Stereotypes

Cognitive beliefs about characteristics of a group. Example: "women are more emotional," "Engineers are socially awkward"

Discrimination

Behavioral actions toward a group based on group membership. Example: not hiring someone because of their age

Social Groups

Categories of people who share a common identity. Example: racial groups, political groups, sports teams, religious groups

BIRG (Basking in Reflected Glory)

Associating yourself with successful ingroup members. Example: saying "we won!" when your school's team wins

CORF (Cutting Off Reflected Failure)

Distancing yourself from an ingroup after failure. example: "they lost", when your team performs poorly

Ingroup Favoritism

Preferential treatment toward one's own group. Example: grading essays more leniently when you think the writer is from your university

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect

Perceiving outgroup members as "all the same". Example: "All sorority girls are identical"

Why does outgroup homogeneity occur?

Less exposure to outgroup variability, cognitive efficiency (easier to simplify), motivational need to see ingroup as unique and superior

(A class divided) Blue-eyed vs. Brown- eyed groups showed:

Ingroup favoritism: children favored their assigned "superior" group Outgroup favoritism: children treated the "inferior" group worse Rapid Internalization: performance changed based on group status

Negative stereotypes

lower performance, increased anxiety, biased judgements. Example: "Black students are less academically capable"

Positive stereotypes

still harmful because they create pressure, reduce individuality, lead to backlash when violated. Example: "Asians are naturally good at math"

Are stereotypes accurate?

Some contain a "kernel of truth" but they are overgeneralized, exaggerated, and poor predictors of individuals. They ignore within-group variability.

Illusory Correlation

Perceiving a relationship between two variables when none exists

Why Illusory Correlation

attention to distinctive events, confirmation bias, cognitive shortcuts

Stereotypes affect...

Interpretations: ambiguous behavior seen as stereotype-consistent judgements: harsher evaluations behavior: self-fulfilling prophecies, discriminatory actions

Moral exclusion

Viewing certain groups as outside the boundary of moral concern. Example: believing homeless people "don't deserve help" or treating prisoners as less human

Stereotype threat

fear of confirming a stereotype about one's group-> impaired performance. Examples: women performing worse on math tests when gender is highlighted

Reducing stereotype threat:

reframing the task, emphasizing growth mindset, role models, self-affirmation, reducing identity salience

Unprejudiced

not the absence of stereotypes: actively correcting for them, being motivated to treat people fairly, using controlled processing to override automatic biases

Contact Hypothesis

reduces prejudice when 1. equal status 2. common goals 3. cooperation 4. institutional support 5. personal interaction

Why contact sometimes fails

Subtyping: "they're an exception" Compartmentalization: "this person is different from the group" Contrast effects: "They're not like the typical group member

Robber's Cave Study

-boys split into groups -> hostility developed -mere contact did not reduce conflict -superordinate goals (shared goals requiring cooperation) reduced prejudice

Superordinate goals

-fixing a broken water supply -completing a group project -disaster relief efforts

Individual mobility

Leaving the group to improve status. Example: changing schools to escape a low-status identity

Social Creativity

Changing the comparison dimension. Example: "we're not rich, but we're more community-oriented"

Social Change

Collective action to improve group status. Example: Civil rights movements

Aggression

behavior intended to harm another

Hostile aggression

driven by anger. Example: punching someone in a fight

Instrumental aggression

harm as a means to an end. Example: tackling someone in football

Physical aggression

bodily harm

Relational aggression

damaging relationships. Example: gossip, exclusion

Verbal aggression

insults, threats

Conflict

Percieved incompatibility of goals. Example: two coworkers competing for a promotion

General Aggression Model (GAM)

Aggression results from: Insults: person factors (traits, attitudes), situational factors (provocation, heat) Routes: affect, arousal, cognition Outcomes: appraisal -> behavior

Rewards

reinforcement increases aggression. Example: a child gets what they want after hitting -> more hitting

Culture of Honor

Cultures where reputation must be defended. - more violent retaliation - more honor-related crimes (assaults, homicides)

Gender differences

Men: more physical aggression Women: more relational aggression

Frustration- Aggression Theory

Blocked goals -> frustration -> aggression . Example: road rage when stuck in traffic

Modeling Aggression (Bandura) Bobo Doll Study

Children who saw an adult behave aggressively: - imitated aggression - invented new aggressive acts - nonaggressive models reduced aggression

Learned Aggressive Stimuli

Objects associated with aggression increase aggression. Example: presence of a gun increases aggressive responses

Superficial vs. Systematic Processing

When cognitive resources are low -> superficial processing -> more aggression

Two things that reduce deep processing

- alcohol - cognitive load (stress, multitasking)

Realistic Conflict Theory

competition for limited resources -> conflict. Example: job competition between groups

Relative Deprivation

feeling deprived compared to others - Egoistic: "I am deprived" - Fraternal: "my group is deprived"

Reducing Aggression

- remove aggressive cues - model nonaggression - teach communication skills - increase empathy - punishment only works when immediate, consistent, and fair

Prosocial behavior vs. Cooperation

Prosocial Behavior: helping others Cooperation: working together toward mutual benefit

Perceiving need

People help when they notice need, rural areas help more due to lower overload

Time Pressure

less time -> less helping. Good Samaritan study: seminarians in a hurry helped less

Social responsibility norm

Help those who depend on us. Controllability matters: people help more when the need is uncontrollable

Bystander effect

More bystanders -> less helping

Norms

family privacy norm reduces helping in domestic disputes.

Egoism

helping for self- benefit

Altruism

helping for other's benefit

Evolutionary Perspective

evolved through: kin selection, reciprocal altruism, group survival advantages

Rewards & Costs

People help when rewards > cost Good mood -> more helping Bad mood -> more helping if helping relieves guilt

Negative-State Relief

Help to reduce own negative feelings

Empathy- Altruism

High empathy -> help regardless of personal cost

Increasing Helping & Reducing Bystander Effect

- Reduce ambiguity ("I need help!") - Assign responsibility ("You in the blue shirt- call 911") - Increase empathy - Model helping - Teach about bystander effect

Just-world belief

belief that the world is just, so people deserve what they get/get what they deserve