Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour. Done by: Lynn and Daeun

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1 Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour Done by: Lynn and Daeun

2 Social Categorization -Society is very complex and thus it presents us with too much information -Since our capacity to process information is limited, our social world needs to be simplified through social categorization -The information used in social categorization is stereotypes

3 Stereotypes? -Mental representation and a form of social categorization made about specific individuals or a group and its members -Once a set of characteristics is used to describe a group of people, those characteristics are often attributed to all members of the group, thus affecting the behavior of the people

4 Positive and Negative Stereotypes This generalization may be positive or negative, based on certain group membership or physical attitudes, however most stereotypes of today are negative, exaggerating the quality of individuals that are part of the group leading to discrimination and prejudice.

5 Stereotypes are similar to schemas Stereotypes are now also argued to be a schema process that conditions those who hold the stereotype and also those labelled after the stereotype, as they are organized internal representations of individuals and or groups, therefore guiding how people act towards them

6 Theories of stereotype formation Theories of stereotype formation include social categorization grain of truth hypothesis, and illusory correlation.

7 Old theory: Social Categorization and Social Identity theory Earlier on, Tajfel (1971) argued that stereotypes developed through a natural process of social categorization, which is when people categorize groups of people based on common traits or characteristics

8 Stereotype Threat -Through categorization and by being part of thoughts resistant to change, stereotypes have a tremendous potential to affect a certain group s behaviour negatively, which can be explained by stereotype threat -Stereotype threat occurs when one is in a situation where there is a threat of being judged or treated stereotypically, or a fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype. -Steele (1997) claims that the stereotypes of prejudice is the cause of spotlight anxiety, an emotional stress that inhibits a stereotype-targeted individual"s performance

9 Steele (1997) Method -Addressed students who were affected by "emotional distress" and pressure that may undermine their school performance Findings -Those that were under the stereotype threat often under-performed, which can therefore naturally "limit their educational prospects". Conclusion -This shows how behaviour can be affected by stereotypes in that it manipulates how people think and therefore act. Connection of study to question: -Stereotype threat can affect the members of any social or cultural group, if the members believe in the stereotype. -Therefore believing in such stereotypes can harm the performance of these groups, cause them to underperform and fulfil the stereotype

10 Aronson and Steele (1995) Aim -To investigate the effect of stereotype threat on performance in a test. Method -Gave a 30 minute verbal test to African American and European-American participants. -Tested two groups of the participants and told one group that it was an articulation test whilst the other group was told it was a laboratory task. Findings -African Americans scored lower than the European Americans when they were told it was an articulation test but when told it was a laboratory test the African Americans scored higher than the European Americans. Conclusion -Shows that stereotype threat can affect an individual s performance in a task. Connection of study to question -This can explain why some racial and social groups believe they are more or less intelligent than others.

11 Campbell (1967) Two keys to stereotypes - Personal experiences with groups and people that are stereotyped - Gate keepers: parents, media, other members of our culture Grain of truth hypothesis: Experiences are generalized and passed on to groups as a result of experience shared with an individual of the group or stereotype the group is categorized to - Errors of attribution are common in this theory

12 Hamilton & Gifford (1976) Illusory Correlation (Social Cognitive Theory): Stereotypes are formed through a type of cognitive bias (a person s tendency to make errors in judgement based on cognitive factors), also known as illusory correlation

13 Hamilton & Gifford (1976) Cognitive bias may be relevant to stereotypes - After illusory correlations are formed, people seek to confirm and support their beliefs by looking for evidence in a biased way - Comes in many forms such as culturally based prejudice about social groups - Might cause the reinforcement of previously developed stereotypes, leading to bias or stereotypical thinking resistant to change

14 Hamilton & Gifford (1976) *Key Study for stereotype Aim To investigate illusory correlation of group size and negative behaviour.

15 Hamilton & Gifford (1976) Method Two made up groups, Group A and Group B Participants were instructed to read descriptions based on a number of positive and negative behaviours and attribute behaviours according to the descriptions Group A (majority group): twice more members than B, performing 18 positive and 8 negative behaviour Group B (minority group): performed 9 positive and 4 negative behaviours.

16 Hamilton & Gifford (1976) Results Negative behaviours were attributed to Group B rather than Group A Although there were no correlations between group membership and the type of behaviours that were expressed by the group members and both groups had the same ratio of negative and positive behaviour, participants found a illusion of a correlation between those factors

17 Hamilton & Gifford (1976) Conclusion The findings are based on the idea that distinctive information draws attention Group B members are numerically fewer than Group A members, therefore a illusionary correlation between negative behavior and the number of members is established Evidence for illusory correlations, which leads to stereotypes.

18 Synder and Swann (1978) *Study of Confirmation Bias Method Female participants were told that they would meet a person who was either introverted or extroverted These participants were asked to prepare a set of questions for those people

19 Synder and Swann (1978) Results Study showed that the participants wrote questions that were consistent with those they were expecting to meet Conclusion Questions asked confirmed the participants stereotypes of each personality type (extroversion and introversion) Evidence for illusory correlation, making a biased belief due to our attention only on those beliefs that cover up things that go against those beliefs

20 Conclusion - These studies show the formation of stereotypes through social categorization and illusory correlation - Stereotypes simplify and generalize a group of people - Stereotypes can lead to discrimination and prejudice to affect the behaviour of those who create the stereotype and those who are stereotyped - Stereotypes most often negatively affect people s behaviour - More research is made to investigate how stereotypes are formed and affect behaviour.

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