Definitions
• Prejudice
Prejudice
Chapter 11
– Negative prejudgment of a group and its
individual members
– Unfavorable attitude
• Stereotypes
– Beliefs about the characteristics of members of a
group (Can be positive or negative)
– Stereotype threat
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Southern Methodist University
Definitions
• Discrimination
• Racism
– Prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior
directed toward people of a given race
– Institutional practices that subordinate people of
a given race
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Prevalence of Prejudice
• Reported attitudes have decreased
dramatically since the 1940’s
– Social reforms – attitudes follow behavior
• Hate crimes
• Profiling
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Definitions
• Sexism
– Unjustifiable negative behavior directed towards
p or its members
a ggroup
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– Prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior
people
p of a ggiven sex
directed toward p
– Institutional practices that subordinate people of
a given sex
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Prevalence of Prejudice
• Glass ceiling
• Differences in pay
– Choice of career
– Same careers
• Education
• Abortions and infanticide
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Ingroup vs. Outgroup
• Ingroup bias
• Outgroup homogeneity
• Social dominance orientation
Social Sources of Prejudice
• Social inequalities
–
–
–
–
Realistic conflict theory
Status
Religion
Scapegoating
• Discrimination
– Self-fulfilling prophecy
– Stereotype vulnerability
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Social Sources of Prejudice
• Social identity
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Emotional Sources
• Frustration and aggression
– Ingroup vs. outgroup
• Ingroup
g p bias
• Robber’s Cave study
– Social identity theory
• Conformity
• Institutional supports
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Southern Methodist University
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Cognitive Sources
• Categorization
– Scapegoat theory
– Realistic conflict
• Personality
– Need for status
– Need for cognitive closure
• Dislike of ambiguity leads to system-maintaining ideas
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Reducing Prejudice
• Contact hypothesis
– Outgroup homogeneity
– Distinctiveness & illusory correlations
– Mere exposure
– Common goal
• Attribution
– Group serving bias
– Just-world phenomenon
• Stereotypes
Southern Methodist University
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Southern Methodist University
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