Prejudice How and why we do it

Where does racial prejudice come from? Official Studies Started in the 1920’s but can be traced further back Based on Theories of superiority by whites Blumenbach (Enlightenment) Used skulls/skin color based on Linnaeus Caucasian (white) Mongolian (yellow) Malayan (brown) Ethiopian (black) American (red)

Prejudice Involved a prejudgment, usually negative, but not always about a group or its members Old Encyclopedia entry 1964 about blacks: “Woolly Haired Groups” “Dark skin sometimes almost black, broad noses, usually a rather small brain in relation to their size, especially among the taller members of the group, with forearms and shins proportionally long.”

Personality Syndromes Authoritarian Personality Right Wing Authoritarianism Social Dominance Orientation Hierarchical society

Categorical Thinking Addressed by Gordon Allport 1954 The Nature of Prejudice Normal Human Function Need categories Square and Diamonds

Continuity Life is not necessarily black and white, all on a continuum. Social labels are approximations Can you think of categories that do not overlap?

Continuity Day/Night Life/Death Earth/Sea Race? Gender? Age? Sexual Orientation?

Kinsey Scale

Assimilation and Contrast

Outgroup Homogeneity Ingroup: a group which someone belongs Outgroup: A group to which someone does not belong People tend to see the outgroup as more homogenous or similar to one another than the peers in their in group Why?

Ingroup Bias Often racism, bias, or discrimination are due to the fact that favored feelings belong to one’s ingroup. People see their group as superior compared to others High School Cliques?

Social Identity and Self Esteem We have a lot of need to have self worth and self identity which correlates with one’s self esteem Our self esteem is also connected to belonging to an in-group- Social identity Example: More likely to wear team jersey’s if they win and refer to team as “we” whether it is your college team OR Seattle Seahawks winning Superbowl Drop in self esteem = more chance of being prejudice

Causal Attributions and Prejudice Just World Theory People deserved what they got Fundamental Attribution Error (again) People ARE a certain way, not the environmental factors Ultimate Attribution Error Lose Lose situation

Subtle Racism Symbolic Kinder and Sears (1981) Ambivalent Katz (1981) Modern McConahay (1986) Aversive Gartner and Dovidio (1986)

Explicit versus Implicit Explicit: Outright expression; can be seen Implicit: Not aware, cannot necessarily be seen Question: Has anyone in here been walking at night and moved to the other side of the street when someone was walking towards you? Was that person a Minority?

Media Where we are consistently exposed to our stereotypes

Is this Racist?

This?

How about this?

And finally?

AP - Tue Aug 30,11:31 AM ET (via Yahoo! News) New Orleans AP caption: A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, Flood waters continue to rise in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage when it made landfall on Monday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

AFP/Getty Images - Tue Aug 30, 3:47 AM ET (via Yahoo! News) New Orleans AFP/Getty Images caption: Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana.(AFP/Getty Images/Chris Graythen)

What is Stephen Balkaran’s primary argument? What are the key pieces of evidence he uses to defend his argument? What is Segmentation Theory? What impact does media have on Racism? Should we trust Balkaran? If he is correct, what impact does his theory have on society in the US?

Consequences Priming: Just being around it, seeing it, etc, can make you act in a different way Example: Priming with old age Behavior confirms stereotype Can’t rid it Test Scores Children Parents stereotype without realizing it

Reducing Learned at an early age so how do we reduce it? Can be reduced when there is motivation Teaching empathy Teaching to think non-linear Education Will we ever truly reduce it?