Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

CHAPTER 14:Social and Cultural Groups

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Social and Cultural Groups

Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Multicultural Perspectives

Intergroup Discrimination

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Cross-Cultural PerspectivesCultural Diversity: A Fact of Life

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism:A Tale of Two Cultural WorldviewsIndividualism

A cultural orientation in which personal goals and preferences take priority over group allegiances

Collectivism A cultural orientation in which cooperation

and group harmony take priority over purely personal goals

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism

Self-conceptionsPeople from individualistic

cultures see themselves as individualistic and distinct from others (top).

People in collectivist cultures see themselves as interdependent, part of a larger social network (bottom).

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism Self-Conceptions: Uniqueness or Conformity?Which subfigure

within each set do you prefer?

U.S. Americans like those that “stand out” as unique.

Koreans like those that “fit in” with the group.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Cross-Cultural Perspectives Individualism and Collectivism

Bilingual students in Hong Kong completed “I am ___” sentences in English or Chinese.

Students responding in English focused more on personal traits.

Students responding in Chinese focused more on group affiliations.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Multicultural Perspectives Acculturation and Ethnic IdentityAcculturation

The process by which individuals are changed by their immersion in a new culture

Ethnic Identity The part of a person’s identity that is defined by an

ethnic heritage, language, history, customs, and so on

Acculturative Stress The stress and mental-health problems often found in

immigrants trying to adjust to a new culture

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Multicultural Perspectives Acculturation and Ethnic Identity

Acculturation Strategies

Identification with Host Culture

Weak Strong

Strong Separation Integration

Iden

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thni

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roup

Weak Marginalization Assimilation

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Multicultural Perspectives Acculturation and Ethnic Identity Cultural Identity and Acculturative StressHispanic American

college students answered questions about Hispanic and American identities and acculturative stress.

Students who embraced both cultures reported less acculturative stress.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination

Discrimination Behavior directed against persons

because of their affiliation with a social group

Stereotype A belief that associates a group of people

with certain traits

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationStereotypes: The Cognitive Roots

Stereotypes are Formed Via Two Processes Social Categorization

• The classification of persons into groups based on common attributes

Outgroup-Homogeneity Bias• The tendency to assume that “they”

(members of groups other than our own) are all alike

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationStereotypes: The Cognitive Roots

Is Stereotyping Inevitable? People can bring stereotypes into mind automatically,

without awareness, and stereotypes can bias judgments of others.

However, people can stop themselves from using stereotypes as a basis of judging others.

• By encouraging people to take the perspective of someone from a stereotyped group

• By imagining individuals who do not fit the stereotype

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationPrejudice: The Motivational Roots

PrejudiceNegative feelings toward others based solely on their membership in a certain group

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationPrejudice: The Motivational Roots

Two Major Motivational Theories of Prejudice Realistic-Conflict Theory

• The theory that prejudice stems from intergroup competition for limited resources

Social-Identity Theory• The theory that people favor ingroups and discriminate against

outgroups in order to enhance their own self-esteem This theory helps explain Ingroup Favoritism

– The tendency to discriminate in favor of ingroups over outgroups.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationPrejudice: The Motivational Roots

Social Identity Theory

Personal identity and social identity both contribute to self-esteem.

Viewing and treating ingroups more favorably than outgroups can boost self-esteem.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationPrejudice: The Motivational Roots Social Identity Theory

Social-identity theory makes two predictions: Threats to self-esteem should increase the need

to show prejudice Expressions of prejudice should restore one’s

self-esteem

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationPrejudice: The Motivational Roots Derogation in the Service of Self-Esteem I Subjects were given positive

or negative feedback, then rated a female job applicant they thought was Jewish or Italian.

Subjects with lowered self-esteem, due to negative feedback, rated the Jewish woman lower than the Italian woman.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup DiscriminationPrejudice: The Motivational Roots Derogation in the Service of Self-Esteem II

Subjects given negative feedback who could belittle the Jewish woman showed an increase in self-esteem.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America

Racism A deep-seated form of prejudice that is

based on the color of a person’s skin Difficult to assess Racist acts can be subtle Best strategy is to use indirect questions and

measures (e.g., reaction time, the speed of responses)

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America The Implicit Association Test (IAT)

The IAT detects implicit attitudes about African Americans by the speed it takes to respond to black-bad/white-good pairings compared to black-good/white-bad pairings.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America

Racial Disparities in Medical Care

Black patients were less likely to receive many types of medical care compared to White patients.

This discrimination occurred regardless of socioeconomic status.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in America

White and nonwhite people disagree about the degree of racism that still exists.

Professional athletes were surveyed and large differences were found in who believed that black athletes were discriminated against.

63% of black athletes 2% of white athletes

See same trend in the U.S. military.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in AmericaThe Treatment Subjects worked in separate three-person groups.Groups were brought together for a neutral or a

cooperative interaction.Subjects working on the neutral task showed

favoritism in evaluating members of their own group.Subjects working on the cooperative task showed no

favoritism. “They” became a part of “Us”

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in AmericaThe Treatment: The Contact Hypothesis

The proposition that in certain conditions, direct contact between members of rival groups will improve relations

The necessary conditions are: The groups should have equal status There should be personal interactions among the

individual members The groups should have a common goal that

requires cooperation The contact should be supported by social norms

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Intergroup Discrimination Racism in AmericaThe Treatment: The Contact Hypothesis A successful example is the “jigsaw classroom”. In this model, everyone needs everyone else if the

individual and the group as a whole are to succeed.Compared to schoolchildren in traditional classes, those

in jigsaw classrooms: Liked each other more Were more tolerant Liked school more Had higher self-esteem And, test scores improved for minority children