Chapter 6: Stereotyping, Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism

Attribution theory= describes how ppl explain the causes of human behavior

- Suggests we use 2 primary dimensions to develop judgments (attributions) about others

behaviors
- The internal-external dimension
- And the stable- unstable dimension

when combined these two dimensions yield 4 possible explanations of anothers behavior

1- Internal-stable
2- Internal-unstable
3- External- stable
4- External-unstable

Ex. bobby is an aggressive child= internal-stable

Everyone hits bobby= external stable

bobby was in a bad mood= Internal- unstable

Jimmy hits bobby= external unstable

Have tendency to overuse internal stable attributions and to underestimate external causes of behaviors

- Tendency is called fundamental attribution error : tendency to overestimate dispositional

(internal, stable) causes of behaviors and underestimate external causes of behaviors
- Ex. if bobby is not an aggressive child and we fail to take into account that jimmy hit him then we
would be committing the fundamental attribution error…. To assume bobby is aggressive
- Error more common with western ideas

Ultimate attribution error: when the attributions are directed toward individuals who represent a
particular group, the internal and stable attributions are ascribed to the group members instead of just
the individual

Ex. if bobby were african American saying that “ all african American children are so aggressive” would
be an ultimate attribution error

Stereotype= a generalization about a group or its members based upon their categorization

- Can be an accurate reflection of a group’s norm

- Can be overgeneralization, applying the norm to every member of the group or not allowing for
variation about this norm
- Can be simply inaccurate
- Considered to be the cognitive component of categorization

Prejudice= a judgment about a group or its members on the basis of their categorization. Judgment can
be positive or negative, but it is typically thought to be negative

- Ex. some1 can be prejudiced against Asian bc they are a collectivistic and tend to suppress
individual freedoms or not express individualistic creativities
 Prejudices considered evaluative component of categorization

Discrimination- negative behavior toward a group or its members based upon their categorization

- Ex. Asian person might not be selected for an assignment bc it is assumed that this individuals’
collectivistic tendencies will not allow him or her to be creative
- Behavioral component of categorization

Racism- discriminatory behavior that has institutional power behind it

- Those on the upside of power discriminate against ppl on the downside of power
- Racism is routine mistreatment of ppl on the downside of power
- Considered to be institutional component of categorization
- Also applies to other “isms” such as sexism, ageism, ableism, heterosexism, anti-Semitism

Stereotyping and prejudice are internal activities

It is not until their attitude is expressed behaviorally (discrimination) or institutionally (racism) that it
may hurt

Stereotype threat: the threat that individuals belonging to a group that is negatively stereotyped will in
fact confirm that stereotype when confronted with a difficult task that purports to measure differences
in abilities

- Stereotype has to be negative

Illusory correlation- an overestimation of the co-occurrence of two minority events

- Ex. if white and latinos have engaged in the same percentage of shoplifting In the past, store
managers and workers may feel that latinos engage in higher amount of shoplifting (illusory
correlation) bc the co-occurrence of the minority group (latinos) and the minority behavior
(shoplifting) in the past had a greater impact upon perception

Availability heuristics

- A mental shortcut or rule of thumb used for making calculations or assessments of sometimes
complex circumstances
- How available/ frequent something is in ur mind/ comes to ur mind

Cognitive dissonance theory: when two cognitions are in conflict, a person will be motivated to change
on of them to reduce the unsettled feelings caused by the discrepancy

- Ex. if we would observe ourselves behaving badly towards another person or a group of ppl we
might say
- “ I am a good person, but behaved badly towards that other person. The person must have
deserved such bad treatment”
- This reduces the dissonance and leave us feeling justified in engaging in such negative behavior
- If we hurt someone it causes us to try to justify out actionsn
- Opens the door for more aggressions

Main forms of racism are

 - Overt/ covert racism
- Aversive racism
- Color-bling racial ideology
- Racial microaggressions

Overt vs Covert Racism

Overt racism

- “old style racism”

- Discriminatory behavior in which those in the majority engage in open, hostile, acts of
aggression against racial minorities consciously and unapologetically
- Ex. slavery, lynchings, legal segregation

Covert Racism

- Modern form of racism that is subtle and even deniable

- Can be intentional or unintentional
- Occurs when individuals are aware that they are acting in a racist manner but try to disguise
their true intent with a plausible story

Symbolic racism: an issue that does not overly involve race but is used to promote racism through issues
that are associated with one racial group and not the white majority group, even is this association is not
real or is exaggerated

Covert, unintentional racism: discriminatory behavior that is unintentional but serves to perpetuate
ongoing racists acts or traditions

- Expressed by those who are unaware of the racist traditions of this country and perpetuate such
racism without thought

Aversive Racism

- Form of racism practiced by individuals who believe that they are not racist at all and who would
find it offensive or aversive if they were thought to be racist
- Related to covert, unintentional racism

Color Blind Racial Ideology

- An attempt to pretend that race and racism will not exist if people ignore race or ethnicity, this
ideology has two components: color evasion and power evasion
- Color evasion- asserts that there are no differences in the way in which ppl are treated based
upon their color
- Ex. “ I don’t see race”, “ I don’t see color”, “ we are all the same”
- Have fewer interracial interactions in order to avoid their discomfort
- Power evasion- asserts that any difference in accomplishments are completely based upon the
individuals own work and not sure to any advantages of color built in the system

Internalized Oppression
 - Those who are colonized and/or oppressed may automatically accept the superiority of the
oppressor
- They suppress their own cognitive, behavioral, and emotional tendencies that may differ from
the population in favor of such tendencies of those in power

Racial Microaggressions

Microaggression- a small slight or offense that may be intentional but is mostly unintentional and does
not harm the target of the offenses in any major way but can accumulate to be burdensome over time

Has three categories

- Microassualt
- Microinsult
- Microinvalidation

Micro assault- similar to our conceptions of old fashioned racism

- Blatant verbal, nonverbal, or environmental attacks intentionally discriminatory or biased

- Racial or discriminatory hiring practices fall into this category
- People who engage in microassaults have any sense of conscience, they engage in such behavior
only when there is some degree of anonymity, they are in the presence of like minded
individuals, or they simply lose control and blurt out their underlying feelings
- Ex. when ppl want to tell a racist joke but check around them to make sure that someone from
that race of target is not around to hear

Microinsult

- Unintentional behavior or verbal comment conveying rudeness or insensitivity

- Ex, when Mexican girl bout Louie Vuitton bag and her white friend couldn’t believe that she
could afford one bc of her race

Microinvalidation

- Usually unintentional out of the awareness of the perpetrator while also being dismissive of the
experience of people of color
- An action that excludes, negates, or dismisses the perceptions of the target person
- Ex. American Indian were to sat that he did not get a job because of racism, a person who says “
I know the person who is hiring and I do not believe he is racist, maybe u misperceived his
reasoning for not hiring u “ is engaging in microvalidation

White Privilege

- Male privilege- the unearned advantages associated with being male, such as knowing that ones
opinions will be respected. Women often feel that their opinions are not respected or are
attributed to emotion, not sound reasoning
- White privilege- the unearned advantages are given to white individuals without examination
- Can be such as knowing that whiteness will emphasized in the media. Ethnic minorities are not
always portrayed in the media, and when they are, they are often portrayed stereotypically
rather than as multifaceted individuals
Allies- individuals who are on the upside of power who cross a demographic boundary to advocate for
those on the downside of power

HIDDEN FIGURES NAME OF MOVIE WE WATCHED IN CALSS

Old fashioned racism- diff buildings for black women, the bathrooms, use of computers and work in diff
areas, segregation onn the bus and in the library

Indirect intentinal attitude= Women not being able to attend briefings

Unintential covert sexist= when the boss told the men to call their wives when there were two women
present as well

Mrs. Addressed with their last name but Catherine was called her first name

Pearl necklace and the man getting her coffee showed sign turns improvement

11/1/18

Prejudice/Stereotyping Reduction Strategies

Intergroup contact hypothesis- states that mere contact is sufficient for reduction of stereotypes and
prejudice

Allport’s Contact Hypothesis

4 optimal conditions:

1. Individualized contact
2. Equal status contact
3. Interaction should be cooperative
4. Support from authorities

When these 4 condiitons are met u can achieve pos. group interactions

Sherif’s Robber Cave Study: Super ordinate Goal

Sheriff argues that intergroup conflict occurs where groups are in competition for limited resources
(realistic conflict theory)

Superordinate goal: a task that requires the cooperation and efforts of two or more individuals to be
completed successfully

Jigsaw Classroom

- Can talk about this theory for project

Education, Role Playing, Empathy

- Reducing prejudice through education: inconclusive findings

- Role playing and empathy: jane elliot’s brown eye/blue eye study; more positive attitudes
towards the outgroup

Multiculturalism
 - Give attention to race, ethnicity, and culture
- Appreciate diversity celebrate differences

Colorblindness vs. multiculturalism

Ppl exposed to multiculturalism paper had more positive

Shin, Levy and London (2016)

Intervention paper

Who are you targeted in this experiment

- Is it in collefe students, teachers

Setting where it will happen?

- In school, at homes

What are doing for intervention?

- Showing videos etc

Results

Are you measuring right after the experiment, or 2 years later

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