Being the Target of
Stereotyping, Prejudice, and
Discrimination
Psy 321: Dr. Sanchez
Guest Lecturer: Corinne Moss-Racusin
Big Question
• How do stereotypes, prejudice, and
discrimination affect their targets?
 Is there an impact on their behavior?
 Should discrimination be confronted?
Today’s Topics
• How do stereotypes, prejudice, and
discrimination affect their targets?
 Is there an impact on their performance?
 1. Stereotype Threat
 2. Fear of BacklashWomen’s Self-Promotion
 Should discrimination be confronted?
 3. Confronting and reducing prejudice
The Impact of Stereotypes on
Group Members’ Performance
• What are some stereotypes about things
that members of certain groups are good
at?
 Women are nurturing
 Asians are good at math
 African-Americans are athletic
 Gay men have good fashion sense
The Impact of Stereotypes on
Group Members’ Performance
• There are also some negative stereotypes about
what group members are not good at.
• How do these stereotypes affect group
members’ performance in these domains?
• Imagine you are a female college student about
to take a difficult Math exam
 Stereotype: women are not good at Math
 How would you feel?
 How might you react?
Stereotype Threat
• The apprehension experienced by members of
group that their behavior might confirm a
negative cultural stereotype about their group in
that domain.
 This threat actually undermines performance.
 Predictions for female student?
 Her concern about confirming stereotypes by
performing poorly on Math testlower score.
• Important: individual does not have to personally
believe the stereotype for it to shape
performance.
 Just the knowledge that the stereotype is out there
(and that one’s behavior could confirm it) is enough.
Steele & Aronson, 1995 (Study 1)
• Black and White participants
• Racial stereotype of intelligence (Whites
outperform racial minorities) made salient
 Experimental: participants told test is diagnostic
of ability
 Control: test is non-diagnostic
• Examined test performance on a
challenging verbal test
 Predictions?
Steele & Aronson, 1995 (Study 1)
Performance gap eliminated
Steele & Aronson, 1995 (Study 4)
• Everyone told the test was non-diagnostic
• Racial group membership was
manipulated
 Experimental: indicate race on test form
 Control: no race question
Steele & Aronson, 1995 (Study 4)
Performance gap eliminated
Stereotype Threat and Personal
Identity
• Self-relevant negative stereotype in a particular domain
 “Women are bad at Math, and I am a woman.”
• Person identifies with that domain
 “I want to do well in my Math class.”
• Performance in the situation is diagnostic
 “I might validate this stereotype if I get a low score.”
• About a social identity, so applies to many groups
 Men and social sensitivity (Koenig & Eagly, 2005)
 Whites and racism (Frantz, Cuddy, Burnett, Ray, & Hart, 2004)
 Low SES and intellectual ability (Harrison, Stevens, Monty, &
Coakley, 2006)
 Whites and athletic ability (Stone, 2002)
Stereotypes and Multiple
Identities
Women
Not good at Math
Asians
Good at Math
Shih, Pittinsky & Ambady, 1999
• Remind Asian-American women of their:
 Experimental 1: Asian identity (questions
about languages spoken, race, etc.)
 Experimental 2: Female identity (questions
about co-ed housing)
 Control: Neither identity (questions about
telephone service)
• Take a math test
Shih, Pittinsky & Ambady, 1999
Accuracy on math test
0.6
0.4
0.2
Asian
Ne utral
Female
Fear of Backlash
• Sometimes, people do overcome expectations
and perform well in ways that violate stereotypes
 Female leaders
 Carly Fiorina: Hewlett-Packard CEO
 Hillary Clinton
 Racial minorities and academic excellence
 Dr. Henry Gates incident
 White rappers
 Eminem
 What happens to these people?
Fear of Backlash
• The fear that you will experience backlash
(social and economic penalties) for
behavior that violates stereotypes.
 Clinton? Nicknames?
Clinton and Backlash
“Stainless steel thighs! Cracks
toughest nuts!”
“Every time she comes on TV, I
involuntarily cross my legs.”
Fear of Backlash
• The fear that you will experience backlash
(social and economic penalties) for behavior that
violates stereotypes.
 Clinton? Nicknames?
 “She’s competent, but...
 “...women shouldn’t behave that way, so I don’t like
her.”
• FOB undermines later success in this domain.
 “I’m concerned that people will dislike me for violating
gender stereotypes”less leadership behavior in the
future.
Rudman & Fairchild, 2004 (Study 3)
• Male and female Ps took 2 “gendered
knowledge” tests
• In reality, both tests measured fairly obscure
knowledge
 Female: You wear Manolo Blahniks on your:
 Head vs. feet
 Female: A roux is best described as a:
 Sauce vs. cake
 Male: What is the best way to deflect a punch?
 Use the forearm to block it vs. use the hand to catch it
 Male: To help an engine produce more power:
 Inject the fuel vs. reduce displacement
Rudman & Fairchild, 2004 (Study 3)
• Manipulated whether Ps violated gender stereotypes or
not
 No violation condition: told they had a high score on own sex
test, low score on cross-sex test
 Stereotype violation condition: high score on cross-sex test, low
score on own-sex test
• DVs
 FOB
 Deception
 Hiding success (publicize high score on website)
 Lying about success (enter wrong gender winners’ lottery)
 Increased gender conformity (interest in future
occupations and sports)
Rudman & Fairchild, 2004 (Study 3)
2.5
2
1.5
Stereotype
Violators
Non Stereotype
Violators
1
0.5
0
FOB
Deception
Conformity
Fear of Backlash
• People who violate gender stereotypes:
 Fear backlash from others
 Hide their success (can’t serve as role models to
others)
 Conform to gender stereotypes in the future
• Reinforces the existing stereotype
 Because there are few salient examples of people
violating stereotypes
Men and Fear of Backlash
(Moss-Racusin, Phelan & Rudman, 2010)
• True for BOTH MEN AND WOMEN
• Men: expected to be strong, stoic, and hypermasculine
 Living up to this ideal has serious mental and physical
health consequences
 But: backlash for appearing modest
 Strict gender rules for how men are expected to
behave
 i.e., what makes a “real man”
• Fearing backlash and being the target of
prejudice can limit free expression, and be
painfully isolating
 Recent tragic events at RU
Stereotype Threat vs. Fear of
Backlash
• Stereotype Threat
 Concern over confirming negative group stereotype
leads you to do poorly.
 “I don’t want my friend to think that women are bad
drivers”  car accident.
• Fear of Backlash
 Doing well in counter-stereotypic domain leads you to
fear penalties from others, and thus limit this behavior
in the future.
 “I just did really well on my Math test”  hiding news
from friends, not studying as much next time.
Fear of Backlash and Women’s
Self-Promotion
• Specific example of how FOB undermines
peoples’ performance.
• Self-Promotion:
 “Pointing with pride to one’s accomplishments,
speaking directly about one’s strength’s and talents,
and making internal rather than external attributions
for achievements” (Rudman, 1998).
• Critical for career success
 Predicts perceptions of competence (Jones & Pittman, 1982).
 Shapes hiring and promotion decisions (Janoff-Bulman & Wade, 1996).
Women’s Self-Promotion
• Backlash for women’s self-promotion
• Self-Promotion violates stereotypes calling for
women to be “nice,” modest, and other-oriented
(Eagly & Karau, 2002; Rudman, 1998).
• Implications for women’s actual self-promotion?
 No existing data on gender differences in selfpromotion behavior
 Past work has focused on salary negotiations
 Predictions for gender gap in negotiating first job $?
Gender Differences in Salary
Negotiation
119000
118000
117000
116000
115000
114000
Negotiation
Outcome ($)
113000
112000
111000
110000
Amanatullah & Morris, 2010
Gender Differences in Salary
Negotiation
119,000
118,000
117,000
116,000
115,000
Negotiation
Outcome ($)
114,000
113,000
112,000
111,000
110,000
Men
Amanatullah & Morris, 2010
Gender Differences in
Negotiation (for self)
119,000
118,000
117,000
116,000
115,000
Negotiation
Outcome ($)
114,000
113,000
112,000
111,000
110,000
Men
Women
$26,615 loss after 5 years
Amanatullah & Morris, 2010
Women’s Self-Promotion
• 2 specific research questions
 1. Do women have difficulty with selfpromotion relative to men (like negotiation)?
 2. Does FOB contribute to this difficulty?
Gender Differences in SelfPromotion Success (Live Interview)
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2
-0.25
Self-Promotion
Success
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Gender Differences in SelfPromotion Success (Live Interview)
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2
-0.25
Self-Promotion
Success
Men
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Gender Differences in SelfPromotion Success (Live Interview)
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2
-0.25
Self-Promotion
Success
Men
Women
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Gender Differences in SelfPromotion
• Does this mean that women simply aren’t
cut out for self-promotion?
 What contributes to this gender difference?
• Maybe other factors related to
discrimination are at work
Improving Women’s Promotion
Behavior
• Women encounter backlash when they selfpromote
 S-P violates feminine gender stereotypes
• Women should excel at promoting a peer
 Consistent with feminine gender stereotypes
 Would demonstrate that women have the skills
necessary to self-promote, but are hampered by FOB
for violating gender stereotypes
Self vs. Peer Differences in Women’s
Promotion Success (Written Essay)
0.35
0.25
0.15
0.05
Promotion Success
-0.05
-0.15
-0.25
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Self vs. Peer Differences in Women’s
Promotion Success (Written Essay)
0.35
0.25
0.15
0.05
Promotion Success
-0.05
-0.15
-0.25
Self-Promotion
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Self vs. Peer Differences in Women’s
Promotion Success (Written Essay)
0.35
0.25
0.15
0.05
Promotion Success
-0.05
-0.15
-0.25
Self-Promotion
Peer-Promotion
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Fear of Backlash
• Women are capable of promotion (for a peer),
so why aren’t they self-promoting?
• Women fear backlash for violating stereotypes
(Rudman & Fairchild, 2004)
• Does FOB help explain women’s self-promotion
detriments?
 Yes: average correlation r = -.23, p < .05
 The more women fear backlash, the less likely they
are to self-promote well.
Moss-Racusin & Rudman, 2010
Implications
• FOB limits women’s behavior
 Workplace consequences: S-P necessary for
career success
• It’s not that women lack the skills to selfpromote
 Rather, women (correctly) anticipate backlash
for self-promotion, which interrupts their ability
to self-promote
Today’s Topics
• How do stereotypes, prejudice, and
discrimination affect their targets?
 Is there an impact on their behavior?
 1. Stereotype Threat
 2. Fear of BacklashWomen’s Self-Promotion
 Should discrimination be confronted?
 3. Confronting and reducing prejudice
Exercise
• Imagine you are a female politician running for office.
• In an ad, your male competitor says:
 “Jane Smith cannot get the job done as an elected
official. She’s known to be an ice queen and a mean
girl--she doesn’t care about voters, and accepts gifts
from wealthy lobbyists. If she’ll trade her policy
opinions for money, what else might she do? Do you
really want to elect this kind of prostitute?”
• Not an attack on policy--just sexist language (Clinton
revisited).
• Would the ad hurt your chances of being elected?
• What should you do?
Pick a Reaction
• A: Do nothing, and continue with your campaign
as planned. Sexist attacks shouldn’t be dignified
with a response, and it would only give more
press to the negative comments.
• B: When you are asked about the ad by a
reporter, mention that you found it to be
“inappropriate,” and then let it go.
• C: Hold a press conference to offer your
response. Say that the ad was “sexist, divisive
rhetoric.”
Lake, 2010
• Large-scale poll administered to 800 likely
voters for 2010 midterm election.
• Half heard the sexist ad, half heard an ad
attacking policy positions.
• DV: willingness to vote for female
candidate.
Lake, 2010
• Sexism “works.”
• 21% of voters would still
support a female
candidate attacked on her
policy positions.
 Reflects existing
preference for male
candidates.
• Support drops drastically
as a result of sexist
language.
• Does confrontation
matter?
25
20
15
Policy
Attack
Sexist
Attack
10
5
0
% Supporting
Lake, 2010
45
40
35
30
Policy
Attack
Se xis t
Attack
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
% Supporting
C
Confronting Prejudice Matters
• It can undo the damage of sexist language for female
politicians (Lake, 2010)
• It is associated with women’s feelings of competence,
self-esteem, and empowerment (Gervais, Hillard & Vescio, 2010)
• Not confronting is linked to negative affect, cognitive
distraction, and performance impairments for women
(Shelton et al., 2006)
• Confronting perpetrators of racial bias often leads them
to experience guilt and apologize/engage in corrective
responses (Czopp & Monteith, 2003).
• Unchallenged prejudice is likely to persist (Rudman &
Fairchild, 2004)
• It can be taught, at least for kids (Lamb et al., 2006)
Teaching Confronting (Lamb et al., 2009)
• Elementary school Ps were told stories in which
a sexist comment occurs
 “You can’t be the doctor, you have to be the nurse!”
 “Why do you have a boy’s haircut?”
 “Boys are better at math than girls.”
• Ps then asked how they would respond
 Agreed with sexist remark
 Ignored sexist remark
 Objected to sexist remark mildly
 Confronted sexist remark
• Trained to confront (either narrative or practice
condition), and then measured again 2 weeks later
Teaching Confronting (Lamb et al., 2009)
90
80
70
60
50
Pretest
Narrative
Practice
40
30
20
10
0
Agree
Ignore
Object
Challenge
Teaching Confronting (Lamb et al., 2009)
90
80
70
60
50
Pretest
Narrative
Practice
40
30
20
10
0
Agree
Ignore
Object
Challenge
Teaching Confronting (Lamb et al., 2009)
90
80
70
60
50
Pretest
Narrative
Practice
40
30
20
10
0
Agree
Ignore
Object
Challenge
Final Thoughts
• Being targeted by stereotypes, prejudice
and discrimination has serious
consequences
 Undermines performance
 Limits human behavior
 Mental and physical health
• Confronting bias is essential
 We can all participate