1. Unit 2: Social Psychology
2.5 Stereotypes & Prejudices

2. Stereotypes Beliefs & expectations we have about a group
Schemas for an entire group
“negative” stereotypes: applying a bad trait to an entire group
“positive” stereotypes: applying a good trait to an entire group

3. Prejudice vs. Discrimination
Prejudice: an attitude (usually negative) toward an individual based on their membership of a group/stereotypes
Discrimination: differential treatment of individuals who belong to different groups
Prejudice is the attitude, discrimination is the behavior

4. Theories of Prejudice Social Identity Theory:
People identify with their ingroup (“us”) and tend to see it as better than outgroups (“them”)
Leads to ingroup bias – favoring your own group
Members of ingroup see outgroups as less attractive, less socially acceptable, etc
Can lead to treating outgroups badly, including blaming them for bad things (scapegoat theory)
Ingroups may discriminate to enhance own self-image

5. Theories of Prejudice Cognitive Theory:
Use schemas to interpret world – we categorize people & assume all members of a group are the same
Attention drawn to distinctive stimuli b/c it’s easily remembered
Humans remember bad behavior/traits more, so it’s easy to attribute bad things to a whole group

6. Theories of Prejudice Learning Theory:
Learn stereotypes from media (tv, movies, books)
Learn prejudice from people in everyday life
Can be reinforced by parents, teachers, friends

7. Theories of Prejudice Motivational Theories:
People may be prejudiced/discriminatory to enhance own sense of security
Authoritarianism – personality trait linked to prejudiced people
Believe in traditional values above all
Generally not question authority figures
Act aggressively toward people identified as threatening to values held by ingroup
View world as threatening
Criticize outgroups to feel better about themselves