Understanding prejudice: an interdisciplinary perspective on intergroup relations
Inhoudsopgave
Topic 1: Social Identity Theory (SIT)................................................................2
Handbook of theories of social psychology – Social Identity Theory...............................2
Who we are and who we choose to help (or not): An introduction to social identity
theory............................................................................................................................. 6
Lecture 1 – Social identity theory 1.................................................................................7
Lecture 2 – Social Identity Theory 2................................................................................8
Topic 2: Social categories: stereotypes, prototypicality and indispensability. . .11
Lecture 3 - SCT............................................................................................................. 11
Stereotypes: Content, Structures, Processes and Context (Chapter two).....................13
Topic 3: Realistic Group Conflict Theory.........................................................17
Privilege on the Precipice: Perceived Racial Status Threats Lead White Americans to
Oppose Welfare Programs............................................................................................17
Lecture 4 – Realistic group conflict theory (RGCT)........................................................18
Topic 4: Contact Theory................................................................................20
Does personal contact with ethnic minorities affect anti‐immigrant sentiments?
Evidence from a field experiment.................................................................................20
The contact hypothesis re-evaluated............................................................................21
Lecture 5 – Contact theory part 1.................................................................................22
Lecture 6 – Contact theory II......................................................................................... 24
Topic 5: RWA & SDO......................................................................................28
Lecture 7...................................................................................................................... 28
A dual-process motivational model of ideology, politics, and prejudice........................33
Social Dominance Theory............................................................................................. 34
Topic 6: Measuring prejudice.........................................................................35
Lecture 8: Measuring.................................................................................................... 35
Taking stock of explicit and implicit prejudice...............................................................38
Traditional Explicit Prejudice Measures.........................................................................38
Prevalence of Prejudice.................................................................................................39
Social Desirability Bias: The tendency of respondents to give “politically correct”
answers instead of revealing true prejudices................................................................39
Topic 7: Moral foundations theory.................................................................40
Lecture 9 – Moral foundations theory (MFT)..................................................................40
, Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets or moral foundations........................43
Topic 8 – Social norms...................................................................................44
Lecture 10 – Social Norms............................................................................................ 44
Changing norms following the 2016 US presidential election: The Trump effect on
prejudice....................................................................................................................... 46
Topic 9 – Territorial concerns.........................................................................47
Lecture 11 – Territorial concerns...................................................................................47
The two routes of collective psychological ownership: Rights and responsibilities
explain intentions to exclude outsiders and engage in stewardship behavior..............51
Topic 10 – Voting for radical parties...............................................................51
The republican Trump voter: a populist radical right voter like any other?...................51
Lecture 12.................................................................................................................... 53
Topic 11 – Bias of the left..............................................................................55
Worldview conflict and prejudice (pages 1 – 39 of chapter 1).......................................55
Lecture 13: Bias of the left............................................................................................57
Topic 12 – Historical narratives......................................................................60
Social representations of history and the legitimation of social inequality: The form and
function of historical negation......................................................................................60
Lecture 14 – Historical narratives.................................................................................62
Topic 1: Social Identity Theory (SIT)
Handbook of theories of social psychology – Social Identity Theory
Henri Tajfel did research to further investigate why people that lived together could come to
see each other as dangerous, rivals or enemies, even when there were no rational or objective
reasons to do so.
He did a series of experiments called the “minimal group studies”: people were assigned to
one of two groups based on an irrelevant criterion or chance. They then had to allocate points
to someone of their own group and someone of the other group.
- Hypotheses: participants were expected to divide points equally
- Result: minimal conditions like these were enough to induce ingroup favoritism. This
became known as the mere categorization effect: merely categorizing people into
groups made them think of themselves and others as ‘us’ and ‘them’ (ingroup vs
outgroup).
- The findings (in 1967) conflicted with the realistic conflict theory (RCT), which
stated that conflict between groups arise from competition over scarce resources. More
research then confirmed the ideas of SIT.
,Social identity: the part of someone’s self-concept that comes from their knowledge about his
membership of a social group (or more than one), combined with the emotional significance
attached to that membership.
SIT, three main issues
1) Psychological processes
a. Social categorization: a common and useful process that clusters people into
groups. It helps us organize socially relevant information and understand and
predict behavior. People in a group are thought to share common centra; group-
defining features. We accentuate differences for people who are in different
groups and ignore individual traits that define uniqueness.
b. Social comparison: typical group features are interpreted and valued based on
how they compare to other relevant groups and their characteristic features.
c. Social identification: is what differentiates objective categories from social
categories. It means that the self is included in some social groups (and shares
features) and excluded from others (and doesn’t share features) = cognitive
awareness. It also includes emotional significance (how much do we care that
we are or are not a part of a social group.
2) Identity management strategies: because membership of certain social groups
influences the self, people are motivated to enhance and retain their positive social
identity (emphasize and secure the ways in which their group is different from others).
a. Individual mobility: individual-level strategy where people escape, avoid ot
deny belonging to their devalued group. Instead, they try to be included in the
group with a higher social standing. People do this by emphasizing how they
are different from other ingroup members. This does not benefit or address the
group. (Example: pursuing a higher education as a migrant).
i. Intra-group comparison: instead of comparing our group to an
outgroup, we are comparing ourselves to other ingroup members. (Yes I
am a garbage collecter but I work harder than others, FE).
b. Social creativity: redefine the ingroup by representing it in a positive way.
People do this by (1) focusing on other dimensions of the intergroup
comparison (focus on friendliness instead of education), (2) including other
groups in the comparison & (3) changing the meaning of low-status group
membership (black is beautiful). This can help people cope but does not
address or change the status around the value of the ingroup.
c. Social competition: group members engage in conflict with the purpose of
changing the status quo. It involves collective action oriented towards the
achievement of change. Groups compete with each other for superiority on a
shared value that reflects upon their mutual social standing.
, 3) Socio-structural characteristics: when do people pursue these different strategies to
maintain or improve social identity.
a. Permeability: the subjective belief that it is possible for individuals to act as
independent agents within a social system. Do people feel like, in spite of their
group defining characteristics, they can achieve a position in society that
reflects their worth as a person, regardless of their groups?
i. If group boundaries feel permeable, someone will be more inclined to
pursue individual mobility.
ii. If group boundaries do not feel permeable, someone will feel bound to
their group and be more inclined to try to change the status quo.
b. Stability: some differences between groups are seen as fluid, while others are
regarded as stable and unchanging. If status differences are seen as stable,
devalued-group members are likely to try individual mobility strategies. If this
is not possible due to impermeable group boundaries, someone will be more
likely to use social creativity strategies.
c. Legitimacy: is not about the opportunity to change the status quo, but about
the motivation to do so. Incorrect assumptions about group-defining
characteristics (women less professional competence), important status-
defining features are ascribed to some groups (men) and not to others under
circumstances where there is no objective reason why this is valid.
People often think the main process of SIT is mere categorization (because of the portrayed
importance of the minimal group studies) and the main outcome is ingroup favoritism. The
significance of the minimal group studies lies in the way it stimulated people to do a new way
of thinking. The studies do not capture the core of SIT.
Inhoudsopgave
Topic 1: Social Identity Theory (SIT)................................................................2
Handbook of theories of social psychology – Social Identity Theory...............................2
Who we are and who we choose to help (or not): An introduction to social identity
theory............................................................................................................................. 6
Lecture 1 – Social identity theory 1.................................................................................7
Lecture 2 – Social Identity Theory 2................................................................................8
Topic 2: Social categories: stereotypes, prototypicality and indispensability. . .11
Lecture 3 - SCT............................................................................................................. 11
Stereotypes: Content, Structures, Processes and Context (Chapter two).....................13
Topic 3: Realistic Group Conflict Theory.........................................................17
Privilege on the Precipice: Perceived Racial Status Threats Lead White Americans to
Oppose Welfare Programs............................................................................................17
Lecture 4 – Realistic group conflict theory (RGCT)........................................................18
Topic 4: Contact Theory................................................................................20
Does personal contact with ethnic minorities affect anti‐immigrant sentiments?
Evidence from a field experiment.................................................................................20
The contact hypothesis re-evaluated............................................................................21
Lecture 5 – Contact theory part 1.................................................................................22
Lecture 6 – Contact theory II......................................................................................... 24
Topic 5: RWA & SDO......................................................................................28
Lecture 7...................................................................................................................... 28
A dual-process motivational model of ideology, politics, and prejudice........................33
Social Dominance Theory............................................................................................. 34
Topic 6: Measuring prejudice.........................................................................35
Lecture 8: Measuring.................................................................................................... 35
Taking stock of explicit and implicit prejudice...............................................................38
Traditional Explicit Prejudice Measures.........................................................................38
Prevalence of Prejudice.................................................................................................39
Social Desirability Bias: The tendency of respondents to give “politically correct”
answers instead of revealing true prejudices................................................................39
Topic 7: Moral foundations theory.................................................................40
Lecture 9 – Moral foundations theory (MFT)..................................................................40
, Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets or moral foundations........................43
Topic 8 – Social norms...................................................................................44
Lecture 10 – Social Norms............................................................................................ 44
Changing norms following the 2016 US presidential election: The Trump effect on
prejudice....................................................................................................................... 46
Topic 9 – Territorial concerns.........................................................................47
Lecture 11 – Territorial concerns...................................................................................47
The two routes of collective psychological ownership: Rights and responsibilities
explain intentions to exclude outsiders and engage in stewardship behavior..............51
Topic 10 – Voting for radical parties...............................................................51
The republican Trump voter: a populist radical right voter like any other?...................51
Lecture 12.................................................................................................................... 53
Topic 11 – Bias of the left..............................................................................55
Worldview conflict and prejudice (pages 1 – 39 of chapter 1).......................................55
Lecture 13: Bias of the left............................................................................................57
Topic 12 – Historical narratives......................................................................60
Social representations of history and the legitimation of social inequality: The form and
function of historical negation......................................................................................60
Lecture 14 – Historical narratives.................................................................................62
Topic 1: Social Identity Theory (SIT)
Handbook of theories of social psychology – Social Identity Theory
Henri Tajfel did research to further investigate why people that lived together could come to
see each other as dangerous, rivals or enemies, even when there were no rational or objective
reasons to do so.
He did a series of experiments called the “minimal group studies”: people were assigned to
one of two groups based on an irrelevant criterion or chance. They then had to allocate points
to someone of their own group and someone of the other group.
- Hypotheses: participants were expected to divide points equally
- Result: minimal conditions like these were enough to induce ingroup favoritism. This
became known as the mere categorization effect: merely categorizing people into
groups made them think of themselves and others as ‘us’ and ‘them’ (ingroup vs
outgroup).
- The findings (in 1967) conflicted with the realistic conflict theory (RCT), which
stated that conflict between groups arise from competition over scarce resources. More
research then confirmed the ideas of SIT.
,Social identity: the part of someone’s self-concept that comes from their knowledge about his
membership of a social group (or more than one), combined with the emotional significance
attached to that membership.
SIT, three main issues
1) Psychological processes
a. Social categorization: a common and useful process that clusters people into
groups. It helps us organize socially relevant information and understand and
predict behavior. People in a group are thought to share common centra; group-
defining features. We accentuate differences for people who are in different
groups and ignore individual traits that define uniqueness.
b. Social comparison: typical group features are interpreted and valued based on
how they compare to other relevant groups and their characteristic features.
c. Social identification: is what differentiates objective categories from social
categories. It means that the self is included in some social groups (and shares
features) and excluded from others (and doesn’t share features) = cognitive
awareness. It also includes emotional significance (how much do we care that
we are or are not a part of a social group.
2) Identity management strategies: because membership of certain social groups
influences the self, people are motivated to enhance and retain their positive social
identity (emphasize and secure the ways in which their group is different from others).
a. Individual mobility: individual-level strategy where people escape, avoid ot
deny belonging to their devalued group. Instead, they try to be included in the
group with a higher social standing. People do this by emphasizing how they
are different from other ingroup members. This does not benefit or address the
group. (Example: pursuing a higher education as a migrant).
i. Intra-group comparison: instead of comparing our group to an
outgroup, we are comparing ourselves to other ingroup members. (Yes I
am a garbage collecter but I work harder than others, FE).
b. Social creativity: redefine the ingroup by representing it in a positive way.
People do this by (1) focusing on other dimensions of the intergroup
comparison (focus on friendliness instead of education), (2) including other
groups in the comparison & (3) changing the meaning of low-status group
membership (black is beautiful). This can help people cope but does not
address or change the status around the value of the ingroup.
c. Social competition: group members engage in conflict with the purpose of
changing the status quo. It involves collective action oriented towards the
achievement of change. Groups compete with each other for superiority on a
shared value that reflects upon their mutual social standing.
, 3) Socio-structural characteristics: when do people pursue these different strategies to
maintain or improve social identity.
a. Permeability: the subjective belief that it is possible for individuals to act as
independent agents within a social system. Do people feel like, in spite of their
group defining characteristics, they can achieve a position in society that
reflects their worth as a person, regardless of their groups?
i. If group boundaries feel permeable, someone will be more inclined to
pursue individual mobility.
ii. If group boundaries do not feel permeable, someone will feel bound to
their group and be more inclined to try to change the status quo.
b. Stability: some differences between groups are seen as fluid, while others are
regarded as stable and unchanging. If status differences are seen as stable,
devalued-group members are likely to try individual mobility strategies. If this
is not possible due to impermeable group boundaries, someone will be more
likely to use social creativity strategies.
c. Legitimacy: is not about the opportunity to change the status quo, but about
the motivation to do so. Incorrect assumptions about group-defining
characteristics (women less professional competence), important status-
defining features are ascribed to some groups (men) and not to others under
circumstances where there is no objective reason why this is valid.
People often think the main process of SIT is mere categorization (because of the portrayed
importance of the minimal group studies) and the main outcome is ingroup favoritism. The
significance of the minimal group studies lies in the way it stimulated people to do a new way
of thinking. The studies do not capture the core of SIT.
