Social RelationsHow does psychology “play into” how

we see each other, how we interact with, and how we treat each other???

Two truths, one lie.

• Five volunteers to play.

• “Walk a Mile in his shoes” about stereotyping and prejudging.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ1YteCv5M (clean version)

Stand-pair-share questionsChoose at least two questions as a group of three to comment on. Be prepared to give a

“One Minute” summary speech to the class about what you discussed.

• Do we treat each other equally in the United States? Explain your opinion.

• How do you feel about having to put your race down on some forms? Why?

• If Eminem feels like he identifies more with African-Americans, is it ok for him to check that “box”?

• What is something that someone might “assume” (stereotype) about you based on your outward appearance?

• Comment on social/race relations at Sprayberry?

In America today…• Race and class are the two biggest socially

dividing factors.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy• Simply put, we behave

the way we think others believe we behave.

• Conversely, expectations about others can influence the way those others behave.

• How does this “play” into social relations? Racism?

Stereotype Threat Phenomenon

• Stossel video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASDzcvyatgw

Reasons for stratification.

• Race.• Class.• Religion.• Gender.• Ethnicity/nationality

(ethnocentrism)• Can you think of any

others?????

Race relations in America

•“Prejudice is what fools use for reason. It is easy to hide behind, just like ignorance.”

-Voltaire

Racism is…

• Belief that one racial category is different… either inferior or superior to another.

• Usually racism comes about because one group needs a scapegoat… someone to blame their troubles on.

• Racism can practiced by both those in the majority and those in the minority.

• It can take generations to change the tide of racism.

Ethnicity is…• A shared cultural heritage. You can also be multi-ethnic.• Think of it as the food you eat, the norms you have, the

holidays you celebrate, etc• It is the culture and set of customs that you identify with. – Examples:• Irish • Dutch• Ethiopian• Cherokee• Cantonese• Jewish (religious affiliation can be ethnicity as well)

Ethnocentrism is…

• The belief that ones cultural identity… music, food, religion, dress, language, etc is superior to that of others.

• The opposite of ethnocentrism is “cultural relativism”.

• *** Be this way!!! » Not ethnocentric.

Prejudice is…

• Comes from word to pre-judge…make an assumption before even knowing.

• Is a generalization about an entire category of people. They are prejudgments that can be positive, but are usually negative.

• PREJUDICE = an ATTITUDE • DISCRIMINATION = ACTION based on prejudice.

LADDER OF PREJUDICE• Extermination/ Genocide

• Attack

• Discrimination

• Avoidance

• Speech

Stereotype is…• Very similar to prejudice, but it is an exaggerated

description not an attitude. It is the stereotype that leads to the prejudice.

• It is usually an unfavorable generalization about an entire group of people passed down through society.

• Like prejudice, can be positive also (rarely). • Examples:

– All Italians have tempers.– Poles are not smart.– All Asians are good at math.

– Stereotyping can sometimes make YOU look like the idiot…– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ

Institutional discrimination

• Accepted social arrangements that put a group at a disadvantage.

• Examples:– A fire department requires applicants be 5’9” or

taller.– Children of alumni receive preference for college

admission.

Food for thought. Experiments in racial attitudes and racism.

• We will watch the following videos, and then discuss as a class. Think about and write down a few points you want to make, as everyone in class will be asked to volunteer a comment/thought (30 second speech).

• Doll Study:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPVNJgfDwpw

• Brown Eyes vs. Blue Eyes.• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqp6GnYqIjQ

• Bike thief• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5ZFmglzV4

Curious if you are racist, ethnocentric, prejudiced or even biased?

• Obviously surveys don’t work, but there is an accepted test (actually it is the ONLY psychologically researched and accepted test).

• It is called the IAT test (Implicit Association Test). If you want to take it on your own go to:

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/ or Google “IAT test”. Make sure you get Project Implicit from Harvard University.

The LaPierre Experiment (1943)• When and How Attitudes Influence Our Behavior.

LaPierre wanted to discover if people who had various prejudices / negative attitudes towards the members of various social groups would actually demonstrate these behaviors in their overt/open behavior.

• METHODOLOGY: For approx 2 years LaPierre travelled around the U.S.A with a young Chinese couple. They stopped at 184 restaurants and 66 hotels. They were refused service only once and on the whole received a better than average standard of service from the establishments visited. After returning from 2 years travelling around LaPierre wrote to all the businesses where he and the Chinese couple had dined / stayed. In a letter which gave no indication of his previous visit, he enquired whether they would offer service to Chinese Visitors and the results were as follows: 62% of the businesses responded by saying they would not serve the couple.

• The results demonstrate a tremendous gap between the attitudes expressed by these businesses(mail survey) and their actual behavior when confronted by Chinese guests(in the flesh). LaPierre concluded that there is a sizeable gap between attitudes and behavior (what people say and what they actually do)

• Stand-pair-share: • Why is the date of the experiment important?• Can you think of any modern day groups that may get this

treatment?

Class in America…• FAMILY INCOME DETERMINES CLASS

• Upper Class $1.5 million +• Upper Middle $85,000 +• Lower Middle $45,000 +• Working Class $30,000 +• Lower Class $20,000 +• Poverty $0 to

$19,000• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

• *Lower Middle and Working are the two biggest classes… make up almost 70% of U.S.

When we meet someone, what clues us into their “class”?

• http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20060421/2

• Does it matter??? Is it fair????

“Just World Phenomenon”a.k.a: blame the victim

• People's tendency to believe that the world is just and that people get what they deserve. Because people want to believe that the world is fair, they will look for ways to explain or rationalize away injustice - often by blaming the victim.

• Those with this belief tend to think that when bad things happen to people, it is because these individuals are bad people or have done something to deserve their misfortune. Conversely, this belief also leads people to think that when good things happen to people it is because those individuals are good and deserving of their happy fortune.

• Stand-pair-share: – 1. How does this contribute to social stratification?– 2. Give an example of when this might happen. For example:

“he deserved to be shot, he was wearing a hoodie at night in a high crime area”

Prejudice Discussion QuestionsFill in the following, remembering that prejudice can take many forms… it can occur because of skin color, but also because of gender, hair color, ethnicity, language, age, class, , etc. On a piece of notebook paper (WITHOUT YOUR

NAME ON IT) answer the following. 1. Is it possible to be free of prejudice? Have you ever met anyone who was? 2. Do you think you are prejudiced? Often Sometimes Never 3. Do the opinions of your parents and family affect your views? 4. If a friend of family member were to make a prejudiced comment, would you protest/speak

up?

5. Would you vote for a women president? Yes No

6. Would you vote for a Hispanic-American president? Yes No

7. Would you vote for an African-American president? Yes No

8. Would you vote for an Arab-American president? Yes No 9. Are you offended when you hear an joke about your race or ethnicity? Yes No 10. Have you ever told an ethnic joke or laughed at one? Yes No