Notes for Social Psychology-September 25th

Stereotypes are shared, common beliefs and notions pertaining to what members of a
certain group, either in-group or out-group, are like.
Whats uni!ue is that they are almost uni"ersally known and familiar, e"en if they are not
condoned or accepted. #hey relate to ones moral compass, abilities, and are almost
always polari$ed to either %good% or %bad.%
When one has been inculcated with stereotypes, then it is hardwired into ones system to
%cue% from rele"ant attributes, such as through derogatory, physical features, etc. #he
known set of derogatory terms are, conse!uently, unsettlingly accessible. #herefore, all
one has to do is look upon ones physical semblance, and almost immediately they could
ha"e their memory &ogged for these negati"e terms and presumed attributes.
Stereotypes are, whether we know it or not, are per"aded by the mass media. #hey find
depictions and unflattering incarnations, particularly, in the electronic mediums. 'i"en
the impersonal nature of this form of communication, it is hard for one to conceptuali$e
the true conse!uences of their actions.
(ecall )yons and *ashima, whose study of +ustralian football was used as a platform to
illustrate a natural propensity for stereotyping. ,n their premise, they crafted the story of
'ary, an +ustralian footballer. -ertain components of the story were aligned with the
common stereotypes affiliated with that group. .ther parts of the story were entirely
contradictory to the group stereotype. #hen, a group of fi"e people partook in an acti"ity
similar to the game of %#elephone% in order to pass on the story. #hat tale was, as follows/
%'ary is a machismo +ustralian (ules football player. 0im and his mates became
into1icated while dri"ing. 0e then proceeded to slander the police officer who pulled
them o"er. 0e also listens to classical music on the dri"e o"er.%
2nsurprisingly, throughout the transmission process, the stereotype was retrained nearly
three times as much as the information inconsistent with the stereotype. #his is almost
disheartening, as one would assume that the components of the story which run counter
to the preconcei"ed notions would present more of a cogniti"e challenge, and thus would
be more prominent in memory. Sadly, this was hardly the case.
(omer, 3amieson, and de -oteau all concocted content analysis of local news in Philly.
#hey concluded that, locally, what was being presented grossly distorted the statistical
reality of crime. Namely, that whites were "ictims of "iolent crimes committed by blacks.
#he figures which the domestic police presented to the 45, showed that 678 of all
"ictims of white crimes were sub&ected to this by other whites, and 978 of all blacks
were "ictimi$ed by other blacks.
:a&or Point/
Stereotypes are so deeply ingrained in our culture and minds, and they are conse!uently
something of an heuristic. 0owe"er, &ust because they are widely known does not mean
that they are based in fact.
'reenberg and Pys$c$ynski ;<965=
White Ps watched a debate between a black man and a white man. #here was an
audience, and a plant was sitting in the back of the room. #hey were either silent, said
generally offensi"e, but not racially e1plicit, words, or they scoffed with derogatory
terms. 4rom a statistical standpoint, they found no correlation as to who won the debate.
0owe"er, it was concluded that...wait, what> #he study was called %0ow to spread a
social disease.% )ook it up.
:a&or Point 2/
-ues to pre&udice and stereotypes can lead people to discriminate against denigrated
groups. #hat is to say, if someone already has a preconcei"ed notion, then this will impact
their &udgment on a le"el they are not e"en aware of. 0owe"er, people can e"aluate other
indi"iduals fairly if those cues are simply not gi"en ;remember how the black debater lost
more when the o"erheard derogatory term=. We can control how much we stereotype and
get stereotyped.
Content seems to ha"e a strong relationship to social structure. Whether our relation
depends on other group ;interdependent= or competes with them=.
(elations and Stereotype contents/
,mage #heory/ +sk her to send you the paper.
#here are people who fill specific roles, for e1ample,
(elations and 4orms of Pre&udice
,nterdependent -ompetiti"e
)ow Status 5ene"olent, ?emeaning
paternalistic. Dislike and disrespect
Like but disrespect (when there are no redeeming
(such as the handicapped). qualities).
0igh Status +dmiration 0ostility
Like and respect Respect out of obligation
(leaders, film stars, etc.) but dislike.
0ostile Pre&udice
#his is pre&udice towards a certain social set which almost immediately carries with it
hostile stigma.
-4eminists
-#he wealthy
-5usinesswomen
-+sians
-Northerners
-3ews
-5lack people
5ene"olent Pre&udice
)ook this one up. @ou totally spaced.
:a&or Point A/
Stereotypes seem to be a reflection on the sub&ected groups fundamental nature.
0owe"er, this is more an illustration of our relation to these stereotypes, and thus, these
stereotypes are partly about ourselves.
+pplication to Se1ism
;Pre&udice "s. Women=
+t present, men may ha"e an ambiguous feeling towards women ;both positi"e and
negati"e=.
Why>
:en are greatly dependent on women. #hey find in them maternal comfort, affection, and
cooperation. :en may, howe"er, compete with women o"er high-earning &obs, status, etc.
:easuring +mbi"alent Se1ism
Peter 'lick and Susan 4iske wrote +mbi"alent Se1ism ,n"entory
Some items e"aluate bene"olent se1ism, others assess hostile se1ism. #ogether they
measure ambi"alence. #his scale has been applied across cultures. B"eryone higher on
bene"olent...ne"er mind.