Lessons 18-19-20: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Bias PDF

**Lessons 18-19-20: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Bias** 1. **Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination**: - **Stereotypes** are cognitive structures containing beliefs about a group. - **Prejudice** is an emotional evaluation of a group. - **Discrimination** refers to...

**Lessons 18-19-20: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Bias** 1. **Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination**: - **Stereotypes** are cognitive structures containing beliefs about a group. - **Prejudice** is an emotional evaluation of a group. - **Discrimination** refers to behaviors driven by prejudice. 2. **Social Categorization**: - Categorization simplifies information but leads to exaggerated intergroup differences and minimized intragroup differences. - Studies like Tajfel's Minimal Group Paradigm show that mere group categorization is sufficient for bias. 3. **Blatant vs. Subtle Bias**: - **Blatant Bias** involves overt favoritism or derogation due to real or perceived conflicts. - **Subtle Bias** is more latent, automatic, and often unconscious, stemming from cognitive processes. 4. **Identity Theories**: - **Social Identity Theory** (Tajfel): Group memberships contribute to self-esteem, influencing bias. - **Self-Categorization Theory** (Turner): Identity shifts depending on social context. 5. **Stereotype Activation and Application**: - Stereotypes are not always automatically activated; their application depends on context and cognitive load. 6. **Motivated Control**: - Stereotypes can be weakened through perspective-taking, training, and intentional counterstereotypical thinking. 7. **Impact on Targets**: - **Attributional Ambiguity**: Targets of stereotypes may question whether feedback is biased. - **Stereotype Threat**: Fear of confirming stereotypes can reduce performance in relevant domains. **Lesson 21: Prejudice and Its Emotional Dimensions** 1. **Interplay of Cognition and Emotion**: - While stereotypes are cognitive, emotional prejudices (e.g., contempt, envy, pity) often drive discrimination more directly. 2. **Stereotype Content Model (SCM)**: - Groups are evaluated along dimensions of **warmth** and **competence**: - High warmth, low competence (e.g., elderly): Pity. - High warmth, high competence (e.g., allies): Admiration. - Low warmth, low competence (e.g., outgroups): Contempt. - Low warmth, high competence (e.g., rivals): Envy. 3. **Behavioral Implications (BIAS Map)**: - Warmth predicts active behaviors (helping or harming), while competence predicts passive behaviors (ignoring or undermining). 4. **Integrated Threat Theory**: - Realistic threats (e.g., resource competition) and symbolic threats (e.g., value conflicts) shape prejudice. 5. **Group-Specific Prejudices**: - Race: Rooted in social construction rather than biology. - Gender: **Ambivalent sexism** combines hostile and benevolent attitudes. - Ageism: Focused on perceptions of incompetence and resource competition. - Sexual Prejudice: Includes discrimination based on nonvisible identities, often driven by disgust. 6. **Reducing Prejudice**: - **Contact Hypothesis**: Positive intergroup contact reduces prejudice if conditions like equal status and shared goals are met. - **Empathy and Perspective-Taking**: Reduce negative stereotypes and improve intergroup relations.