Lecture 4 Prejudices and stereotypes Cross-cultural psychology Petra Chvojkova 2.4. 2015 Content uSocial perception uStereotypes uNational character uPrejudices uContact theory u u Intercultural relations u Social perception and social cognition uSocial perception = process through which we seek to know and understand other people and ourselves uX uSocial cognition = process through which we interpret, remember, and then use information about our social world u u u u u u uSocial perception is culturally rooted, we acquire judgments, attitudes, beliefs from our cultural milieu u Stereotype, prejudice, discrimination uStereotype (cognitive) u „Most of Arabs are terorists“ uPrejudice (evaluative) u„I am afraid of Arabs, because they could be terorist“ uDiscrimination (behavior) uI avoid Arabs, because because they could be terorist“ u uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewE2K8A7Ddw&spfreload=10 u Stereotypes u Stereotypes I u= traits or characteristics generally attributed to all members of specific groups (Shiraev, 2014) u= categorical assumptions that all members of a given group have a particular trait u= cognitive categories which are necessary to bring order to diversity (Jost and Hamilton, 2005) u uTo simplify the incoming information and categorize it by groups uPart of the process of social perception Exercise 1 - stereotype Stereotypes II uStereotyping is permitting similarities between phenomena to eclipse their differences uHabitually, systematically and automatically overestimate within-group similarities, while minimizing within-group variability (Fiske, Taylor, 1984) u uX = fundamental component underlying prejudice, bigotry, chauvinism, racism, sexism, ageism…. uProblem in overgeneralizations and negative evaluations directed toward members of the categories uStereotyping is making erroneous judgments u Stereotypes III uExamples: „most illegal immigrants are criminals“ , „all Jews are wealthy“ uIs possible to reduce stereotypes? To reduce the influence of stereotypes on our daily judgments? uIngroup x outgroup phenomenon uFavor your own group at the expense of others uIngroup favoritism u„kernel of truth“ hypothesis Campbell 1967 uthe greater the real cultural differences between two groups of people, then the more likely these differences will appear in their mutual stereotypes u Stereotypes IV uStereotype content model uFiske, Cuddy, 2002 uTwo dimensions: ucompetence x warmth uadmiration uenvy ucontempt upaternalism Příklady ze str. National character u National character u= the perceived predominant behavioral and psychological features and traits common in most people of a nation (Shiraev, 2014) uTendency to distinguish themselves from their neighbors (Lithuanians x Russians) uQuite frequently people of ones own nation are seen as good and decent x neighbors are considered bad or mean uSome notable facts, sensationalistic coverage in media, or individual experience (as same as literature, interpretations of history, jokes, travelers tales ) create and maintain specific stereotypes associated with national characters Give examples Typical Czech Typical American uhttp://cometoprague.com/top-10-signs-that-youre-in-czech-republic/ uX uhttp://www.immihelp.com/newcomer/american-culture-and-behavior.html# u u National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels uTorracciano, McCrae, 2007 - International study across 49 countries => national character stereotypes have only little basis in reality uMost people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and other‘s cultures uGeneralizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a kernel of truth or inaccurate stereotypes uNational character rating x average personality scores = national character not converge with assessed traits uPerception of national character as unfounded stereotypes – > function of maintaining a national identity Prejudice u Prejudice u= prejudgment or forming an opinion before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case u= preconceived, usually unfavorable, judgments toward people or person because of gender, political opinion. Social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, nationality…. u= Positive or negative evaluation of another person based on their perceived group membership u= Any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence uFeeling, favorable or unfavorable, toward a person or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual experience (Allport) u Prejudice II uAdorno – prejudice stemmed from an authoritarian personalities uAllport – prejudice is a natural and normal process for humans uFavoritism toward one's own groups, uGeneral ethnic prejudice x ethnic attitudes toward specific groups uAllport classic volume 1954, data from Eurobarometr surveys and European Social Survey Prejudice III uPerceived threat („The presence of people from minority groups is a cause of insecurity“) explained the largest proportion in the variance in negative attitudes toward immigrants uOld-fashioned x new (modern) racism (= express racism indirectly) – generalized prejudice uPrejudice against people of African origin in USA and against people of Muslim faith or Arab origin uPettigrew – ultimate attribution error u uNonconscious, automatic uImplicit association test (IAT) umeasures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report u uTED: Paul Bloom: Can prejudice ever be a good thing? uhttp://www.ted.com/talks/paul_bloom_can_prejudice_ever_be_a_good_thing u Integrated threat theory (ITT) u Integrated threat theory (ITT) W.G. Stephan uOutgroups prejudice and discrimination is caused when individuals perceive an outgroups to be threatening in some way uRealistic threats (competition for a natural resources, threat to income) uSymbolic threats (perceived difference in cultural values between groups or a perceived imbalance of power) uIntergroup anxiety (interaction with other groups cause negative feelings) uNegative stereotypes (individual anticipate negative behavior from outgroups members in line with the perceived stereotype) Contact theory u Contact theory uContact among ethno cultural groups in plural societies can lead to more positive intercultural relations (Allport, 1954) u„Prejudice…may be reduced by equal status contact between majority and minority groups in the pursuit of common goals. The effect is greatly enhanced if this contact is sanctioned by institutional supports (i.e. by law, custom or local atmosphere) and provided it is of a sort that leads to the perception of common interests and common humanity between members of the two groups.“ uContact and sharing among groups will promote mutual acceptance Contact theory II uPettigrew, Tropp 2006, 2008 meta-analyses of hundreds of studies of the contact hypothesis u->intergroup contact does generally relate negatively to prejudice in both dominant and non-dominant samples uMediators: uEnhancing knowledge about the outgroups uReducing anxiety about intergroup contact uIncreasing empathy and perspective taking Intergroup contact uDirect intergroup contact (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) uMeeting outgroup members face to face u uIndirect intergroup contact u - effective when there are no opportunities for direct contact u - extended (Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe, & Ropp, 1997) u - vicarious (Mazziotta, Mummendey, & Wright, 2011) u - parasocial (Schiappa, Gregg, & Hewes, 2005) u - imagined (Crisp & Turner, 2009) u - computer-mediated (Walther, 2009) u Direct intergroup contact uOne of the best ways to improve relations among groups experiencing conflict (Al Ramiah & Hewstone, 2013) uLast 50 years of research – focus on contact quality (positive vs. negative), mediators (e.q. anxiety, empathy), moderators (e.q. score on the RWA scale) of the relation between contact and attitudes uAllport (1954) identified four prerequisite conditions for contact to work: 1.Equal status 2.Common goals 3.Cooperation 4.Institutional support u Resources uShiraev, E., Levy D. (2014). Cross-Cultural Psychology. Pearson. uBerry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., et al. (2011). Cross-cultural Psychology: Research and aplication. Third Edition. Cambridge university press. uTerracciano, A., Abdel-Khalek, A. M., Adam, N., Adamovova, L., Ahn, C. K., Ahn, H. N., ... & Meshcheriakov, B. (2005). National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures. Science, 310(5745), 96-100. uPettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of personality and social psychology, 90(5), 751. uhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prejudice u u u Videos uPrejudice & Discrimination uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0iP2Zm6a4&spfreload=10 uIntergroup contact uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYDzhrYwGTM&spfreload=10ned uimagined contact uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EroW6R1P-KE&spfreload=10 u Thank You!