Download stereotype, prejudice and discrim

Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination
These three concepts are linked: stereotyping concerns what we know about the object of our prejudice;
prejudice is our attitude towards or feelings about an individual or group; and discrimination is the behaviour
that arises from prejudiced attitudes.
Stereotyping
Stereotypes are fixed, and usually fairly simplistic, generalisations about a particular group or class of people.
In general, most of us are ‘cognitive misers’ – we are unable or unwilling to process large amounts of
information so we take shortcuts. Therefore, we tend to form stereotypes of those around us. This has the
effect of making our social world more predictable, as we make assumptions about how others are likely to
behave. These stereotypes are often negative and unflattering and may underlie prejudice and
discrimination, and so have negative consequences for the targets of our stereotyping.
Typically, stereotypes have the following attributes:
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Simplification – for example we may judge someone’s promiscuous behaviour as evidence of their
being a ‘typical male’.
Exaggeration or distortion – for example we may caricature men wearing flat caps as being very
slow drivers.
Generalisation – for example all members of a particular nationality are seen as sharing the same
characteristics.
Cultural attributes are seen as ‘natural’ – for example we see members of a particular cultural group
as being ‘naturally’ warlike or peace loving.
Although stereotypes are usually simplistic in nature, they are not necessarily false assumptions about the
target group, as they often contain a grain of truth. Stereotypes are often widely shared, therefore
reinforcing the fact that some degree of accuracy may be evident in the stereotype. Although stereotypes
can and do change over time, those who hold them are often reluctant to abandon them. Even in the face
of disconfirming evidence, people cling to obviously inaccurate stereotypes.
Research on stereotyping
Ageism
Studies of ageism found that attitudes towards older people are more negative than towards younger adults,
although stereotypes about the elderly tend to be mixed. Cuddy & Fiske (2002) found that elderly people
are stereotyped as warm (positive) but also as incompetent (negative). This stereotype is generally a product
of the perceived social position of elderly people and predicts the kind of emotional prejudices that they are
likely to face.
Heterosexism
Various outgroups are frequently the focus of negative perceptions. For example homosexuals have long
been considered to be deviants. In a public opinion survey in the 1960s, they were rated as the third most
dangerous group of individuals in the US, outranked only by communists and atheists (Aguero et al, 1984).
Even in the world of psychology, homosexuals have been perceived negatively; it was not until 1973 that the
American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders. Such
heterosexist behaviour is even evident in the media. Cowan and Valentine (2006) monitored 168 hours of
peak time TV on BBC 1 and BBC 2. They found that, during that time, lesbian and gay people and their lives
were realistically and positively portrayed for just 6 minutes.
Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination
Activities:
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4.
Outline the 4 attributes of stereotypes.
Outline what Cuddy and Fiske (2002) discovered in their research on ageism.
What did the Aguero (1984) study find out about public opinion about homosexuals?
What did Cowan and Valentine (2006) find out about the amount of time gay and lesbian people
were portrayed on peak-time TV?
Prejudice
As the name suggests, prejudice involves the “prejudging” of someone or something, without having direct
evidence to support that judgement. Prejudice involves more than just having a preconceived idea about
another person or group; it also involves forming an evaluation of them. Although it can be positive,
prejudice is usually taken to mean a negative attitude towards that person or group.
Being prejudiced against a whole group of people (e.g. men, women, Muslims, Catholics etc.) means that
we have formed our judgement with reference to an existing bias that is most likely based on our social
stereotypes. At its most extreme, a prejudiced attitude may result in actively discriminating against
members of a particular group, denying them the opportunities that we would offer a more favoured group.
Because of a previous negative experience with one member of a particular group, an individual may develop
the stereotype that all members of that group share the same characteristic. For example, someone who
has a series of unfortunate relationships with members of the opposite sex may develop the view that “all
women are the same”, and so they adopt a prejudiced view of all members of that sex (sexism).
Research on prejudice
Ageism
Research suggests that older adults are rarely actively disliked, but instead are victims of a distinct form of
emotional prejudice that is usually reserved for those of low status – pity. Fiske et al (2002) found that pity
was the emotion that college students were most likely to feel towards older people. Ageism, however, is
thought to be a unique form of prejudice as, unlike gender or ethnic groups, membership of age groups is
in constant transition over the lifespan.
Heterosexism
Hegarty (2002) provides an explanation for why some people express more tolerant attitudes towards
lesbian and gay people – the reason lies in a belief in immutability (i.e. fixed and unchangeable). In his
research, participants who believed that homosexuality was more a matter of biology than personal choice
expressed more tolerant attitudes, but only if they were more tolerant individuals to begin with. But how
do such tolerant people feel when they experience heterosexism in others? Richman et al (2004) asked men
and women whether they had ever intervened when someone close to them had expressed a heterosexist
prejudice. Only 7% of the men said that they had intervened when the prejudice was based on sexual
orientation, whereas 75% of women had intervened in similar circumstances. The major reason given for
the men’s failure to intervene was indifference.
Discrimination
Discrimination can occur at many levels, from simple avoidance to hostile attacks on members of the target
group. Types of discrimination include racism (against members of another racial group), sexism (against
members of another sex), ageism (against another age group) and heterosexism (against alternative forms
of sexuality). Discriminatory behaviours may be linked to underlying prejudiced attitudes (e.g. an
employer’s prejudice against older people may lead them only to offer jobs to people below a certain
age).
Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination
Research on discrimination
Ageism
There is mounting evidence to suggest that older people are increasingly a stigmatised group in Western
cultures. Research has shown that stereotypes of older people as ‘incompetent’ can lead to discrimination
against them in the workplace and in other settings such as hospitals or nursing homes. More subtle forms
of ageism are evident in the finding that only 1.5% of characters on television are elderly people (zebrowitz
& Montepare, 2000) and in advertising, where older people tend to either be ignored or represented
inappropriately.
What’s the difference between…?
Stereotyping &
prejudice
Prejudice &
discrimination
Stereotypes are generalisations about a
group of people, and as such represent
our knowledge about the group.
Prejudice, on the other hand implies an
evaluation of the group that may or may
not be based on an underlying
stereotype.
Prejudice involves an underlying attitude
towards an individual because of their
membership of a particular group.
Discrimination may involve acting on this
attitude, or simply conforming to current
social norms of discrimination against
members of that group.
Stereotyping &
discrimination
Stereotypes are often negative and
unflattering, and as such may justify
discriminatory behaviour.
However,
they only represent a way of thinking
about the world, whereas discrimination
involves acting towards members of a
target group in an unfair or biased way.
Activities:
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2.
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7.
Make notes under the heading Prejudice using the information above.
What did Fiske et al (2002) find in his study about older adults?
What did the 2006 report by the commission for social care find out about discrimination
towards older people?
What % of characters on TV are elderly people?
What did Symanski (2005) find out about the effect of hetrosexism on lesbians health?
How do Myers and Spencer (2003) define attitude in the context of prejudice?
Outline the differences between
a. Stereotyping and prejudice
b. Prejudice and discrimination
c. Stereotyping and discrimination
Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination
The Components of Prejudice
Prejudice assumes the existence of an underlying (and usually negative) attitude towards members of a
category or group – but what do we mean by attitude in this context? Prejudice, like many other attitudes,
is predominantly an evaluation of the attitude object. But most attitudes, and this includes prejudice, are
also categorised by cognitions about the attitude object, as well as behavioural tendencies (e.g. to approach
or avoid the object in question). This view of prejudice emphasises the importance of three distinct
components of a prejudiced attitude, as described below.
The cognitive component
The cognitive component of prejudice is what we know about the object of our prejudice. This component
is based primarily on our beliefs that about the characteristics of a person or group. It is an extension of our
tendency to categorise (i.e. stereotype) members of a group. If we dislike a particular group, then we are
selective in our processing of evidence that supports our beliefs about members of this group (e.g. ‘they’re
all lazy, untrustworthy and stupid’). When applied to racism, the cognitive component of a racial prejudice
is likely to be characterised by sincere, though stereotyped, beliefs about race differences. People who hold
such prejudices often believe that there is good evidence and convincing arguments to support their beliefs.
The affective component
The affective component of prejudice is what we feel about the object of our prejudice. This arises as a
result of the emotional reaction we experience whenever we come into contact with the object. When
applied to racial prejudices, a person may have an aversion to people of another race for no obvious reason.
For example, there is a popular belief that Japanese people (who have very little body odour) do not like the
way that Caucasian people smell, and so do not like to be with people who have Caucasian body odours.
Another example is the way that many people react to immigrants with strong anger and resentment
because of the belief that ‘they take our jobs’.
The behavioural component
The behavioural component of prejudice refers to a tendency to act in a particular way towards the object
of our prejudice, usually arising from the beliefs and feeling about them. In other words, the behavioural
component is discrimination. Applied to racial prejudice, a person may act according to the affective and
cognitive components of their prejudice; for example they may exchange racist jokes or use disparaging
racist language about a particular ethnic group because they genuinely dislike the ethnic group (affective)
and believe it is inferior (cognitive). It is possible for the intention to discriminate to exist on its own, without
any affective or cognitive components. For example, an employer may act in a discriminatory manner (e.g.
not employing women) to avoid unsettling the workforce.
Activities:
Explain what is meant by the cognitive component of prejudice.
Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination
Example
R decides not to invite someone in her class to a
party because they are ‘too old’.
D decides to give his niece a pink doll for her
birthday.
X invites his male friends to play football but
does not consider inviting his female friends.
A children’s film has 4 lead characters – a heroic
young white male, a pretty white female who
needs to be rescued a lot, a wise old man and a
funny male from an ethnic minority.
A toy manufacturer decides that a popular play
set is not appealing enough to girls so they bring
out a new version featuring toy horses and
shopping.
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioural
1. Copy and complete the above table, indicating which component of prejudice fits each
situation.
2. Think of examples of rules/restrictions in the workplace that could lead to indirect
discrimination.