PSYC 231 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Subtyping, Gender Role, Stereotype Threat
27 Jun 2018
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•consequences — racial & gender prejudice:
-opinions on if racial prejudice is disappearing depends on who you ask:
•majority group members tend to compare the present with the
oppressive past & to perceive radical progress
•minority group members tend to compare the present with their
ideal world, which is not yet realize, & therefore perceive less progress
-the subtle discrimination is widespread, & people generally have some
awareness that they may be treating people differently
•appears as race sensitivity — leads to exaggerated reactions to
isolated minority persons
•appears as patronization — giving over-the-top positive regard &
unchallenging feedback in order to seem unprejudiced
-implicit racial discrimination that results from prejudice that we are
not aware of results in discrimination that we are not aware of
•micro-aggressions: the hidden messages within our everyday
intentional/un-intentional verbal/non-verbal behaviours !
(ex. cat-calling = “your body is for the enjoyment of men”)
-also seen in how me judge pictures — students see “anger” as
lasting longer in a change black face rather than white face
-if we implicitly associate an ethnic group with “danger”, then
faces from that group captures our attention & trigger arousal
•sometimes we think we are acting fairly, but our behaviour is actually
discriminatory
•automatic prejudice involves primitive regions of the brain
associated with fear (ex. the amygdala) whereas controlled, conscious
thinking is more closely associated with the frontal cortex
•also use different parts of our frontal lobes when we think about
ourselves or our in-groups vs. thinking out others or out-groups
-gender roles: a set of behaviours expectations for males & females
•gender roles are prescriptive — gender stereotypes are descriptive
•gender stereotypes exist, & members of the stereotyped group often
just accept them
-they also tend to persist across time & culture
•stereotypes are beliefs, whereas prejudice is an attitude
•some stereotypes may be favourable — (ex. “women are wonderful
effect” - most people like women more than men)
•gender attitudes are most often ambivalent — consisting of a mix
of benevolent sexism & hostile sexism
-benevolent sexism: “well-meaning” sexism
-hostile sexism: overtly negative evaluations & stereotypes about
different gender
•people who endorse benevolent sexism towards woman also tend to
endorse benevolent sexism towards men — serves to justify the status
quo in gender relations
-self-depreciation: women are the ones discriminating against women
-overt prejudice against people of colour & women is far less common
today, although there is still a widespread subtle bias
•“distinctive” events still stand out to us (ex. a man crying)
•30% of women experience intimate partner violence
•gender discrimination is still very common, even from prenatal life
•creating reality — formed by our prejudgments & prejudice:
-self-perpetuating prejudgments: when a member of a group
behaves the way we expected, we make note if it, but when they do not,
we explain it away as due to some special circumstances
•sub-typing: accommodating individuals who deviate from one’s
stereotype by thinking of them as a special category of people with
different properties, in order to maintain our established stereotypes
-considered exceptions to the group
•sub-grouping: accommodating individuals who deviate from one’s
stereotype by forming a new stereotype about this subset of people
-modify your stereotype of the entire group, & then still
acknowledged these people as part of the group overall
-self-fulling prophecy: social beliefs can be self-confirming & prejudice
affects its target, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy
•these self-fulfilling prophesies slowly become part of one’s self-concept
•feeling distinctive leads people to feel self-conscious
-can result in interactions between a minority & majority member
feeling tense, even though both are well-intentions
•meta-stereotypes: majority-group member’s beliefs about how
minorities stereotype them
-predictions of what the out-group will think of the in-group
-effects the way we consequently interact with someone
•stigma consciousness: how likely we are to expect that others will
stereotype us
-differs among people
-can be negative — result in living a life more fretfully than those
who feel accepted
-can be positive — can help to buffer one’s self-esteem by not taking
things as being directed at them personally, & to enhance feelings
of social identity & prepare us to work together to overcome
discrimination
-stereotype threat: a disruptive concern when facing a negative
stereotype that one will be evaluated negatively based on a stereotype
•the result of anticipating discrimination
•have immediate effects, even if not incorporated into one’s self-concept
-when people are reminded about the negative stereotypes about
them, it can adversely affect performance
•undermines perfromance in 3 ways:
(i) stress — impairs brain activity associated with mathematical
processing, & increases activity in areas associated with emotion
(ii) self-monitoring — worrying about making a mistake disrupts
our focused attention
(iii) suppressing unwanted thoughts & emotions — the effort
required to regulate one’s thinking takes energy & disrupts
working memory
-stereotype boost theory: when reminded of positive stereotypes about
them, it can enhance performance
-stereotypes bias our personal judgements — they sometime reflect, but
also can distort, our reality
•people tend to evaluate individuals more positively than the groups
that we categorize them as being apart of
•they influence the way we construe someone’s behaviour
•we may have strong gender stereotypes, but we tend to ignore them
when judging a particular individual
•even when a strong gender stereotype is known to be irrelevant
though, it still has an irresistible force
•they influence how we interpret events & our memories of people
•we evaluate people more extremely when they violate our stereotypes
•reacting — how people react & cope with facing prejudice & stereotyping:
-reactions are very varied
-influenced by our perception of discrimination — believing that you
experience pervasive prejudice has a negative impact on an individual,
making them more anxious & depressed
•personal/group discrimination discrepancy: acknowledging
that discrimination exists, but denying ever actually feeling personally
discriminated against
-enables people to maintain a perception of control over their
performance & relationships
-(ex. women acknowledge that gender discrimination exists, but
only to other women)
•meta-stereotyping: stereotyping about stereotypes, consequently
influencing the way we behave
-the more you think someone is going to stereotype you, the more
strained your interaction is
-experiencing prejudice in a specific event though can help to protect
self-esteem by just attributing negative evaluations to the situation or
someone just being prejudice, & not taking it personal
•overcoming prejudice — how we can overcome prejudice:
-contact — prejudice arises from false beliefs, but these false beliefs can
be dispelled by being exposed to other people
•our attitudes follow our behaviour
•promotes tolerance & increases positive attitudes
•reduces anxiety, increases empathy, & decreases perceived threats
•equal-status contact: those who you come in contact with must be
of equal-status, or
-cooperation — common external threats build cohesiveness &
superordinate goals foster cooperation
•cooperative learning then improve racial attitudes & improves
interracial cooperation by developing a new idea of “us” & breaking
the discrepancy between “us” & “them”
PSYC 231: Chapter 12 - Consequences of Prejudice
Document Summary
Psyc 231: chapter 12 - consequences of prejudice: consequences racial & gender prejudice: Also seen in how me judge pictures students see anger as lasting longer in a change black face rather than white face. Gender roles: a set of behaviours expectations for males & females: gender roles are prescriptive gender stereotypes are descriptive, gender stereotypes exist, & members of the stereotyped group often just accept them. They also tend to persist across time & culture: stereotypes are beliefs, whereas prejudice is an attitude, some stereotypes may be favourable (ex. Women are wonderful effect - most people like women more than men: gender attitudes are most often ambivalent consisting of a mix of benevolent sexism & hostile sexism. Hostile sexism: overtly negative evaluations & stereotypes about different gender: people who endorse benevolent sexism towards woman also tend to endorse benevolent sexism towards men serves to justify the status quo in gender relations. Self-depreciation: women are the ones discriminating against women.
