Stereotype and Prejudice the Effects

Stereotype And Prejudice

The Effects of Positive Self-Affirmations on Prejudice

Prejudice and negative stereotyping has devastating effects on individuals' self-esteem and self-worth, which extends to societal problems on a larger scale. Many conflicts stem from negativity that is born in prejudice. One only needs to turn on the news or glance at a newspaper to gain an understanding of the true scope of prejudice. Due to its seriously pervasive existence, it is important for research to investigate the mechanisms that may underlie the development and maintenance of stereotypes, as well as what purpose they may serve for individuals that hold stereotypical ideas of themselves and others. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects that positive self-affirmation has on stereotypes, and the extent to which self-concept is projected through prejudicial belief.

What functions do stereotypes and prejudice have for individuals that believe in them? Numerous research studies have shown that holding prejudices results in an increase in perceived self-worth and self-integrity (Fein & Spencer, 1997; Govorun, Fuegen & Payne, 2006; Newman, Duff & Baumeister, 1997; Seibt & Forster, 2004). In other words, holding prejudicial beliefs that are consistent with commonly held stereotypes led to individuals' feeling better about themselves, or having an improved self-concept. This phenomenon was investigated in detail by Fein & Spencer (1997), who sought to examine the role that self-image plays in the maintenance of negative perceptions of others and prejudice. These researchers hypothesized that prejudice stems from a motivation of individuals to somehow obtain and maintain feelings of self-integrity and self-worth. By initially administering a self-administration procedure to half of the participants and then examining whether or not they held negative stereotypical beliefs regarding an ethnic candidate for a job outlined in a case study, the researchers were able to test their hypothesis.

The results of this study by Fein & Spencer (1997) indicated that self-affirmation has the potential to reduce the likelihood that individuals will express negative stereotypical beliefs regarding minorities. In the group that did not receive the self-affirmation procedure, the likelihood of stereotypical evaluation was increased.

These findings provide the basis for the argument that prejudice is a function of individuals' trying to maintain their self-image or self-concept.

Another concept involved in prejudice and stereotypes is defensive projection. This refers to the process in which individuals perceive their own undesirable qualities in others, especially in the case of stereotypes (Govorun et al., 2006). In a study by Govurun et al. (2006), it was demonstrated that individuals who "experienced a threat to a specific dimension of their self-concept selectively activated this dimension in a stereotype and derogated stereotyped others on this dimension (p.781)." Moreover, individuals who were insecure about something concerning their self-image or self-concept tended to project this perceived negative trait onto others, especially if these others are a typically stereotyped group.

This concept of defensive projection was further explored by Newman et al. (1997), who described a new model of projection that could be utilized to understand this phenomenon. In their study, Newman et al. (1997) hypothesized that by actively suppressing thoughts about their own perception of undesirable personality traits within themselves, these traits somehow become highly accessible. This causes those repressed traits to be used to interpret the behaviors of others. The results of the study indicated that individuals who avoid thinking about and deny having undesirable traits often attributed these same traits to others. In other words, the repression of undesirable traits was demonstrated to result in the projection of these same traits onto other people.

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 findings verified the first hypothesis of the study. These results are demonstrated in Figure 1.