The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination

The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination From Prejudice to Discrimination Chapter 10

What is Discrimination? • Discrimination consist of behaving differently towards people based solely or primarily on their membership in a social group • Prejudice is an attitude—deals with how people think and feel about members of other groups.

What is Discrimination? • Discrimination – • Can manifest itself in may ways and in many settings • Verbally • Behaviorally Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Rapists 98 Child abusers 98 Child molesters 97 Wife beaters 97 Terrorists 95 Racists 92 Members: Ku Klux Klan 91 Drunk Drivers 91 Members of the American Nazi Party 90 Pregnant women who drink alcohol 89 Men who refuse to pay Child support 89 Negligent parents 86 People who cheat on their spouses 82 Mentally retarded people 3 Native Americans 6 Black Americans 6 Jews 6 Catholics 6 Whites 7 Hispanics 7 Asian Americans 7 Canadians 7 Ugly people 10 Interracial couples 11 People with AIDS 11 Fat people 11 Socially Approved and Disapproved PrejudicesApproved % Disapproved % Groups for which prejudice and discrimination had the highest and lowest approval ratings Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Forms of Discrimination Denokraitis and Feagin (1995) developed system to classify forms of discrimination and to show how they related to one another. Three forms of discrimination— • Blatant • Subtle • Covert Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Forms of Discrimination Blatant Discrimination • Unequal and harmful treatment • Typically intentional • Quite visible • Easily documented Also occurs in everyday contexts Some forms against groups are illegal and generally condomned Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Forms of Discrimination Subtle Discrimination • Unequal and harmful treatment • Typically less visible and obvious than blatant discrimination • Often not noticed because people have internalized subtle discriminatory behaviors as “NORMAL”, “NATURAL”, or “CUSTOMARY” • Harder to document • Often unintentional • Can be manifested in everyday speech Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Forms of Discrimination The Language of Prejudice Some of the most common examples of subtle prejudice can be found in everyday speech. • Hostile humor • Patronizing • Vanishing • Abnormalization • Linguistic devices Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Forms of Discrimination Covert Discrimination Consist of unequal and harmful treatment that is • Hidden • Purposeful • Often maliciously motivated Behavior that consciously attempts to ensure failure Very difficult to document Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Forms of Discrimination Covert Discrimination Employment context— Tokenism—hiring one or a few members of group as evident that organization does not discriminate Containment—restricting members of group to limited number of job categories Sabotage—arranging for members of a group to fail; assigning them low volume territories but setting sales quotas very high Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Levels of Discrimination Interpersonaldiscrimination—behaviors individuals direct at other individuals • Passive behavior ignoring behavior • Active Hostile stares demeaning remarks and commands Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Levels of Discrimination Institutionaldiscrimination— norms, policies, and practices associated with a social institution such as the family, religious institution, the educational system, and the criminal justice system, result in different outcomes for members of difference groups. Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Levels of Discrimination Organizationaldiscrimination— is the manifestation of institutional discrimination in the context of a particular organization. • Work organizations • SES neighborhoods Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Levels of Discrimination Cultural discrimination— consist of “discrimination and inequality, built into our • literature, • art, • music, • language, • morals, • customs, • beliefs, • practices, and • ideology... Define a generally agreed-upon way of life Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Interpersonal Discrimination Relation between Prejudice and Discrimination • Personal stereotypes • Attitudes-Behavior correspondence • Perceived social support Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Interpersonal Discrimination Motivation to Control Prejudice • Motivation to control prejudice reaction • Concern with Acting Prejudiced • Restraint to Avoid Dispute • Internal Motivation • External Motivation Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Interpersonal Discrimination Motivation to Control Prejudice • Motivation to respond without prejudice • Social Norms • The development of motivation to conrol prejudice • The Normative Context and Motivation to Control Prejudice Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Interpersonal Discrimination Regressive Prejudice • Regressive racism • Control over behavior • Cognitive demands • Disinhibitors • Priming as a releaser of regressive prejudice Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

Interpersonal Discrimination Reactions to having acted in a Prejudice Manner • Differences between people • High and low implicit prejudice • Guilt • Those who point out behavior that is prejudice Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

From Prejudice to DiscriminationStudy Questions • Which of the following is notan example of blatant prejudice? • threatening Muslims outside their mosque • refusing service to a Jewish person • denying housing to a lesbian • using baby talk when speaking to an older person Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

From Prejudice to DiscriminationStudy Questions • Which of the following is notan example of blatant prejudice? • threatening Muslims outside their mosque • refusing service to a Jewish person • denying housing to a lesbian • using baby talk when speaking to an older person (p. 398) Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

From Prejudice to DiscriminationStudy Questions • Sukja tells her friends that gay men’s behavior is out of step with what men should be like. Which linguistic device describes her action? • abnormalization • vanishing • patronizing speech • hostile humor Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

From Prejudice to DiscriminationStudy Questions • Sukja tells her friends that gay men’s behavior is out of step with what men should be like. Which linguistic device describes her action? • Abnormalization (p. 399) • vanishing • patronizing speech • hostile humor Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

From Prejudice to DiscriminationStudy Questions • If a person who is high in external but low in internal motivation to control prejudice acts in a prejudiced manner, he or she is likely to • feel guilty. • experience lower blood pressure. • criticize others. • feel threatened. Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

From Prejudice to DiscriminationStudy Questions • If a person who is high in external but low in internal motivation to control prejudice acts in a prejudiced manner, he or she is likely to • feel guilty. • experience lower blood pressure. • criticize others. • feel threatened. (p. 407 Prepared by S.Saterfield for Whitly & Kite, 2006

The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination