Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination: A Social Psychological Perspective

Keith MaddoxDepartment of Psychology

Tufts University

University of Texas at AustinNovember 3, 2011

Overview

• Definitions:• Social Psychology / Social Cognition • Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

• Who is Biased? Explicit & Implicit Associations• Demonstration

• How Bias Affects Us• Perceiver and Target Perspectives

• Conclusion

DEFINING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Definitions

Definitions• Social Psychology

– The scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context.

• It’s all in the Method• , (A)ffect, (B)ehavior, and (C)ognition• Real or imagined presence of other people

• Social Cognition– The study of how people make sense of themselves and

others• Focus on process in addition to content• Informed from research in cognitive psychology

Tenets of Social Psychology• The Social Construction of Reality

– The way a person construes a person situation dictates our thoughts, feelings, and behavior

• The Determinants of Behavior– Person × Situation = Behavior

• The Power of the Situation– Situations often have a large, underappreciated influence

on our thoughts, feelings, and behavior– Personality is often overemphasized

Pick a number...

• Pick a number between 1 and 9

• Subtract 5• Multiply by 3• Square the number• Add the digits

• If number is less than 5, add 5 to it. If the number is greater than 5, subtract 4

• Take the absolute value

• Multiply by 2• Subtract 6

Pick a number...

• Map your number to its corresponding letter in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3…)

• Pick the name of a country that begins with that letter

• Take the second letter of that country and pick a mammal that begins with it.

• Think of a common color of that animal

Grey Elephant from Denmark

Brown Orangutan from the Dominican Republic

Yellow or Orange Jaguar from Djbouti

WTF?!?• The Availability Heuristic

– Making judgments based on the ease with which information comes to mind.

• Countries:– Denmark, Dominican Republic,

Djbouti • Mammals:

– Elephant, Orangutan , Jaguar• Colors

– Grey, Brown, Orange

The ABCs of SP&D

• Stereotypes (C)– Endorsed or unendorsed knowledge about the

attributes associated with a group of people.• Prejudice (A)

– An positive or negative attitude toward others based on group membership.

• Discrimination (B)– Unjustifiable negative behavior toward others

based on group membership.

EXPLICIT & IMPLICIT ASSOCIATIONS

Who Is Biased?

Two “Modes” of (Social) Cognition

AUTOMATIC PROCESSING• Fast• Unconscious • Mandatory • Efficient

CONTROLLED PROCESSING• Slow• Conscious• Optional • Effortful

MEASURING IMPLICIT ASSOCIATIONS

An Example

caressfreedomhealthlove

peacecheer

heavenpleasurediamond

gentlehonestlucky

rainbowmiraclesunrisefamilyhappy

laughterparadisevacation

abusefilth

sicknessaccident

deathgrief

poisonstink

disasterhatredpollutetragedydivorce

jailugly

cancerevilkill

rottenvomit

AIESHALASHELLESHEREENTEMEKAEBONY

LATISHASHANIQUATAMEISHALATONYATANISHALAKISHASHARISELATOYATASIKA

YOLANDALASHANDRA

MALIKANIKISHA

TAWANDAYVETTE

AMANDACOURTNEYHEATHERMELANIE

SARAAMBERKATIE

MEREDITHBETSY

KIRSTINNANCY

STEPHANIEBOBBIE-SUE

ELLENLAURENPEGGYEMILY

MEGANRACHELWENDY

cancerhealthcorpse

diamondtruthdevil

assaulttriumph

glorybrutaltalentagony

kindnessfamily

divorcestink

pleasuretorturebomb peace

LEFT side ifUNPLEASAN

T

RIGHT side if

PLEASANT

SARAAIESHA

MEREDITHKATIE

SHEREENBOBBIE-SUE

TAWANDANIKISHAAMANDAMEGANMALIKALATOYAWENDYTEMEKARACHEL

LASHANDACOLLEENKIRSTIN

TAMEISHAEBONY

LEFT side ifBLACK name

RIGHT side if

WHITE name

WENDYhealth

LAURENdiamondAIESHA

devilSHARISEtriumphLINDAbrutal

LATOYAagony

SHANEKAfamilyKATIEstink

HEATHERtorture

LASHELLEpeace

LEFT side ifUNPLEASAN

Tor

BLACK name

RIGHT side if

PLEASANTor

WHITE name

truthugly

assaultcheerglory

cancerhealthcorpse

diamond filth

talentdivorce

stinkpleasuretorturepollute peace agony

diplomarainbow

LEFT side ifUNPLEASAN

T

RIGHT side if

PLEASANT

AIESHALASHELLEAMANDAHEATHERTEMEKABETSY

SHEREENLAKISHA

ELLENSARA

MALIKAYOLANDALAURENTANISHADONNAEBONY

STEPHANIEEMILY

NICHELLETAWANDA

LEFT side ifWHITE name

RIGHT side if

BLACK name

AMBERhealth

COURTNEYdiamondTEMEKA

devilSHANIQUA

triumphELLENbrutal

LATOYAagony

PEGGYfamily

COLLEENstink

NANCYtortureEBONYpeace

LEFT side ifUNPLEASAN

Tor

WHITE name

RIGHT side if

PLEASANTor

BLACK name

LEFT side ifUNPLEASAN

Tor

WHITE name

RIGHT side if

PLEASANTor

BLACK name

LEFT side ifUNPLEASAN

Tor

BLACK name

RIGHT side if

PLEASANTor

WHITE nameImplicit Associations Testhttp://implicit.harvard.edu

• Associations like these are everywhereo Age, Race, Gender, Political Affiliation, etc…

• They are pervasiveo We are usually unaware but they can influence

judgment and behavior

• Can we stop them?

Implicit Associations

PERCEIVER & TARGET PERSEPCTIVES

How Bias Affects Us

• Stereotypes guide:What we see

What we remember What we believ

e

How we act towards others

Why are stereotypes pervasive?

How we explain behavior

Perceiver Perspective

• Confirmation Bias– We tend to see what we already believe

(stereotypes)• Particularly when behavior is ambiguous

• Attribution Bias– We ignore the role that the situation plays in

shaping a person’s behavior, and instead blame their disposition (traits)• Female athletes and Title IX

• Cross-Race Recognition Deficit– We more easily confuse people who belong to

racial outgroups• Contributes to wrongful conviction/incarceration rates

for minorities.

Cross Race Recognition Deficit

K-Madd T-Pain

Keith Maddox Chip GidneyReg Adams Sam Sommers

Jenni Sarah

The Target’s Perspective• Attributional Ambiguity

– Uncertainty about whether treatment (feedback) is based on group or personal attributes

– Implications for self-knowledge• Uncertainty about aptitude and abilities

• Stereotype Threat– Debilitating concern over confirming a negative group stereotype

through one’s own behavior.– Implications for performance

• Leads to impaired performance on stereotype-relevant tasks.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?Conclusions

What can you do about it?

• Potential strategies

– Colorblindness?

– Suppression?

– Consciousness raising?

A Caveat

• Racism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Classism, Anti-Semitism, etc.

• “isms” – 1. An individual’s prejudicial attitudes, beliefs, and

discrimination toward people of a given group.– 2. Institutional practices (even if not seemingly

motivated by prejudice) that subordinate people of a given group.• Lack of wheelchair access to buildings?• English exam for LPGA Tour?• Night clubs with dress codes?

• Making Implicit Processes Explicit

– Acknowledge that people are different, but;

– Recognize that stereotypes can cloud and exaggerate those differences, and;

– Strategize to minimize their impact on personal and institutional levels.

Conclusion

Thank You!

Diagnostic Non-Diagnostic0

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Black PsWhite Ps

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What are the effects of stereotypes?

Steele & Aronson (1995)