Prejudice, Stereotyping & Discrimination

PREJUDICE

STEREOTYPE

DISCRIMINATION

(attitude) Unsupported

generalization about a category

of people

Behaviors directed towards people based on

their group

(belief) Oversimplified or

exaggerated image of a group

Stereotypes at BHS 1. Where do stereotypes come from?

How are they learned? 2. What is the danger in stereotypes? 3. How can we work to avoid falling prey to stereotyping? 4. Is there such a thing as a good stereotype? 5. Has modern society helped or hindered stereotyping and why?

• Prejudice and discrimination do not always go hand in hand – combine in 4 ways– Active bigot: is prejudiced and openly

discriminatory– Timid bigot: is prejudiced but is afraid to

discriminate b/c of societal pressures– Fair-weather liberal: not prejudiced but

discriminates anyway b/c of societal pressure – All-weather liberal: not prejudiced and does

not discriminate

Which type? Brandy believes African Americans

are the inferior race but she keeps her beliefs to herself in Sociology class because she is afraid others will judge her. Timid Bigot

Discrimination Name-calling to acts of violence Legal discrimination:

upheld by lawExamples?

Institutionalized discrimination: outgrowth of the structure of society. Unfair, indirect

treatment of an individual embedded in policies, laws, large organizations (example government or schools)

Where Does Prejudice Come From?

1. Social learning:

modeling from parents

What kind of children would you expect this couple to have?

Where Does Prejudice Come From?

2. Media Influences

Where Does Prejudice Come From?

3. Personal experiences (positive or negative)Scapegoating: placing the blame for one’s troubles on an innocent individual or group

Types of PrejudiceExplicit prejudice feelings of which

you are awareImplicit prejudice prejudiced feelings of

which you are not aware

In car dealerships, white ♂ offered better deals than: white ♀ (+ $109), black ♀ (+ $318), and black ♂ (+ $935) (Ayres & Siegelman, 1995)

Minority youth receive harsher and longer punishments for identical crimes than white youth

Consequences of stereotypes• Self-fulfilling prophecy: prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction come true. Stereotype threat: Anxiety when you know there is a negative stereotype held against your group – feel pressure and can lead to a change in behavior (anxiety alters your ability to achieve successfully)

Stereotype Threat “Data shows that

African Americans perform lower on ACT and SAT assessments”More/Less pressure

on African American students??

What can this pressure do?

Why Do People Discriminate?

1. To gain benefits for one’s group

-Refers to limited resources, such as economics, land, housing, etc.

Why Do People Discriminate?

1. To gain benefits for one’s group2. To manage their self-image

Example: Making yourself look/feel like you’re better than others

Why Do People Discriminate?

1. To gain benefits for one’s group2. To manage their self-image3. To gain social approval

Example: You’re more likely to make fun of others if you’re in a group

Fulfills humans’ need to be “needed”

Why Do People Discriminate?

1. To gain benefits for one’s group2. To manage their self-image3. To gain social approval4. Seeking mental efficiency

Example: Heuristics (mental shortcuts)

Seeking Mental Efficiency Do ♂ or ♀ like sports

more?

How did you answer this question?

Systematic search (Go through every male and female you know)

“Guesstimate” (Think of a few of each and base judgment on that)

Reducing Prejudice, Stereotyping, & Discrimination

How can we reduce prejudice,

stereotyping, and discrimination?

Common InterventionsA typical explanation for the

continuation of negative prejudices is that “people just don’t know any better”

1. Simple-contact approachSimply having different groups around

each otherWould this work?

Think of integration in schools first occurring in the 1950s (The Little Rock 9)

Little Rock Nine Read the article: Referencing the article: what went

wrong? Why did this not work to eliminate discrimination if both groups were put together?

What would have been a better plan?

Common Interventions1. Simple-contact approachSimply having different groups

around each otherLittle Rock Nine - 1957

Common Interventions2. Fact-based

approachTeaching people

about other groups in a factual manner

Will only work if people are motivated to change their stereotypes

Best Type of Intervention3. Goal-Based ApproachIn order for this approach to work…

• Members must exhibit traits that contradict negative stereotypes

• Members must have equal status• Individual-level, not group-level• Rewarding experience!• Interdependence emphasized

Goal-Based Approach in The Breakfast Club

Out-group members must exhibit traits that contradict negative stereotypes

Through that Saturday School, others found out Claire was not the person they thought she was

“Princess”

“Goody”Snobby

Spoiled

Caring

Kind

Rebellious

Goal-Based Approach in The Breakfast Club

Groups should be of equal status

They were all in Saturday School together, regardless of the reason why!

Goal-Based Approach in The Breakfast Club

Contact should be at individual-level, not group-level

They had plenty of time and opportunity to talk on an individual-level, one-on-one

Goal-Based Approach in The Breakfast Club

How was this experience rewarding?

How did it involve interdependence?

• Racism: • the belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is

naturally superior to other races of ethnic groups – Use prejudice beliefs to justify discrimination

Brown Eyed Blue Eyed

RaceHistorically

Caucasoids – or whites- Fair skin and straight or wavy hair

Mongoloids – or Asians – Yellowish or brownish skin and distinctive folds on the eyelids

Negroids – or blacks – dark skin and tightly curled hair

What is the problem with this system?

RaceRace: category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and whom others see as being a distinct group

Sociologists - Not important what color someone’s skin is but how people react to these physical characteristics

Ethnicity• Ethnicity:

• set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from another group

• Ethnic Group: • People who share a common cultural

background and a common sense of identity • Remember:

– Ethnicity is based on cultural considerations– Race is based on physical considerations

Minority GroupsMinority Group: a group of people who – because of their physical characteristics or cultural practices – are singled out and unequally treated.Minority group size

no particular skin color, physical feature, or ethnic background is superior or inferior by nature!

Minority Groups: Characteristicsidentifiable physical or cultural

characteristics different than those in the dominant group

treated unequal by dominant group Membership to group is an ascribed

statusGroup members share a bond

Group loyalty Tend to practice endogamy

Minorities in the United States

Page 247 Go over answers

On separate piece of paper: Read connection to history page

245 Answer ‘Think about it’ 1 & 2

Japanese Americans 1913 – Alien Land Law

restricted land ownership by foreigners

Which reason why people discriminate does this align with?

gain benefits for own group Think about it question 1: Labeled as disloyal Japanese Americans moved to internment camps

Blamed Japanese Americans for Pearl Harbor – what is this called?

Scapegoating

Patterns of Minority Group TreatmentGet into groups of 4 (Page 243)

Divide up the work – each student gets 2 patterns of treatment

Independently - Define treatment – define any given terms involved with the concept & Give example

When complete share with your group what you found – make sure it is in your own words!

New Day

Shoplifting Statistics More than $13 billion worth of goods

are stolen from retailers each year. That’s more than $25 million per day.

55 percent of adult shoplifters say they started shoplifting in their teens

Shoplifting is often not a premeditated crime, 72 percent of juvenile shoplifters don’t plan to steal in advance.

Shoplifting Statistics 89 percent of kids say they know other

kids who shoplift. 66 percent say they hang out with those kids

Shoplifters say they are caught an average of only once in every 48 times they steal. They are turned over to the police 50 percent of the time.

Vast majority of shoplifters are “non-professionals” who steal, not out of criminal intent, financial need or greed but as a response to social and personal pressures in their life

Shoplifting Statistics Drug addicts, who have become addicted

to shoplifting, describe shoplifting as equally addicting as drugs.

33 percent of juveniles say it is hard for them to stop shoplifting even after getting caught.

Most non-professional shoplifters don’t commit other types of crimes. They never steal an ashtray from your house and will return to you a $20 bill you may have dropped. Their criminal activity is restricted to shoplifting.

Writing Response Imagine that you are a business owner

of a store that is struggling financially with theft.

1. Yes or No: Should teenagers be subject to more intensive surveillance while shopping than other age groups?

2. Yes or No Should teenagers be required to wear special badges?

3. What would be some options for surveillance aimed towards teenagers?

Race Profiling 1. How does the previous situation

apply to racial profiling? Racial Profiling: the use of an

individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement

*Read Racial profiling article Writing response

Group work Discussion worksheet

In December 2001, an American citizen of Middle Eastern descent named Assem Bayaa cleared all the security checks at Los Angeles airport and attempted to board a flight to New York. Upon boarding, he was told that he made the passengers uncomfortable by being on board the plane and was asked to leave. Once off the plane, he wasn't searched or questioned any further and the only consolation he was given was a boarding pass for the next flight.

“Driving While Black” The term "Driving While Black" arose

as a play on the U.S Crime "Driving While Intoxicated". It refers to the Criminalization of black drivers. Black drivers felt that they were being pulled over by law enforcement officers simply because of their skin color. 

Racial profiling facts D you believe that racial profiling

happens in our society? Polls show that a majority of both

African Americans and whites believe that racial profiling is ‘widespread.’

True/False: People of color are most of the drug users and sellers.

Racial profiling is based on false assumptions: Myth 1: people of color are most of the

drug users and sellers. Studies show that each racial groups uses and sells in proportion to their percentages in the population (whites are 70% of the population and 70% of all users and sellers; blacks are 15% and 15% of all users and sellers

Myth: People of color commit ‘most’ crime. – Which types of crime are predominantly committed by whites? Corporate and white collar crime (financial

fraud) are not investigated or prosecuted as seriously as ‘street crime’ even though they cost victims and tax payers billions of dollars more.

Does it exist? Are African Americans and Latinos stopped and searched more than whites?

-Studies show large differences in the rate of stops and searches for African Americans and Latinos even though these groups are not more likely than whites to have drug or weapon contraband Racial profiling is ineffective: Studies of traffic stops show that people of color are no more likely and very often less likely to have drugs or weapons than whites

What would you do? Racial Profiling

Part two

New Day

"You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: 'now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.' You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, 'you are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe you have been completely fair . . . This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity—not just legal equity but human ability—not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result."

President Johnson 1965

Affirmative Action What is it? positive steps taken to increase the

representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded.

Color blind society?What are the concerns with

affirmative action?

Myths about Affirmative Action 1. Affirmative action may have been necessary 30 years ago but the playing field is fairly level today

Progress has been made but the playing field is far from level. Women continue to earn 76 cents for every male dollar. Black people continue to have twice the unemployment rate of White people and twice the rate of infant mortality

Without affirmative action the percentage of Black students at many selective schools would drop to only 2% of the student body – taking away Black access to top universities

2. Myth: a large percentage of White workers will lose out if affirmative action is continued

There are 1.3 million unemployed Black civilians and 112 million employed White civilians – even if every unemployed Black worker in the United States were to displace a White worker, only 1% of Whites would be affected. Affirmative action only pertains to job-qualified applicants, so the actual percentage of affected Whites would be a small fraction of 1%. Main sources of job loss among White workers are due to factory relocations and labor contracting outside of the United States and corporate downsizing

3. Myth: If Jewish people and Asian Americans can rapidly advance economically, African Americans should be able to do the same

Unique history of discrimination against Black people in America – Blacks have a 375 year history on this continent: 245 involving slavery, 100 involving legalized discrimination, and only 50 involving anything else. Jews and Asians are populations that immigrated to North America and included doctors, lawyers, professors, and entrepreneurs among their ranks. To expect Blacks to show the same upward mobility as Jews and Asians is to deny the historical and social reality that Black people face

4. Myth: Support for affirmative action means support for preferential selection procedures that favor unqualified candidates over qualified candidates

Most supporters of affirmative action oppose this type of preferential selection. Selection among equally qualified candidates is the preferred procedure

5. Myth: Affirmative action is reverse discrimination

Job discrimination is grounded in prejudice and exclusion whereas affirmative action is an effort to overcome institutionalized discrimination through inclusion.

Quotas versus considerationFire department article

1 and 2 can use bullet points3 complete sentences

Hate crime: occur when someone targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a social group (race, religious, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity). It is an additional charge to a crime

Hate incident: this could include bullying someone due to their social group

Most commonly used for racial hate crimesFirst hate crime laws passed after the

Civil War to combat growing number of racially motivated crimes being committed by Klu Klux Klan

2010 stats: Hispanic and Black hate crimes actually on the riseOverall, hate crimes increased 2% from

2007 to 2008attacks on blacks increased 8%,

accounting for seven of every 10 race-motivated crimes.

election of the first black president and hot-button issues such as abortion and gay marriage contributed to the spikes

U.S. Issued First Anti-Gay Hate Crime Indictment In Kentucky Attack Case at the start of 2012

Most recently in Chicago

What would you do?

Writing Response Do you think hate crimes should

exist as additional punishment to crimes against people due to a group they belong to? Defend your reasoning with 3 supports

The Media and Race

Timothy McVeighOklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.

The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6 injured more than 680 people

Compare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh#Childhood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal_ShahzadCrimes committed by minorities often lead to a generalization to all in the groupExample: 9/11 – lead to racial profiling Oklahoma bomber – did not lead to all whites being generalized as bombers

Race in the media First Black President: November 4,

2008First leading role for a Black princess

in a Disney movie? December 2009

Read article and answer questionsWhat are the consequences of the

media’s message: What would you do theft What would you do vandalism

Implicit prejudice

True colors – Racial discrimination in everyday life

2/2

The doll test Where do these prejudices thoughts come from at such an

early age?

"White" names: Kristen, Greg, Neil, Emily, Brett, Anne, and Jill. "Black" names: Kareem, Tamika, Rasheed, Ebony, Aisha, and Tyrone. Resumes with "black-sounding" names had a significantly lower percent of receiving a response to their resume, while resumes with "white-sounding" names had a higher call back percentage.The study found as much discrimination in less-skilled jobs, such as cashiering and mailroom attendants, as in more heavily skills-based positions such as regional sales manager and assistant to the president jobs. Did resume screeners simply assumed that, as a legacy of deeply-rooted, ingrained, and now almost-unconscious racism , blacks were less qualified than whites.? 

Socioeconomic status How does socioeconomic status

impact different areas of life? Page 20

Page 21 & 22 Life on minimum wage

Computer Lab Implicit racism?

White privilege

New DayInterview neighbor on gender role

survey – calculate mean Gender stereotypes:It’s good to be a girl It’s good to be a boy

gender differences? Gender expectations true/false

discussionAssign children book assignment

Gender Differences Gender is a social construct (society creates

it)– it is something we do Manhood: independence, aggressiveness, and

achievement orientation Womanhood: nurturing, emotional, dependence,

selflessness, and relationship orientation Judged positively if comply with social

expectations and negatively if they do not. Men are commonly referred to as ‘whimps’ for

showing ‘feminine’ qualities Women are referred to negatively if they

exhibit ‘masculine’ characteristics of assertiveness

Review of Children’s BookI’m Glad I’m a Boy/I’m Glad I’m a Girl

book Feminist approach – oppression and

inequality Gender stereotypes encourage the oppression of

womenChildren’s book from your time – how

has it changed? No longer saying it out right but is it

showing the expected roles being done?

Women in America, equality is still an illusion article Children take in these messages

From birth (and earlier!) Want to know sex of unborn child, why?

Choose gender appropriate clothes and decorations

Give gender stereotyped toys before preschool years Boys: vehicles and sports equipmentGirls: dolls and domestic toys

Parent interaction difference for gender Chores assigned in a gender stereotypical

fashion Father sole breadwinner: spend three times

more time with sons directly interacting in play Genderless child

High levels of expected equality in household for marriage (college aged women and men) 82-94% endorsing equality in various domains in married life

Rated equality very important in their own marriage

Despite significant attitude changes – actual dynamics of heterosexual relationships have changed very little Greater power difference between partners

more dysfunctional and unsatisfying the marriage

Women are working significantly more, than why are we still not seeing equality in domestic responsibilities?

Even women who are employed shoulder nearly 80% of the ‘second shift’ of household chores and child care.

Men today are more involved with rearing children than previous generations and helping their wives more in pregnancy and taking on more responsibilities Still: In reported ‘equal’ relationships men did only 19% as much routine housework as women -men/women compare to older generations giving them false perceptions

Why? Media Children’s books , Movies, television, magazineThink of your Disney movies – what are the typical ro

les for females? Males? Gender-based economic system

Corporations don’t offer opportunities for men to be home with children

Women are left to make a choice to get more flexible hours

Myths about moms working Studies found no correlation or positive impacts from

maternal employment No effect on mother-child relationship, no impact

on children’s self assessment, no impact on children’s intellectual ability

So why the myth?

Discuss my son is gay article Impact of gender expectations

What would you do – son wants a doll

Sexual Orientation InequalityDon’t ask don’t tell

 December 21, 1993, to September 20, 2011. 

Laws against same-sex marriage – is it a state or federal decision?

First state to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? Date?

- Massachusetts - 2004 Other states?  California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland,

Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C., and Illinois will take effect in June 2014

- California – between June 16, 2008 and November 4, 2008 – but then Proposition 8 prohibited same-sex marriage

Civil unions? *upheld by state – not a federal law – so not allowed federal benefits: *Joint taxes cannot be filed, social security survivors’ and spousal benefits not permitted, marriages are not recognized in other states that do not have the same laws – so what happens if your partner ends up in the hospital on vacation? (unlike marriage laws which are federal) California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada,  Oregon,  Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Washington.

Referring to the definitionWR: Was Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Discrimination? Why or why not?

Are laws against gay marriage discrimination why or why not?

Discrimination in schools?Task 1: Article read: Psychologists and

LGBTQ Complete worksheet

Task 2: given 1 of three packet articlesComplete writing response on back of LGBTQ worksheet and number each of the following: 1. Few sentence summary 2. Few sentence reflection 3. 2 Discussion questions