SOCIAL RELATIONS:
STEREOTYPES, PREJUDICE AND
DISCRIMINATION
Chapter 18
PREJUDICE & DISCRIMINATION
 Prejudice
– an unjustifiable attitude
toward a group of people (prejudgement)
 What kinds of prejudice are there?
DISCRIMINATION
 Discrimination
– when one acts on one’s
prejudices (behavior)

Ex. If I disliked female students, I am
prejudice. If I refuse to call on female
students or answer their questions… I am
discriminatory.

Ex. Jim Crow Segregation Laws 1877-1964
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INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION
PREJUDICE/DISCRIMINATION AND
JANE ELLIOTT’S “A CLASS DIVIDED”
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Watch The Program | A Class Divided |
FRONTLINE | PBS
1968
 Riceville, Iowa
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3:06- 7:50
8:20- 10:00
Part 2- beginning till 7:00
SOCIAL ROOTS OF PREJUDICE

Scapegoat theory – prejudice offers an outlet
for anger by providing someone to blame.
Aggression is displaced to another group that
often cannot fight back.
 Ex. Bullies target the small, introverted kids
 Ex. Coaches are blamed for losing a game.
 Citizens often use government as a scapegoat
 Who is a scapegoat in our society today?
 Evidence: members of hate groups have lower
self esteem than the general population
SOCIAL ROOTS OF PREJUDICE
Economic Inequalities
•
Positive Correlation exists between economic
inequality and prejudice.
Ex. Sweden, Norway, Finland vs. US.
Pie Charts of Wealth/Distribution - which
chart is the USA?
Wealth Quiz: How Does the U.S. Slice the Pie? |
PBS NewsHour
Ex. Desegregation of CMS and Myers Park HS
SOCIAL ROOTS OF PREJUDICE
 In-group
– “Us,” people who share a
common identity. Q. What are some
examples of???
 Out-group
– “Them,” those perceived as
different from one’s group
 Shoe
exercise
IN GROUP BIAS, ETHNOCENTRISM, OUT
GROUP HOMOGENEITY
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In-group bias- tendency to favor ones in-group.
Ex. Monkeys wipe spots that monkeys from out
group were just sitting.
Ex. Chapel Hill vs. Appalachian State (or Duke)
students.
"The children now love luxury; they have bad
manners, contempt for authority; they show
disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of
exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the
servants of their households. They no longer rise
when elders enter the room. They contradict
their parents, chatter before company, gobble up
dainties at the table, cross their legs, and
tyrannize their teachers.”
SOCIAL ROOTS OF PREJUDICE
 Out-group
homogeneity – judging
members of the in-group as more diverse
than those of the out-groups.
Why? We lack familiarity with the out-group.
 Ex. Thinking that people in your own racial group
look very different but other racial groups all look
alike.
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Ethnocentrism- tendency to believe that one’s culture or
nation is superior. Leads to prejudice vs. foreigners.
COGNITIVE ROOTS OF PREJUDICE

Stereotypes – an over-generalized belief
about a group of people
Can be negative or positive
 A byproduct of how we simplify our world
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Categorization – we categorize people by
stereotyping them. (people categorize their
worlds in many ways… food groups,
states/counties/cities, a botanist categorizes
plants)
COGNITIVE ROOTS OF PREJUDICE
STUDIES ON STEREOTYPING

Re: 5th line p. 718. Basketball study
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ABC 20/20- Race and Sex John Stossell
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Unconscious Bias- Activity –Allport Picture
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Implicit Bias Test- www.implicit.harvard.edu
 Hidden Motives – YouTube (SAF- starting at 10
mins.)
 Reading: Testing your unconscious biasTeaching Tolerance
 modern family asian stereotype
 stereotypes of blacks, mexicans, asians, gays, and
blondes
COGNITIVE ROOTS OF PREJUDICE
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Vivid cases- how quickly and clearly an actual
example comes to your mind.
Ex. Blue collar vs. white collar crimes. Univ. of
Oregon study showed info on 50. Group A had 10
committed violent crimes other 10 non violent crimes.
People are much more interested in news about a guy
committing crime at convenient store, than the wall
street guy embezzling life savings from charities.
Therefore, mainstream media is more likely to show
this. White collar crime costs society 10 times more
Ex. Fig. 18.9 Terrorism and Islam. P. 748
COMBATING PREJUDICE

Contact Theory- The more contact one has with
a prejudiced group usually results in lowering
prejudice toward that group. Partially because
stereotypes become lessened.
Ex. students in Newark Valley, NY and racism.
 Ex. Your generation vs. your grandparents
generation and racial prejudice.
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COMBATING PREJUDICE
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Superordinate goals – shared goals
that override differences. (cooperation
becomes required).
Ex. Robber’s Cave Experiment Sherif study (1966) with boy scouts.
Ex. 9/11 survivors who needed/received or
gave help say their prejudice diminished
Ex. CMS during integration. Cooperative
learning
Ex. Integrated team sports and prejudice.
OTHER IMPORTANT SOCIAL
PSYCH CONCEPTS:
Concluding Ch. 18
AGGRESSION

Aggression – any physical or verbal behavior
intended to hurt or destroy.
 Aggression is a combination of biological and
social factors. (nature vs. nurture)
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Biological Factors of aggression
Genetic influences - Identical twins have
individually professed to be aggressive.
 Neural (Brain) influences – neural systems
facilitate aggression. No one part of the brain is
solely responsible for aggression. Frontal lobe is
one part of the brain that, if damaged, aggression is
more likely.
 Biochemical – levels of testosterone can affect
aggressiveness, (Roid rage) alcohol can affect
aggressiveness, (75% of spousal abuse, 40% of
violent crimes involve alcohol)
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SOCIAL FACTORS AND AGGRESSION
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Frustration-aggression principle – frustration,
the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal,
creates anger, which generates aggression.
Ex. The US culture of materialism/consumerism and those
in poverty vs. non-violence of poor Africans.
 Ex. Correlation between economic inequality and
aggression
 Ex. Study showing social rejection/aggression correlation.
(Virginia Tech and Columbine shootings)
Cultural FactorsWhite Scotch-Irish small town southerners. Culture of
“manly honor” have 3 times homicide rates, supportive of
physically punishing children, uncontrolled gun ownership,
and going to war than New Englanders settled from
traditionally peaceful Puritan culture.
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SOCIAL FACTORS AND AGGRESSION
 Learning
to be aggressive – we are more
likely to act aggressively in situations that
aggression has paid off in the past.
Ex. Child throws a fit in a toy store to get a new
toy.
 Social Scripts- learning from the media (movies,
video games) how to act in certain situations.
 Re: Do video games teach or release (catharsis)
violence? pg.725
 Video- video games/violence- Learning disc 1.
 Study: kids who play a lot of violent video games
see the world as more hostile, get into arguments
/fights more and lower grades
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CONFLICT

Conflict - A perceived incompatibility of actions,
goals or ideas.
 Social Traps – a situation in which the
conflicting parties, each pursuing their own
self-interests, become caught in mutually
destructive behavior.
 These challenge us to reconcile our selfinterests with the well-being of all.
 RE: article on this Assignment: List 3
examples of consequencs of social traps from
the reading.
CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL TRAPS
Traffic Jams
 Overfishing
 Environmental Pollution
 Pesticides
 Nuclear Stockpiles
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ATTRACTION
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Proximity – geographic nearness
 This is the best predictor of who our friends are – we are friends
with people we live close to.
 Mere exposure effect – familiarity breeds fondness, repeated
exposure to novel stimuli increases the liking of them.
Physical Attraction
 First impressions – how much does attraction play a part?
 Myers says that we perceive attractive people are healthier,
happier, more successful, more socially skilled though not more
honest or compassionate. Studies show that attractive people are
more likely to experience occupational success.
Similarity
 In reality, opposites do not usually attract. Friends and couples
are more likely to share common interests and beliefs.
 What trouble could arise if a couple has conflicting moral beliefs?
Reciprocal Liking (not in Myers, In Barron’s)
 You are more likely to be attracted to someone who likes you
ATTRACTION
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Attraction Studies - “we perceive attractive
people to be healthier, happier, more sensitive,
more successful, and more socially skilled though
NOT more honest or compassionate.
Ex. JFK (D) vs. Nixon (R) (1960)
Ex. Bush vs. Kerry (2004)
Better looking people (both facially and body
types) have an easier time getting jobs.
ATTRACTION STUDIES- VIDEOS
The Halo Effect - Science of Attraction
 Dating Techniques - Science of Attraction
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ALTRUISM
Altruism – unselfish regard for the welfare of
others.
 Ex. Firefighters during 9/11
 Ex. Read “The Giving Tree”
 Social Exchange Theory – our social behavior
is an exchange process, the aim of which is to
maximize benefits and minimize costs. We decide
how to give and take.
 How do social expectations play into our behavior
of helping?
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YOUTUBE– Social exchange Theory
BYSTANDER EFFECT
(AKA BYSTANDER INTERVENTION)

Bystander Effect – the tendency for any given
bystander to be less likely to give aid if other
bystanders are present
 Ex. Kitty Genovese Murder in Queens, NY
 Diffusion of responsibility – people feel less
responsible to act with more people present.
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What does the bystander effect say about altruism?
Pluralistic ignorance - People define
appropriate behavior by observing others
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Ex. Smoke under the door, watch confederates that do
nothing…. you are more likely to do the same.
YouTube - The Human Behavior Experiments 2006
THE BYSTANDER EFFECT – YouTube
Bystander Effect - people watch girl being abducted - YouTube
SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
 Self-fulfilling
prophecy - The
expectations we have of others can
influence how they behave.
 “Pygmalion in the Classroom”
 Jane Elliott’s Blue Eye Brown Eye
Study
“Those who are seen as inferior act
inferior”