Bias and discrimination

• definitions

  PREJUDICE = adverse opinion/learning formed wo justified grounds or before sufficient knowledge has been acquired

  STEREOTYPE = standardised mental image that is held in common by members of a grp and represent an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude or uncritical judgement
• physical appearance

  social cognition

  ASCH (1946) response to others inf by the 'primacy effect' -> put more weight onto info we first receive abt them

  a person's appearance often first info received

  halo effect -> very broadly good or bad. aspect of social cog. thought patterns abt society, social wrld

  DION, BERSCHEID & WALSTER (1972) assume physically attractive ppl are gd, more skilled and morally superior

  KNAPP (1978) taller men -> higher starting salaries
• social schemas and categories

  HOGG & VAUGHAN (2008, p.49) 'a schema is a set of inter-related cognitions (thoughts, beliefs, attitudes) that allow us to quickly make sense of a person, situation, event or place on basis of limited info. certain cues activate a schema. the schema then 'fills in' missing detail'

  'the filing cabinet of the mind' or 'computer desktop of the mind'

  generally very useful e.g. restaurant visit, knowing the menu

  allows us to function in complex world

  it is resistant to change
• types of schema

  relate to oneself

  • scripts - how to behave
  • self schemas - actual self, ideal self and ought self

  relate to others

  • person schemas - relate to 2 specific ppl
  • role schema - relate to specific jobs and how they shld behave
• stereotypes

  if schema based on common social assumptions, it is a stereotype

  they can be true or false, even if they are generalised and sweeping

  at their best they allow is to function swiftly and effectively in complex social world

  HAIRE & GRUNE (1950) we struggle to process info that contrasts with our stereotype. so incongruous info is often ignored or forgotten

  stereotypes are hard to change
• effects of prejudice

  social stigma - developed w neg stereotypes

  • want optimal distinctiveness, may be why negs are favoured

  devaluation of social identity

  diff grps look down on one stigmatised grp

  • can be visible or hidden

  incrsd prejudice against 'ctrlble' stigma

  allows for downward comparisons, which may boost self-esteem

  justifies unjust power systems

  defend the 'worldview' - imp for self-esteem

  demonstrated in TAJFEL'S minimal grp studies - we seek to maximise intergrp difference
• stereotype threat

  looks at experience of someone from a stigmatised grp or grp w neg stereotypes

  prejudice increases anxiety = can worsen performance

  COOLEY, MEAD - 'looking glass self' -> seeing reflection of yourself through response of others
• stereotype threat: research

  STONE ET AL. (1999) golf study, black and white ppt. looked at: sporting intelligence (black ppt perform worse due to anxiety abt stereotype) and natural athletic ability (white ppt perform worse)

  SHIH, PITTINSKY & AMBADY (1999) asian women and math tests

  3 primes:

  • asian = do very well -> stereotype lift, small effect
  • women = do worse
  • no prime = do ok

  WALTON & COHEN (2002) did meta-analysis on stereotype lift. problems w attempts to replicate effcet -> may be due to stereotypes having less of an effect
• self-fulfilling prophecies

  are due to the snowball effect

  where a belief, true or false, becomes true due to person's actions that were influenced

  ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON (1968) US schls. teachers given list of random students, told they wld perform the best. few months later = they were performing better. teacher's beh changes = student performs better, due to liking class. the pos interrelationship snowballs. also happens opposite way

  EDEN (1990) -> can happen in grps as well. done in military context w platoons

  JUSSIM & FLEMING (1996) did review. gd evidence for gender, less gd for race, poor for socio-economic status
• attributional ambiguity

  overt discrimination replaced by subtle dis - requiring implicit measures

  contrast btwn hostile and benevolent sexism -> movement away from hostile scales

  attempts to redress discrimination and change institutional cultures (to have more diversity) -> reverse/positive discrimination

  but can lead to tokenism, feeling that you were only employed due to category rather than skill

  aversive racism - anxiety and apathy (PETTIGREW & TROPP, 2008; TRAWALTER ET AL., 2009)

  all leads to attributional ambiguity - suspicion and mistrust, cant be sure abt anything

  MUNGER (2013) online discrimination often overt, due to anonymity
• explanations for prejudice

  inherent fear of unfamiliar, we are neo philic and phobic

  ZAJONC (1968) mere exposure effect -> ppl prefer familiarity

  we have evolved fear of other grps

  which is learned

  BARRETT & SHORT (1992) 5-10 yo, preferred spaniards over germans. learnt by modelling parents, operant conditioning or classical conditioning (seeing how they treat diff friends)
• psychological theories of prejudice

  ADORNO ET AL. (1950) Authoritarian personality

  • Critique

  ALTEMEYER (1998) Right wing authoritarianism

  Social dominance theory

  Social identity explanation
• authoritarian personality

  ADORNO ET AL. (1950)

  arose from consideration of holocaust (Shoah)

  harsh parenting -> ambivalence (mixed feelings) for parents -> authoritarian personality

  excessive respect for authority, obsession w status, anger displacement, intolerance of uncertainty, diff w intimacy

  have instinct to love parents, but feel hate -> anger displacement

  lots of research but mixed evidence
• authoritarian personality: critique

  • PETTIGREW (1958) white SA and Northern US similar personality but were different in terms of racism -> doesnt explain anger displacement
  • numerous examples of rapid changes in attitude to out grp: antisemitism (1930), racism against japanese americans after pearl harbour, islamophobia after 9/11, attitudes vs argentinians after Falklands war (AMER & BAGASRA, 2013) -> no way that everyone has authoritarian personality
• right wing authoritarianism

  ALTEMEYER (1998)

  is attitudes rather than personality measured w RWA scale

  conventionalism (like norms, dislike new), authoritarian aggression (approve of harsh punishment), authoritarian submission

  STENNER (2009) may vary w context
• social dominance theory

  • comes from SIT, forming grps then forming hierarchies
  • looks at hierarchy maintenance

  social dominance orientation = acceptance of myths justifying unequal status quo (SIDANIUS & PRATTO, 1999)

  • ppl at the top defend the s.q to maintain privileged status

  system justification theory = defend s.q to avoid anxiety

  • even if it results in personal marginalisation
  • explains why lower grps defend hierarchy
  • JOST & VAN DER TORN (2012)
  • relates to internalised racism (DAVID ET AL., 2019)
• social identity explanation

  categorise ourselves and others

  seek pos differentiation to enhance our self-esteem

  patterns of bias turn into defining norms

  hierarchies of identities formed

  also escape from low status personal identity to a constructed 'high status' social identity set

  • this move can change view of themselves and the world
• pernicious nature of prejudice

  difficult to fight prejudice due to:

  • necessity of categorisation and schemas for normal human functioning
  • power of ingrp bias for raising self esteem through adoption of a pos social identity
  • makes prejudice hard to combat
• sexism: 'woman' as a social construction

  SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR (1949) - the second sex

  • definition of what it is to be human is contrlld by men
  • 'femininity' a social construction of the quintessential other -> constructed by men. men try to enhance their own grp
  • women are the 'second sex' - defined in relation to men due to male power
  • female norms inc lack of education, female passivity, dependence on males
  • made men appear active, capable, necessary and strong, enhancing how male identity is viewed
  • women also presented (by society) as overly emotional; expressions of women's anger or pain was dismissed as hysteria
• marginalisation of women

  the prototype for a human is presented as being male. the fundamental norms of the grp 'human' are masculine norms.

  man/mankind - scientific, rational, dominant, capable

  woman - emotional, irrational, submissive, dependent
• optimal distinctiveness

  we seek to be distinct from and superior to outgrps as to enhance our self-esteem

  achieved by positive reflection on the norms of in-grp

  e.g. assertions of men as strong, adventurous, capable, knowledgable

  ctrl of outgrp identity allows for norms of outgrp to be defined by ingrp, which further enhances ingrp by comparison (optimal distinctiveness)

  e.g. assertions of women as weak, passive, needy and uneducated
• structural misogyny

  established norms of male empowerment and female marginalisation maintains male ctrl over society and the norms of the female identity

  • overtime, this unjust system becomes what is normal

  men love their wives, fathers their daughters, son their mothers but all within a social order which through the passing centuries marginalises women

  e.g. norm of 'women shld not be educated'

  like a never ending circle, men say no education for women, men only authority etc.
• research focus: MOSS-RACUSIN ET AL. (2012)

  ppt = 127 members of science faculties from range of unis accross USA

  believed they were evaluating real student who wished to pursue science career

  received students CV; only sex varied

  ppt rated student's perceived competence, likelihood of hiring, annual starting salary, mentoring they wld provide

  both male and female ppt rated female CV's lower on all ratings

  based on stereotypes of women in academia
• racism: orientalism EDWARD SAID (1978)

  'orient' is a semi-mythical construct, an abstract of the west

  mixture of racist and romanticised stereotypes have formed - 'orientals' are presented as lazy, suspicious, gullible, mysterious, untruthful, weak, barbaric and irrational. ctrl of the outgrp identity

  allows for a contrasting presentation of westerners as hard working, fair, wise, open, honest, capable, civilised and rational

  these norms est and maintained by colonial rule, academia studies and media depictions

  also creates a worldview which justifies western colonialism, imperialism and political interference
• racism - recent psychology studies

  OKONOFUA ET AL. (2016) black students more likely to be expelled from schl than white student are perceived as being more compliant. link to snowball effect

  BONAM ET AL. (2016) white home owners perceived as cleaner and more responsible than black home owners leading to disparities in perceived property value

  MUNGER (2017) sanctioning of racial harassment on twitter by ingrp white interlocuter more effective at reducing harassment than sanctions from an outgrp black interlocuter
• structural racism

  de-humanisation (completely removing ppl from moral sphere) - e.g. 18th cent language in context of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was extreme and radical

  infra-humanisation - a legacy of lessening the humanity of black ppl
• healthcare statistics

  healthcare is a relatively simple context in which to examine bias. after ctrlling for relevant variables (e.g. obesity, age) all patients shld receive same care and treatment

  US DEP OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (2015) POC in US for 2014 had lower life expectancy and higher blood pressure than yt US. black children less likely to be classified as requiring emergency care.

  QUINONES ET AL. (2019) black ppl aged 51-55 more likely to suffer from chronic disease than yt ppl of same age

  HOWELL (2019) black mothers have increased likelihood of complications and mortality during pregnancy
• research focus: HOFFMAN, TRAWALTER, AXT & OLIVER (2016)

  black americans less likely to be prescribed pain medication when reporting pain to a doctor (e.g. SMEDLEY, STITH & NELSON, 2013)

  study 1:

  • 121 ppt reported amount of pain they wld feel if event occurred than speculate pain lvl felt by target
  • ppt rated black target as experiencing less pain

  the effect enhanced by belief in false aspects of biology. ppt endorsed 22.5% of false belief

  study 2:

  • 222 med students read mock med statements and made pain ratings for mock patients. they endorsed 11.5% of false beliefs. ppt who endorsed rated black targets as feeling less pain