lecture outline theories of racism stereotype threat positive prejudice

Lecture Outline

Theories of Racism

Stereotype Threat

Positive prejudice

Old Fashioned Racism

People are consciously

aware of their

prejudice, but may try

to

conceal it from others

Symbolic (Modern) Racism

People feel ambivalence

toward the stigmatized

Prejudice comes out as the endorsement of conservative values

Not conscious of their prejudice

Symbolic (Modern) Racism

The prejudice they feel

vs.

The egalitarian values

they espouse

Mayor's Race StudyKinder & Sears (1981)

Examined whether racial prejudice stems from:

conflict over scarce resources

belief that African Americans violate cherished values


Mayoral elections in Los Angeles:

1969 and 1973

Candidates:Samuel Yorty: White conservative

Thomas Bradley: African American liberal


Election Results:

1969: Samuel Yorty won with 53% of vote

1973: Thomas Bradley won with 56% of vote


Scarce Resources Prediction

If racial prejudice stems from competition over scarce resources, then...

Whites who are in greater competition for resources with African Americans should be more prejudiced than those who are in less competition.


Symbolic Racism Prediction

If racial prejudice stems from symbolic racism, then.....

The more strongly Whites believe that African Americans violate traditional values, the more prejudice they will show.


White residents of Los Angeles, CA1969 (n = 198); 1973 (n = 239)

Most lived in suburbsHomeowners33% attended collegeMost were Protestant, others

CatholicNearly all were marriedMost had children

Prejudice = Voting behavior

Participants:


Competition over scarce resources:

Measured via questionnaire responses spanning four

domains of racial threat.....

Domains of Racial Threat

1. Interracial social contact

Example QuestionHow strongly would you object

if a member of your family wanted to bring an African American friend home to dinner



2. Economic competition

Example QuestionHave the economic gains of

African Americans been about the same, much greater than, greater than, or less than yours over the past 5 years?



3. Racial Busing

Example QuestionHow likely is it that African

American children will be bused into the elementary schools of this neighborhood?



4. Perception of violence committed by African Americans

Example QuestionHow likely is it that African

Americans will bring violence to this neighborhood?



Symbolic Racism:

Measured via questionnaire responses spanning two

domains of value systems...

Domains of Value Systems

1. Expressive Racism

Example QuestionDo you think that most African

Americans who receive money from welfare programs could get along without it if they tried or do they really need the help?


Domains of Value Systems

2. Opposition to racial busing

Example QuestionBusing elementary school

children to schools in other parts of the city only harms their education



-0.020.000.020.040.060.080.100.120.140.160.18

1969 1973

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Competition

Symbolicracism

Only symbolic racism significantly

explained voting behavior


Symbolic (modern) racism disguised as endorsement of conservative values

Enables symbolic racists to believe they are non-prejudiced, while still supporting political positions that favor Whites over African Americans

Aversive Racism

People feel ambivalence

toward the stigmatized

Prejudice comes out in subtle behaviors that are not under people’s conscious control

Endorse liberal values

Not usually conscious of prejudice – suppress prejudice when it become conscious

Feel ambivalence toward the stigmatized

Not typically conscious of prejudice

Endorse liberal values

StronglyStrongly believe racism is wrong

Symbolic Racism Aversive Racism

Feel ambivalence toward the stigmatized

Not conscious of prejudice

Endorse conservative values

Believe racism is wrong

Symbolic and Aversive Racism

Explicit Measures

Implicit Measures

Both exhibit

low prejudice

Both exhibithigh

prejudice

Both theories can explain dissociation between explicit

and implicit reports of prejudice

The belief that racism is wrong

Racist values learned early

Egalitarian values learned later

Accessing egalitarian values requires cognitive resources

People cannot access egalitarian values when completing implicit measures due to low cognitive resources

Egalitarian Values

Symbolic/Aversive racists:

have internalized egalitarian values

access those values on explicit measures, and report low prejudice

cannot access those values on implicit measures, and exhibit high prejudice

Egalitarian Values

Ambivalence-Amplification Theory

People are ambivalent toward the stigmatized.

aversion and hostilitysympathy and compassion


Proposes that...

1. Ambivalence causes threat to self-esteem

No matter how one feels, that feeling is in conflict with the other way one feels


Proposes that...

2. People try to reduce threats to self-esteem

They justify or deny the way the feel at the moment, depending on the situation


Proposes that...

3. Behavior toward the stigmatized is very unstable

4. People are aware of their ambivalence

Justify Prejudice Study Katz & Glass (Study 1, 1979)

Examined how the situation

sometimes leads people to

justify and other times to

deny their prejudice

Prediction:

People will justify prejudice against a stigmatized other if the situation encourages that response


Procedure:

1. Male participants rated confederate on 20 item impression questionnaire

likingwarmthconceitintelligenceadjustment


Procedure:

2. Participant administered shock to confederate as feedback

3. Participant evaluated confederate 2nd time on impression questionnaire


Manipulations:

1. Confederate’s race:African AmericanWhite

2. Shock level: (no shock actually given)strong and painfulweak and not painful


Prediction Restated:

People justify prejudice by denigrating stigmatized others. This makes those people seem unworthy and deserving of dislike.

This means: Participants who gave “strong shocks” to the African American target should show greatest change in post-shock ratings (negative direction)


African American target

White target

Strong shock

Mild Shock

Strong shock

Mild Shock

Before Shock 19.2 14.3 16.3 15.4

After Shock

Change score

7.3

-11.9

21.5

7.2

16.3

00.0

14.6

-0.8

Negative change = more negative impression after shockPositive change = more positive impression after shock

As predicted, impression of African American confederate became most negative after strong shock

Deny Prejudice Study Katz & Glass (Study 2, 1979)

Prediction:

People will deny prejudice against a stigmatized other if the situation encourages that response

1. Participant introduced to confederate

2. Participant required to insult confederate

3. Told confederate left before criticism was explained as part of the experiment

4. Participant believed experiment was over

5. Sent to office for $, where got letter from confederate.....


Doing an independent study project

Needed one more participant to finish up

Study was on repetition

Experimental materials attached

Materials asked participant to repetitively write the same sentence over and over

The letter:



Manipulations:

1. Confederate race:African AmericanWhite

2. Insult level:Very hurtfulNot very hurtful

Prediction Restated:

People will deny prejudice by going out of their way to help a stigmatized other whom they have harmed.

This means: Participants who gave “hurtful insult” to the African American target should work the hardest in the repetitive experiment.


African American

target

White target

Hurtful Insult

44.21 21.20

Not hurtful insult

22.13 23.20

Values are the average number of times repetitive sentence was written in booklet.

As predicted, participants wrote the sentence more often after having harmed the African American target.

Conclusion:

People feel ambivalence toward stigmatized others

People respond in extreme ways toward those whom they have harmed

Sometimes behave positively, sometimes negatively depending on the situation

Justify/Deny Prejudice StudiesKatz & Glass (1979)

How Prejudice Affects Targets

Stereotype Threat

Consequences of positive prejudice

Stereotype Threat

Premise:Stigmatized groups are

aware of negative stereotypes

This awareness produces “stereotype threat”........

Stereotype Threat

Definition:

Fear that one will be viewed or treated in way consistent with stereotype, or that one will confirm the stereotype

Stereotype Threat

Stereotype threat is situationally induced

Arises when target realizes that negative stereotype can explain their behavior or attributes

Stereotype Threat StudySteele & Aronson (Study 1, 1995)

Purpose: Test theory of stereotype threat with respect to African American students and intellectual ability


Valid measureintellectual

ability

Laboratoryexercise

AA < W AA = W


Participants: African AmericanWhite

Procedure:Completed a 30 V-SAT items

Manipulation:Valid testInvalid test (laboratory exercise)

DV: number correct on test

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Valid Test Invalid Test

Test

Scor

es

African Americans Whites


Purpose:

Examined whether stigmatized targets distance themselves from a negative stereotype when stereotype threat is activated

Distancing StudySteele & Aronson (Study 2, 1995)


Valid measureintellectual

ability

Laboratoryexercise

Show thatnegative stereotype

does not apply to them

Participants: African AmericanWhite

Expected to complete V-SAT items

Rated self-preferences:music: jazz, rap music, classicalsports: baseball, basketball, boxingtraits: extroverted, aggressive,

humorous

Never actually took test


Manipulation:Valid testInvalid test (laboratory exercise)

DV: Extent to which participant rated self consistent with African American stereotype


15

20

25

30

35

Valid Test Invalid Test

Co

ns

iste

nc

y w

ith

AA

S

tere

oty

pe

African Americans Whites

Untended Consequences of Positive Prejudice

Affirmative action designed to help minorities and underrepresented groups, but....

may undermine their self-views and job performance

Affirmative Action

Designed to:

“overcome the discriminating effect of past or present practices, policies, or other barriers to equal employment opportunity” (EEOC, 1970)

Affirmative Action

EEOC’s statement:

Says that group membership should be explicitly taken into account in hiring decisions

Unspoken assumption that non-discrimination not sufficient to counteract consequences of prejudice and inequality

Affirmative Action Study 1

Heilman, Simon, & Repper (1987)

Purpose:

Examine whether affirmative action damages the self-views of those who benefit from it

Prediction:

Women who believe they are preferentially selected have less confidence in their ability than those who believe they are selected on merit


Heilman et al. (1987)



Procedure:

1. Paired with opposite sex confederate

2. Task described; leader more important

3. Answered items assessing ability for leadership role

4. Manipulation occurred........



ManipulationMerit:

test scoredscript readparticipant selected on merit

Preference:test not scoredscript readparticipant selected on basis of gender



Procedure continued:

5. Performed task6. Rated self on:

task performance leadership ability desire to persist as leader

in task 2

Performance Leadership ability

Persist as leader

Men:MeritPreference

5.155.37

6.476.59

5.855.78

Women:MeritPreference

5.244.02

6.715.27

5.504.00

Men: Selection basis did not influence men.

Women: Selection basis did influence women. Lower perceived performance, and ability, and less desire to remain as leader when preferentially selected. No different from men in merit condition.

Purpose:Examine if preferential

selection causes women to select easier tasks


Heilman, Rivero, & Brette (1991)

ConfidenceJob

Performance



Tasks:Financial service manager

Subordinate

Procedures:

Test assessed managerial skills

Manipulation: Merit or preference based selection



Participants then indicated which of two tasks they would most like to do

Easy taskDifficult task

% Selecting Difficult

Task

% Selecting Easy Task

Men:MeritPreference

87%100%

13% 0%

Women:MeritPreference

93% 47%

7% 53%

Men: Chose difficult task more often regardless of selection basis

Women: Selection did influence task choice. Women selected easy task more often when preferentially selected. No different from men in merit condition.

Affirmative Action Study 2Heilman et al. (1987, 1991)

Conclusion:

Preferential selection reduces confidence

Preferential selection causes people to select less challenging tasks at work

Affirmative Action: Good or Bad?

Does Affirmative Action always have unintended negative consequences?

No. When it is based on merit

and group membership, many of the bad effects it

creates disappear

lecture outline theories of racism stereotype threat positive prejudice

Documents

domains of racial threat2

domains of racial threat3

domains of racial threat4

domains of racial threat1

african american children

domains of value systems1

domains of value systems2

african american friend