhyr, 2001) –Concerns can influence judgments, behaviors, performance on measures of racial attitudes

Self-relevant negative stereotype in a particular domain –“Whites are racists.” Person identifies with that domain –“I’m egalitarian.” Performance in the situation is diagnostic –“I might validate the stereotype.” Stereotype Threat (Frantz, Cuddy, Burnett, Hart, & Ray, 2005)

Investigation of whether stereotype threat is operating during an implicit test of prejudice Hypothesis –Participants show more racial bias on implicit test when they believe the test is diagnostic of racism. 3 conditions –Explicit threat condition –Explicit no-threat condition –No instructions condition Stereotype and Social Identity Threat

Explicit Threat Instructions “The IAT compares your attitudes towards two different racial groups. It is a measure of racial bias. In this study, we are interested in measuring your unconscious racial attitudes toward Blacks and Whites as accurately as possible... This is a challenging task, but it's necessary for the aim of this study. Please try hard to help us in our analysis of individual's racial attitudes.”

Explicit No-Threat Instructions “The IAT is a measure of knowledge of cultural stereotypes. In this study, we are interested in measuring the extent to which people are aware of cultural stereotypes... This is a challenging task, but it's necessary for the aim of this study. Please try hard to help us in our analysis of people's knowledge of cultural stereotypes. ”

No-Instructions Condition “This is a challenging task, but it's necessary for the aim of this study. Please try hard.”

Stereotype and Social Identity Threat

Stereotypes and Multiple Identities Good at Math Not Good at Math

Multiple Identities (Shih, Pittinsky, & Ambady,1999) Remind Asian-American women of their – Asian identity (questions about languages spoken, race, etc.) –Female identity (questions about co-ed housing) –Neither identity (questions about telephone service) Take a math test

Multiple Identities (Shih, Pittinsky, & Ambady,1999)

Interpersonal Concerns with Prejudice Whites –Concern with being perceived as prejudiced ( Vorauer, Hunter, Main, & Roy, 2000; Vorauer, Main, & O’Connell, 1998; Vorauer & Kumhyr, 2001) –Concerns influence social judgments about and during interracial contact Blacks –Concern with being treated negatively because of prejudice and being perceived stereotypically (Mendoza-Denton et al., 2002; Shelton, 2003) –Concerns influence social judgments about and during interracial contact

Interpersonal Concerns with Prejudice Whites and Blacks –Harbor fear of rejection because of their group memberships –Fear that out-group members will perceive them in a way that threatens their identity (Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2003)

Pluralistic Ignorance People observe others behaving similarly to themselves but believe that the same behaviors reflect different feelings and beliefs (Miller & McFarland, 1987, 1991)

Pluralistic Ignorance Own behavior –Reflect fears of social exclusion Other person’s behavior –Taken at face value –Reflects the person’s true feelings

Divergent Attributions Predictions –Attribute own failure to make the first move to fear of being rejected –Attribute potential partner’s failure to make the first move to lack of interest

Divergent Attributions You enter the dining hall for dinner. You are alone because your close friends are in a review session. As you look around the dining hall for a place to sit, you notice several White (Black) students who live near you sitting together. These students also notice you. However, neither of you explicitly makes a move to sit together.

Divergent Attributions Fear of Rejection –How likely is that fear of being rejected because of your race would inhibit you from sitting with these students? Lack of Interest –How likely is that your lack of interest in getting to know these students would inhibit you from sitting with them? Answered for self and other (counterbalanced) 7-point scale where 1 = not at all and 7 = very much

Black Participants with White Partner

White Participants with Black Partner

Black Participants with Black Partner

White Participants with White Partner

Divergent Attributions Blacks and Whites –Make divergent attributions for own and out-group members’ avoidance of interracial contact –Interpersonal Concerns with Prejudice I’m afraid of being rejected! They lack interest in interacting! –Misunderstanding occurs even before the interaction

What Can We Do? Repeated Intergroup Contact that involves –Common goals –Equal status –Supportive norms –Personalized interactions Individuation Common In-Group Identity

Jigsaw Classroom (Aronson, 1978) Students separated into diverse six-person learning groups Lesson divided into six parts Like pieces of puzzle, each of the six parts is required to see the whole picture Each student learns her/his piece, then teaches the rest of the group They need each other to do well on the test Prejudice diminishes

Jigsaw Classroom: Why does it Work? Cooperation leads to recategorization: no longer “us” and “them” When people help others, they feel more positive toward those others –Helping  Liking Cooperation increases empathy

Self-Esteem in U.S. Minority Groups From J. M. Twenge and J. Crocker, “Race and Self-Esteem: Meta-Analysis Comparing Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 128, 2002, pp

Coping with Stigma Stigma = having an attribute that is viewed as inferior, deficient, etc. 1) attributing negative feedback to prejudice (2) comparing outcomes with those of their ingroup (3) selectively devaluing areas in which their group does poorly and valuing dimensions in which their group excels