STEREOTYPING, PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION.

STEREOTYPING
1. DEFINITION:
  1. Stereotype: an oversimplified, generalised set of ideas we have of others. FOR EXAMPLE, secondary head teachers are strict, intimidating, scary and male
2. ADVANTAGES OF HOLDING STEREOTYPES
  1. enable us to remember information about other people
  2. helpful when we need to make a snap judgement - when we dont have the time to form a full impression of everyone we meet
  3. enable us to fit in with our own group and feel a sense of belonging
  4. enable us to respond appropriately when we meet others for the first time
3. DISADVANTAGES OF HOLDING STEREOTYPES
  1. most stereotypes promote harmful images
  2. they may be difficult to overcome once learnt by children
  3. we can make mistakes about people when meeting them for the first time
  4. stop us from seeing the real person when we meet someone for the first time
4. KEY STUDIES
  1. WILLIAM AND BEST
    1. AIM: T o investigate the extent of sex stereotyping across 30 countries.
      1. METHOD: Participants were given a list of over 300 characteristics. They were asked to state whether the characteristic is more likely to be associated with men, women or both.
        RESULTS: Across 30 countries, the same characteristics tended to be associated with men and women. Females: warm, understanding,emotional. Men: reckless, hard-headed, determined.
        CONCLUSION: The findings from his cross-cultural study suggest that there are commonly held stereotypes for both men and women.
  2. RUBIN ET AL
    1. AIM: To find out if new parents stereotype their babies.
      1. METHOD: Parents were asked to describe their new babies within 24 hours of birth.
        RESULTS: They found that parents of boys: alert and strong, parents of girls: soft and delicate.
        CONCLUSION: They concluded that parents stereotype their children from a very early age despite no stereotypical behaviour being shown. stereotypical behaviour can be shown by parents prior to birth eg. by painting rooms pink/blue.
  3. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS:
    1. 1.there is an increased awareness that children do observe and imitate those around them
      1. 2.especially role models in from the media
        3. this led to a change in the way characters in children's TV are portrayed to prevent children from growing up believing that all females want to stay at home and are incapable of doing manual jobs
PREJUDICE
1. A rigid set of attitudes or beliefs towards particular groups of people. These are usually negative but not always. EXAMPLE.
DISCRIMINATION.
1. The way an individual behaves towards another person as a result of their prejudiced views.
EXPLANATIONS OF PREJUDICE AND DICRIMINATION
1. AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY- ADORNO
  1. Adorno believes that you are likely to be prejudiced if you are brought up by strict, critical parents and have an authoritarian personality
  2. AIM: To find out if there is a relationship between someones personality types and prejudice beliefs.
    1. METHOD: Hundreds of people were interviewed and tested the F-scale.
      1. RESULTS: They found a relationship between personality traits and prejudice views.
        Conclusion: There is an authoritarian personality and people with these characteristics are highly likely to be prejudice towards others.
        EVALUATION
        This study doesn't explain why some people are prejudice to some groups and not others.
        Adorno only found a relationship between personality type and prejudice. This cannot show cause and effect
        This study doesn't explain how children with strict and critical grow up with unprejudice views.
2. IN GROUPS/ OUT GROUPS- TAJFEL
  1. Tajfel believes you are likely to be prejudiced because you favor your in-groups over your out-groups and belive your in-groups to be superior
  2. AIM:To show how easily people discriminate towards their out group.
    1. METHOD: 14-15 year olds were randomly assigned to two groups. Each boy was given a game to play where they award pairs of points. They were told that they can swap the points for prizes at the end.
      1. RESULTS: The boys awarded points by choosing the pairings that made the biggest difference between the two groups, not the pairings that gave them the most points.
        CONCLUSION: People will discriminate against others just because they are members of an out-group.
        EVALUATION
        boys aged 14-15 year old used. Results cannot be generalised to females and individuals of other ages.
        Groups were artificially created so doesn't reflect real life. In real life, the groups we belong to mean something to us.
        Other research using participants of both genders and all ages supported Tajfel's findings. Just assigning people to groups is enough to encourage discriminatory behaviour.
3. COMPETITION- SHERIF
  1. Sherif believes you are likely to be prejudiced if you are in competition with another group for a scarce resources
    1. AIM: To find out if prejudice develops when groups are in competition for scarce resources.
      1. METHOD: An American summer camp was organised for 22 boys. They were split into groups of two and the teams thought they were the only group. Once each group settled in + found a group identity, the groups were allowed to discover each other. The staff introduced a series of competition, the prize being a silver cup.
        RESULTS: Very quickly, the groups began calling each other names and tried to attack each other.
        CONCLUSION: Competition is a cause of prejudice.
        EVALUATION
        the groups and competitions were artificial and so they don't reflect real life
        The boys were American so the study is low in cultural validity.
        The participants were 12 year old white middle class boys. The results may not be generalised to females, other ages and other social classes.
HOW CAN WE REDUCE PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION?
1. SHERIF
  1. Once Sherif had created prejudice between the 2 groups, his next aim was to see if he could get the boys to become friends, he attempted to do this by arranging joint activities for them - trips to cinema and meals
    1. this did not work and the boys continued to attack each other and call names. he then set up a situation where a truck was stuck in the mud otherwise they would not get dinner.
      1. this was successful as the task could not be completed without effort from all. He concluded that coorporation on an important task is one way of reducing prejudice between groups
    2. EVALUATION: The method may have only worked as his groups and the prejudice between them were artificially created. However, his method did show that if 2 groups work together to achieve a common goal, prejudice can be reduced:
      1. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Sherif's theory is difficult to put into practice in real life. There may be tasks in communities that will need groups to work together to complete, but how do you get the groups to join in?
2. ARONSON
  1. He developed the JIGSAW method which involved the students being mixed in race groups each taking responsibility for a part of the lesson. They had to become experts and pass on the knowledge to another group.
    1. this technique proved successful as each student was responsible for their own learning as well as that of others
      1. after interviewing the students afterwards, the method had: enhanced their self-esteem, increased their liking of their classmates and improved their perceptions of the other racial group within the class
    2. EVALUATION: The Jigsaw method did lead to prejudice between the racial groups being reduced. However, once outside the classroom, the positive racial perceptions cannot be generalised.
      1. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: Aronson's method can be used to reduce prejudice in schools and workplaces but cannot be generalised outside these settings.
3. ELLIOT
  1. She let the children experience what it is like to be judged by a physical characteristic you have no control over - using colors of the eyes
    1. AIM: T o teach her class what it felt like to be victims of discrimination.METHOD: Elliot told her class the following: Blue eyed children are smarter and better than brown eyed children. Also said brown eyed children cannot use the drinking fountain and play with the blue eyed children as they are lesser than them. RESULTS: Reactions were immediate. Blue-eyed children:arrogant, vicious, delighted. Brown-eyed: withdrawn, angry and sad. Elliot reversed the experiment the next day, to find the same results from the children. CONCLUSION: Elliot believed that getting the children to experience first hand what it felt like to me prejudiced and discriminated against.
      1. EVALUATION: research could be considered unethical as the children suffered from psychological stress. However when she contacted the students 9 yrs later, they were more tolerant and showed more empathy towards others than those who hadn't experienced her lesson.
4. HARWOOD- CONTACT WITH GRANPARENTS.
  1. AIM: To investigate children's views on the elderly.METHOD: Harwood asked children and their grandparents about their relationship. He also asked the children on their views of the elderly in general.RESULTS: Children who had regular contact with their grandparents held positive views on the elderly. CONCLUSION: Contact with grandparents is a good predictor of a child's attitude towards the elderly.
    1. EVALUATION: Information gathered from interviews isn't always reliable. There are children who don't have regular contact with grandparents but still have positive attitudes towards the elderly.
      1. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: Research illustrates the importance of regular contact between children and grandparents.

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STEREOTYPING, PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION.

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	Created by Mursal Kharoti almost 9 years ago