Question 1

Imagine that you are trying to describe your co-worker Bob to someone who has never met him. You are pretty sure that Bob is a classic example of an authoritarian personality, but your friend (who has never taken this class) has no idea what that means. Describe this personality type to your friend and also explain the relation between this personality type and prejudice.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine that you are trying to describe...

Question 2

Intergroup interactions arouse the emotions of all parties involved. Provide two reasons why intergroup reactions are so tinged with arousal and anxiety. Next, explain how classical conditioning might play a role in encounters such as these.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Intergroup interactions arouse the emotions of all...

Question 3

Imagine that Richard (a White male) and Leonard (a Black male) are meeting for the first time. What thoughts might be going through each male's mind regarding this interracial encounter, and what might be happening to their stress levels?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine that Richard (a White male) and...

Question 4

A city in the U.K. has recently experienced an influx of immigrants from other countries. A teacher at a school in this city is trying to improve relations among her British students and the students who have recently immigrated. How might this teacher set up a classroom so as to facilitate successful contact?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A city in the U.K. has recently...

Question 5

Participants in a study by Wittenbrink, Judd, and Park (2001) were asked to categorize words presented on a computer screen as English or non-English. Some of these words were related to the stereotype of Blacks or Whites. The results showed that:

Accepted Answer

The study found that participants responded faster to negative Black stereotypic words after they had been subliminally primed with the word BLACK. This suggests that the stereotype of Blacks being associated with negativity had an unconscious influence on the participants' categorization of words as English or non-English.

Question 6

Discrimination can be both positive and negative

Accepted Answer

Discrimination can be positive when it is aimed towards promoting equality or providing affirmative action to marginalized groups. For example, providing scholarships to women or minorities is a positive form of discrimination. However, discrimination can also be negative when it involves unfair treatment or prejudice towards individuals or groups based on their race, gender, religion, etc.

Question 7

In a test of reaction time, students are more likely to shoot unarmed black targets than unarmed White targets. Police officers do not make this same error.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. Studies have found that both police officers and civilians exhibit racial bias in their reaction times, often being quicker to shoot unarmed black targets than unarmed white targets.

Question 8

When people think of an ethnic or national group, their overall impression of the group is shaped more by the stereotype of the males from that group.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as the "male stereotype bias" and has been found in research on perception of different cultural and ethnic groups. People tend to form their overall impression of a group based on the characteristics they associate with men from that group, rather than considering the diversity within the group.

Question 9

People who suppress their use of a stereotype in one domain will experience increased activation of that stereotype in a later domain.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as stereotype rebound. When a person suppresses a stereotype in one domain, it can increase the accessibility of that stereotype in their mind, making it more likely to be used in a later domain.

Question 10

Thinking of strong women and weak men can decrease implicit stereotypes.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that exposing individuals to counterstereotypic examples, such as strong women and weak men, can help reduce implicit stereotypes. This is because it challenges the automatic associations in our brains and allows for more nuanced and diverse representations of groups.

Question 11

The best way to change stereotypes is to introduce people to someone who goes completely against the stereotype.

Accepted Answer

While meeting someone who defies a stereotype can challenge and sometimes change individual perspectives, stereotypes are deeply ingrained in societal structures and beliefs. Changing stereotypes often requires broader, systemic efforts including education, media representation, and policy changes, in addition to personal encounters.

Question 12

Any type of contact can help to reduce stereotypes and prejudice.

Accepted Answer

Contact must be under certain conditions, such as equal status between groups and cooperation towards common goals, to effectively reduce stereotypes and prejudice.

Question 13

Which of the following provides an example of discrimination?

Accepted Answer

Option A is an example of discrimination on the basis of favoritism or bias towards a certain group. Option B is an example of discrimination based on race. Option C is an example of discrimination based on socioeconomic status or where someone comes from. All three examples illustrate different forms of discrimination.

Question 14

_______ is/are defined as the negative or positive evaluations of a social group and its members.

Accepted Answer

Prejudice refers to the overall negative or positive attitudes towards a social group and its members. Stereotypes refer to the beliefs or assumptions about the characteristics of a social group. Discrimination refers to behaving negatively towards a social group or its members. Antipathy refers to a strong feeling of dislike towards a social group or its members.

Question 15

Lonnie thinks that women should be taken care of and nurtured because they are frail and not very smart. Lonnie's beliefs about the characteristics possessed by females is known as:

Accepted Answer

Lonnie's beliefs about women reflect a stereotype - a generalization about a group of people that is often based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Stereotypes can be both positive and negative, but they all involve making assumptions about individuals based on their group membership. In this case, Lonnie's stereotype suggests that women are weak and unintelligent, which is not consistent with reality.

Question 16

Implicit measures, like the IAT, tap people's true beliefs.

Accepted Answer

Implicit measures, such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT), are designed to assess automatic associations rather than "true beliefs." They measure immediate, automatic reactions that may not necessarily align with a person's consciously endorsed beliefs or values.

Question 17

Computers that use synthesized male voices are taken more seriously than computers that use synthesized female voices.

Accepted Answer

This is due to societal biases and gender stereotypes that associate male voices with authority and competence.

Question 18

People waiting in line at a bank would be classified as a social group.

Accepted Answer

People waiting in line at a bank are not interacting in a meaningful way or share a sense of identity, which are key characteristics of a social group. They are simply individuals in the same place for a similar purpose, which does not constitute a social group.

Question 19

In order for a collection of individuals to be categorized as a meaningful social group, both the individual members as well as the people perceiving the group, must agree that the individuals are a part of a social group.

Accepted Answer

A collection of individuals can be categorized as a meaningful social group based on shared characteristics, interactions, or goals, regardless of whether all individuals or outside observers agree on their group membership. Social groups are often identified by sociologists and members based on inherent qualities or commonalities, not necessarily mutual recognition or agreement.

Question 20

All stereotypes are based on a kernel of truth.

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations about groups of people, and while some may be based on observed behaviors or trends, they do not necessarily reflect the complex realities or truths about those groups. Many stereotypes are based on misinformation, bias, or historical prejudices rather than factual or comprehensive truths.

Quiz 5: Perceiving Groups