Stereotypes and Conflict

Stereotypes and ConflictApplied to modern media: reality televisionHi my name is katy grunenwald and im a freshman here at the university of notre dame. Im currently a premed and anthropology double major. Through my studies Ive become interested in stereotypes and the ways in which they cause conflict. I want to share my research with you today in an effort to explain natural human tendencies to better understand and prevent conflicts due to stereotyping. 1StereotypeTo believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same

Mental shortcuts and identifiersOn any given day we are faced with an overload of information to process in an attempt to make sense of the people and events around us. It is impossible to individually analyze everything and everyone we experience, so humans use mental shortcuts to sort information. We recognize actions and words that trigger past experiences which we then rely on to understand present situations. This can become an issue however when we treat these shortcuts as rules and assume that all people with an identifying trait are the same. This is stereotyping. 2 In-Group vs. Out-GroupPrimary and Secondary emotions

Assume positive characteristics; like ourselves

Positive effect on self-esteem

Only Primary emotions (dehumanization)

Assume negative characteristics; unlike ourselves

Negative effect on self-esteem

Stereotyping not only wrongfully assumes things about an entire group of people, but also affects the way we treat these people. In a survey following hurricane katrina, in which researchers from---- told participants the story of a victim of the hurricane then asked them how they thought the victim might be feeling and whether or not they would help them, researchers found that answers depended largely on whether or not the victim was in the in-group or out-group. In-group consists of people that one considers like themselves, in this case of the same race, and the out-group, therefore, consists of those whom we see as different from ourselves. What the researchers determined was that we ascribe primary and secondary emotions, primary being simple emotions like anger, love, and sadness and secondary emotions being more complex emotions like resentment, mourning, and guilt to the in-group, whereas only primary emotions to the out-group. This means that we think less of people that have a different identifying trait than ourselves and dehumanize them.3Inter-group ConflictConflict developed whether there was competition or not.

Alleviated only by working together and realizing they had misjudged members of the other group.

These conclusions are further explained by an experiment that was done in--- by----- in which young boys were broken into groups simulating a summer camp. They werent told any reason for their group placements, but nonetheless began to dislike the other groups and began form stereotypes of the other groups. These negative feelings were caused by the fact that we all attempt to raise our self-esteem by improving our group identity, which is a fundamental element of our overall identity, by promoting positive views of groups we belong to compared to out-groups. This is proved by the result that conflicts developed between the groups of boys even when they weren't forced to compete for rewards and only alleviated when they were forced to work together and interact with boys form different groups one-on-one and realized they had misjudged one another. 4Faces of the EnemyBefore we make war, even before we make weapons, we make an idea of the enemy.

Harvard and Princeton educated philosopher Sam Keen applied these social psychological concepts to the study of conflict on a global level by analyzing political cartoons and propaganda that depicted enemy nations. He came to the conclusion that before we make war, even before we make weapons, we make an idea of the enemy. 5

He discussed the ways in which artists portrayed enemies of war using stereotypes and images with negative connotations, such as vermin, to dehumanize these entire groups of people.6

This dehumanization, he points out, is what has allowed humans to commit mass atrocities and wage war against their enemies, by dehumanizing them and perceiving them as less human than themselves, deserving of death. 7

8Now

Through my research I have identified this same pattern of dehumanization in more contemporary forms of media, reality television in particular. 9

The one show that I have analyzed closely is called ladies of london. It focuses in on the lavish lives of some of londons elite, including the american born and london born. Whats fascinating, however, is the way in which the women take about one another as if they are products solely of their nationalities. Whenever they identify traits in on another they say things like oh thats so american of her or british women just hate that. The show clearly promotes the sterotype that american women are loud, outspoken, and ill-mannered while british women are well-mannered, cultured, and stuck up. This show and many others that promote stereotypes display the same pattern of conflict due to misunderstanding and overgeneralization. 10Reality as false credibility

Manipulation of Footage

Sampling Error

Fame hungry participantsWhats more is these shows carry a false sense of credibility because of their label as reality when in fact they are far from it. Producers can easily manipulate footage by piecing clips in a suggestive sequence or by asking questions in interviews that elicit certain answers. The subjects portrayed in these shows also introduces a sampling error because they do not accurately represent the entire group of people that they create stereotypes about. This is especially true because the people who want to be subjects of these shows often do not have good intentions and instead seek fame and money.

11Be Conscious!Whats important to note is the ways in which human tendency leads to stereotypes as unconscious groupings of people that it can be easy to misjudge. I dont claim that reality television isnt entertaining and in some cases harmless, but I do believe that with its growing popularity viewers of reality television must be aware of the psychological processes that underlie these misunderstandings and the dangers of their perpetuation because of how stereotypes dehumanize others and make conflict inevitable. Hopefully this awareness can be used to resolve and prevent conflict in the future. 12Works Cited

Ladies of London Season 2? Image. Bravo Watch. Web. July 24, 2014.

The Cast of Jersey Shore: Where are they now? Image. ArmpitNJ. Web. Jan. 4, 2014.

WIN Karl Pilkingtons An Idiot Abroad book and DVD! Image. Skyscanner. Web. Jan. 12, 2011.

World War II Propaganda, Cartoons, Film, Music and Art. Image. Teacheroz. Web. Sept. 2010.

Stay on the Job Until Every Murdering Jap is Wiped Out! Image. National Archives (515483). Web. Dec. 13, 1940.

Korean war political cartoon. Image. Pixgood. Web.

Propaganda in the Classroom: Faces of the Enemy. Web. Classroomtools. Web. Nov. 5, 2001.

Keen, Sam. Faces of the Enemy. Dir. Bill Jersey and Jeffery Freidman. Film. 1987. Sherif, Muzafer. Subordinate Goals in the Reduction of Intergroup Conflict. Classic and Contemporary Perspectives in Social Psychology. Ed. Perves, Sharon E., and Jeylan T. Mortimer. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 206-210. Print.Cuddy, Amy J.C., Mindi S. Rock, and Michael I. Norton. Aid in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Classic and Contemporary Perspectives in Social Psychology. Ed. Perves, Sharon E., and Jeylan T. Mortimer. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 192-196. Print.