Verified Document

Stereotype And Prejudice The Effects Term Paper

The current study investigates two questions: a) do positive self-affirmations influence the likelihood of individuals holding prejudicial and stereotypical beliefs? And b) are suggested self-concepts projected onto others who are often stereotyped? It is hypothesized that positive self-affirmations will result in reduced stereotypical and prejudice beliefs. It is also hypothesized that positive self-concepts (high intelligence) through suggestion will result in the projection of these concepts onto others that are often stereotyped, resulting in the belief that others are intelligent as well.

Method

Participants

200 undergraduate university students participated in this study in order to fulfill course credit for an introductory psychology course.

Procedure

Half of the participants received a bogus spatial orientation exercise to complete and were told that it was a test of intelligence. Upon completion of the task, they were all told that their score indicated that they were of very high intelligence. The remaining participants completed the same exercise, but were not told anything about the nature of the test, and were told nothing in regards to their score. All the participants then read a description of a typically stereotyped individual of an ethnic minority, and were asked to choose from a list of words the characteristics that are attributable to this individual. The list of words contained both positive and negative adjectives. The negative adjectives were words that were consistent with the stereotypes often held against the ethnic minority.

Results

The results of this study indicated that suggesting a positive self-affirmation to participants (high intelligence) caused them to attribute fewer negative stereotypical characteristics to another individual. Moreover, the presence of a positive message about themselves resulted in less prejudicial belief about others. There was a significant difference in the number of negative stereotype responses attributed by participants that received the self-affirming suggestion in comparison to those who did not. These...

These results are demonstrated in Figure 1.
Fig.1

The results also indicated that those participants that received the self-affirmation of high intelligence were significantly more likely than those who were not self-affirmed to attribute this positive characteristic to the stereotyped other in the study. These results are demonstrated in Figure 2.

Fig. 2

Discussion

Both hypotheses in this study were verified by the results. The findings suggest that the promotion of self-integrity through suggestion of a positive, self-affirming belief acts to reduce or diminish prejudicial belief of others. Furthermore, the self-concept targeted by the positive suggestion, which in this study was high intelligence, was in turn projected onto the target ethnic person in the study, who was attributed negative stereotypical characteristics by participants who were not self-affirmed. Previous research investigated the use of defensive projection, or the attribution of negative self-perceived traits onto others, but not positive ones. The findings of this study open the door to further research in this area. The results of this study hold important implications for parents, educators and clinicians who strive to reduce the rampancy of stereotypical and prejudicial beliefs in society.

Reference

Fein, S., Spencer, S. (1997). Prejudice as self-image maintenance: affirming the self through derogating others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 31-44.

Govorun, O., Fuegen, K., Payne, B. (2006). Stereotypes focus defensive projection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(6), 781-93.

Newman, L., Duff, K., Baumeister, R. (1997). A new look at defensive projection: thought suppression, accessibility, and biased person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(5), 980-1001.

Seibt, B., Forster, J. (2004). Stereotype threat and performance: how self-stereotypes influence processing by inducing regulatory foci. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(1), 38-56.

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Fein, S., Spencer, S. (1997). Prejudice as self-image maintenance: affirming the self through derogating others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 31-44.

Govorun, O., Fuegen, K., Payne, B. (2006). Stereotypes focus defensive projection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(6), 781-93.

Newman, L., Duff, K., Baumeister, R. (1997). A new look at defensive projection: thought suppression, accessibility, and biased person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(5), 980-1001.

Seibt, B., Forster, J. (2004). Stereotype threat and performance: how self-stereotypes influence processing by inducing regulatory foci. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(1), 38-56.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Prejudice and Stereotyping Are Not New to
Words: 1507 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Prejudice and stereotyping are not new to society, but alert students (and others who are educated as to the dangers of prejudice) should beware of falling into stereotyping that unfairly passes judgment on others who are not like us. Thesis: While it is nearly impossible for people to avoid placing certain groups and individuals into strict stereotypical categories, nevertheless honest, thoughtful people recognize and avoid the injustices perpetrated by stereotyping. Prejudice

Stereotypes Have Existed Since Time Immemorial. They
Words: 1104 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Stereotypes have existed since time immemorial. They are as old as human culture itself and are beliefs and ideas that a certain group of people hold for those who differ from themselves. A stereotype can exist in a simple word for example "nerd" or in a collection of words and images which are evoked when others hold similar opinions. Stereotypes can be positive, however, most of the times they are

Prejudice and Stereotyping As Depicted in the Movie "Crash"
Words: 596 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Prejudice and Stereotypes: The Movie 'Crash' 'Crash' brings out the various cultural and social differences that humans encounter in their day-to-day operations and depicts how these differences affect their instincts, impulses and the perspectives they hold about members of other groups. Prejudice and stereotyping come out as the drivers of perspective in today's society and are viewed as thoughts that everyone has felt at some point in time. The movie begins with

Stereotypes Practitioners of Certain Religions Have Faced
Words: 1319 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Stereotypes Practitioners of certain religions have faced prejudiced and stereotyped ideas about the personages because of the negative affiliations of their religion. Perhaps no religion is as stereotyped as the religion called Islam. Islam, antithetically to what the majority of ignorant people believe, is "a religion of ethics, obedience, harmony, and is based on a faithful belief system" (Hossain). It is a religion that promotes peace and the toleration of others.

Stereotypes We Are All Guilty of Judging
Words: 1010 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Stereotypes We are all guilty of judging others based on a wide range of traits we perceive in them. In so doing, we end up attaching (wrongly) certain traits to such individuals. In this text, I concern myself with stereotyping, its meaning, and the effects it has on those who experience it. Common Stereotypes According to Schneider (2005), "stereotypes are qualities perceived to be associated with particular groups or categories of people." In

Prejudice Human Beings Engage in
Words: 1879 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

In terms of explicit prejudice, the aftermath of the Holocaust and the subsequent development of psychological theories of prejudice demonstrate the importance of social pressure in deterring explicit prejudices. Explicit prejudice is essentially the blatant expression of implicit prejudices, because all explicit behaviors ultimately have their root in implicit attitudes and ideologies. By increasing social pressure against explicit examples of prejudice, it becomes easier to confront the implicit prejudices

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now