PSYC12H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Henri Tajfel, Normative Social Influence, Appraisal Theory
Document Summary
Groups = survival benefits eg. fighting off predators, raising offspring successfully. Disadvantages = male competition, mate retention (among others) Members tend to favor their own groups (ingroups) suspicious and reject members of other groups. Minimal groups: group membership based on arbitrary (random) criteria. Leads to formation of prejudice: negative feelings about other groups. Stereotypes: believing that certain characteristics are associated with other groups. Negative attitudes form the basis for negative intergroup behavior. Virtually all of history"s war battles, and other acts of group violence have been driven by some form of prejudice, stereotyping and/or discrimination. Stereotype: the tendency of people to think of someone or something in similar terms- that is having similar attributes- based on a common feature shared by each. Pictures in our heads representations simplify complex world. Stereotypes tell us what social information is important to perceive and to disregard in our environment. Confirms pre-existing stereotype --- disregard info inconsistent with stereotype.
