“Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes”

Biological Research on the Origins of Prejudice

Hart (2000) white and black participates give subliminal glimpses of ethic groups increased activity in the amygdala-no noticeable change in emotional state

Implicit Association Test( Banaji and Greenwald, 1988)

Fiske (2007) placed in MRI shown pictures of people with disabilities, rich businessmen, older people etc. Brains reacted with disgust when shown homeless (insula brain area that reacts to NON Human objects) brains did not react to homeless as human

Cognitive Research on the Origins of Prejudice

Tversky and Kahnermann (1982) heuristics-short cuts to decision making Availability Heuristics (stereotypes)

Social Cognition based on schemas Darley and Gross (1983)

Impression Management Theory(Tedeschi and Rosenfield 1981) attitude change is an attempt to avoid social anxiety and embarrassment or protect positive view of own identity

Devine (1989) low prejudice person put in with stereotypical member of a group reacted according to the cultural norm but expressed guilt afterward

Sociocultural Research on the Origins of Prejudice

Actor-Observer Bias-in group members are successful because of who they are-out group members are unsuccessful because of who they are

Sherif (1961) Robbers Cave Experiment. Superordinate goals-urgent situation that effected both groups

Sherif’s experiment was an illustration of Allport’s (1956) contact hypothesis

Contact hypothesis was the idea that by assembling people of the same race, color, religion, or national origin stereotypes would be destroyed and friendly attitudes developed.

Interactionist Approach to Racism

Origins of prejudice is multifactorial

Biological factors: Response from the

amygdala Evolutionary

advantageous, to protect our genes from the out group

Cognitive factors Availability heurisitcs Roles of perception Cognitive dissonance

Sociocultural factors Stereotyping (social

cognition) Fundamental

attribution error Contact hypothesis