Download CHAPTER 2 – PREJUDICE

CHAPTER 2 – PREJUDICE
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
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To understand and become familiar with the concept of hate crimes
To understand how prejudice plays a role in perceptions of people seen as racially “different”
To become familiar with the similarities and differences between prejudice and discrimination
To explore various theories and explanations of prejudice, including exploitation theory, scapegoat
theory, authoritarian personality theory, and normative theory
To identify some possibilities that lead to a reduction of prejudice between groups
To understand on how potential employers respond to ethnic-sounding names
To understand and evaluate the concept of racial profiling and the role it may play in prejudice and
discrimination
To evaluate and explore the extent of prejudice in our society
To evaluate and understand the overall mood of the oppressed
To understand research findings dealing with intergroup hostility
To become familiar with possible ways to reduce prejudice in our society
To identify and understand the ten ways to fight hate
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Hate Crimes
 A hate crime is defined by the government as a criminal offense committed against a
person, property, or society which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias
against a race, religion, ethnic/national origin group, or sexual orientation group. Recent
legislation has added physical and mental disabilities as factors that could be the basis of
hate crimes.
II.
Prejudice and Discrimination
 Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people. Discrimination
involves behavior that excludes all members of a group from certain rights, opportunities,
or privileges.
A.
Merton’s Theory
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Robert Merton developed a typology that points out that attitudes should not be
confused with behavior. He identified four different categories illustrating the
relationship between attitudes and behavior: all-weather liberal, reluctant liberal,
timid bigot, and all-weather bigot.
B.
LaPiere’s Study
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This research exposed the relationship between racial attitudes and social
conduct. From 1930 to 1932, LaPiere traveled throughout the United States with
a Chinese couple, and despite the alleged climate of intolerance of Asians,
LaPiere observed the couple being treated politely at hotels, motels, and
restaurants.
III.
Theories of Prejudice
A.
Scapegoating Theory
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Scapegoating theory says that prejudiced people believe they are society’s
victims.
B.
Authoritarian Personality Theory
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The authoritarian personality theory attempts to detail the prejudiced
personality. According to Adorno, the basic characteristics of the authoritarian
personality are adherence to conventional values, uncritical acceptance of
authority, and concern with power and toughness.
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C.
D.
IV.
V.
Exploitation Theory
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Exploitation theory is part of the Marxist tradition in sociology. According to
this view, racial prejudice is often used to justify keeping a group in a
subordinate position, such as a lower social class.
Normative Approach
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The normative approach takes the view that prejudice is influenced by norms
and situations that encourage or discourage the tolerance of minorities.
The Content of Prejudice: Stereotypes
A.
What are Stereotypes?
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Stereotypes are unreliable generalizations about all members of a population that
do not take individual differences into account.
B.
Listen to Our Voices: National Media Should Stop Using Obscene Words
C.
Trends in Stereotypes
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The mass media, particularly television, portray stereotypes along racial and
ethnic lines in numerous ways. The labeling of individuals has strong
implications for the self-fulfilling prophecy. Stereotypes are held by both
members of the dominant and subordinate groups.
D.
Stereotyping in Action: Racial Profiling
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According to the Department of Justice, racial profiling is any police-initiated
action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the person’s
behavior. Racial profiling persists despite overwhelming evidence that it is
misleading. Talk of legislating against it has however met with firm resistance.
The Extent of Prejudice
A.
The Social Distance Scale
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Social distance has been defined as the tendency to approach or withdraw from
a racial group. Emory Bogardus has developed an empirical measure of social
distance, often referred to as the Bogardus scale. The scale asks people how
willing they would be to interact with various racial and ethnic groups in seven
specified social situations. Each situation describes a different degree of social
contact or social distance.
B.
Trends in Prejudice
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Is prejudice decreasing? The evidence is mixed, with some indicators of
willingness to give up some old prejudices while new negative attitudes emerge.
Attitudes are important as a change in attitude may create a context in which
legislative and behavioral change can occur.
VI.
The Mood of the Oppressed
 Over the years researchers have seemed to be more interested in white attitudes on racial
issues than they have been on the attitudes of subordinate group members. Recent
research has offered insight into sharply different attitudes between the dominant and
subordinate groups. Assessment on self-esteem of minorities has been misleading.
VII.
Intergroup Hostility
 A national survey revealed that, like whites, many African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, and Asian Americans held prejudiced and stereotypical views of other racial
and ethnic minority groups. At the same time, the survey also revealed positive views of
the major racial and ethnic minorities. Curiously, we find that some groups feel they get
along better with whites than with other minority groups.
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VIII.
Reducing Prejudice
 Focusing on how to eliminate prejudice involves an explicit value judgment: prejudice is
wrong and causes problems for those who are prejudiced and for the victims. For most
encouraging research findings as to how to change negative attitudes towards groups of
people point to the mass media, education, intergroup contact, and workplace training
programs.
A.
Education and Mass Media
 Most research studies show that well-constructed programs do have some positive effect
in reducing prejudice, at least temporarily. Studies have also consistently shown that
increased formal education, regardless of content, is associated with racial tolerance.
B.
Equal-Status Contact
 An impressive number of studies have confirmed the contact hypothesis, which states
that the intergroup contact between people of equal status in harmonious circumstances
will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon previously held stereotypes. A
key factor in reducing hostility in addition to equal-status contact is the presence of a
common goal.
C.
Corporate Response: Diversity Training
 Workplace hostility can lead to lost productivity and even attrition. It can also lead to the
development of a reputation of having a “chilly climate,” which discourages both
qualified people of color or women from applying for jobs and potential clients seeking
products or services. In an effort to improve workplace relations, most organizations have
initiated some form of diversity training. The effectiveness and the content of diversity
programs vary tremendously.
IX.
Ways to Fight Hate
 Ways to fight hate include the following: act, unite, support the victims, do your
homework, create an alternative, speak up, lobby leaders, look long range, teach
tolerance, and dig deeper.
A.
Research Focus: What’s In a Name?
IDENTIFICATION ITEMS
Items marked by a plus sign (+) are in addition to those listed in the chapter’s “Key Terms” section.
+all-weather bigot
(p. 42)
+all-weather liberal
(p. 42)
authoritarian personality
(p. 45)
Bogardus Scale
(p. 51)
+chilly climate
(p. 60)
contact hypothesis
(p. 59)
discrimination
(p. 41)
ethnocentrism
(p. 39)
ethnophaulism
(p. 41)
exploitation theory
(p. 45)
hate crimes
(p. 39)
+intergroup hostility
(p. 55)
+labels
(p. 47)
+LaPiere, Richard
(p. 42)
+Marx, Karl
(p. 45)
+Merton, Robert
(p. 41)
normative approach
(p. 46)
prejudice
(p. 41)
racial profiling
(p. 50)
+reluctant liberal
(p. 42)
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scapegoat
+scapegoating theory
social distance
stereotypes
+timid bigot
(p. 43)
(p. 43)
(p. 51)
(p. 47)
(p. 42)
LECTURE SUGEGESTIONS/CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS
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How can childhood socialization increase or decrease negative attitudes toward racial, ethnic, and
religious groups?
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Rebecca Bordt in "Only Some Are Dead Men Walking: Teaching About Race Discrimination and
the Death Penalty," Teaching Sociology 32 (October 2004): 358-373, discusses an experiment that
teaches racial discrimination in her classes. The results of the exercise can be used as a basis for
class discussion.
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Ask the class how many of them have worked with and for whites, African Americans, Hispanics,
Latinos, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, Arab and Muslim Americans, Native Americans,
Japanese and Chinese Americans. You can have a nice class discussion based on the results of
your class survey.
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Critique LaPiere’s classic study of the reception given to Chinese traveling in the US nearly a half
century ago. Design a study based on the same questions LaPiere asked. What do you predict
about the relationship between (prejudiced) attitudes and (discriminatory) behavior?
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Have students reflect on times when they knew their behavior did not reflect their attitude in a
particular situation. How would they explain this discrepancy? How much do attitudes tell us
about behavior?
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How can childhood socialization increase or decrease negative attitudes toward racial, ethnic, and
religious groups? Have students reflect on their childhood and what they learned about groups
different from the ones to which they belonged. What were the sources of this information?
ACTIVITITES, HANDOUTS, DEMONSTRATIONS
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Have students record all the adjectives that characterize given groups. Include whites and groups
like ex-convicts, doctors, plumbers, etc. Then ask the students whether they hold any of these
images of minority groups and how they came to believe in them.
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Find more applications of the social distance scale in Marietta Morrissey, “Exploring Social
Distance in Race and Ethnic Relations Courses,” Teaching Sociology 20 (April 1992): 121-124.
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Using the guidelines found at http://www.fdl.uwc.edu/windian/harvey1.htm, have students
consider the ways that education may reinforce prejudice towards American Indians.
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Using this (or a modified version) of the Bogardus Social Distance Scale, have students fill in and
discuss their decisions. What factors, including historical context, might influence the way people
respond?
Directions. If you willingly admit members of a group in the specified situation, place a check mark in the
blank under the group label.
Blacks
Jews
Whites
Muslims
To close kinship by marriage
To my club as personal chums
To my street as neighbors
To employment in my occupation
To citizenship in my country
As visitors only to my country
Would exclude from my country
STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS
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Look up the following two books: Leonard Reissman's Inequality in American Society,
(Glenview: Scott, Foresman, 1973) and Irwin Deutscher's What We Say/What We Do, (Glenview:
Scott, Foresman, 1973). Students can choose whether to write a short essay over to what extent is
race best considered as a social class, or do our attitudes measure our behavior or even tell us
anything about behavior.
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Have students visit the children’s section of the local library and, using the criteria found in the
article at http://www.4children.org/news/9-97mlit.htm, review a sampling of books for stereotypes
based on race and ethnicity.
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Students can diagram their personal social networks, noting the race and ethnicity of members.
For simple instructions and an example of social network analysis go to:
http://www.orgnet.com/sna.html. Are their networks hetero or homogenous? When there is
diversity, what is the nature of the tie?
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Using the General Social Survey data “Quick Tables” provided at
http://sda.berkeley.edu:7507/quicktables/quickconfig.do?gss02, examine attitudes on racial issues
by race, gender, education, and other variables of interest.
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Using the “Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus”(http://www.tolerance.org/campus/), have
students develop an action plan for your campus.
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Research Navigator
KEYWORD: prejudice
Find five current events that deal with issues of prejudice. Compare and contrast the five events.
What similarities and differences exist between the five issues? Are any solutions given for the
problems encountered with prejudice? How does the information presented compare with the
discussion of prejudice presented in chapter 2?
KEYWORD: contact hypothesis
Pick any two articles that deal with the contact hypothesis. How do the research articles support
or not support the validity of the contact hypothesis? What has been your own personal
experience with the contact hypothesis? Have you seen it work in your own life? Why or why
not?
MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES
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"Them and Us: Cultural Awareness," (2007, 25 min.). DVD available from Insight Media.
"The Roots of Prejudice and Intolerance," (2002, 25 min.). DVD available from Insight Media.
"Prejudice, Discrimination, and Stereotypes," (1993, 22 min.). VHS available from Insight Media.
"Cultural Diversity: Ethics and Prejudice," (1992, 24 min.). VHS available from Insight Media.
"Hate," (2002, 26 min.). DVD available from Insight Media.
"The Truth About Hate," (1999, 32 min.). DVD available from Insight Media.
"Race and Sex: What We Think (But Can't Say)," (2006, 41 min.). DVD available from Films for
the Humanities & Sciences.
"A Question of Identity: What Is Race?," (2003, 23 min.). DVD available from Films for the
Humanities & Sciences.
"Casting Calls: Hollywood and the Ethnic Villain," (2003, 46 min.). DVD available from Films
for the Humanities & Sciences.
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