Prejudice

Today

- the classical psychological approach to prejudice

- definitions

- issues in studying prejudice

- prejudice and health

 : classical psychological research

 : big data research

The classical Psychological approach to Prejudice : Definitions

- prejudice : an evaluation or emotion toward someone based solely on their group membership

- discrimination : behavior that advantages or disadvantages certain people based on their group membership

- racism : a broad ( and not easily defined ) concept that includes the prejudice and discrimination of individuals and also larger social systems that unfairly disadvantage certain groups ( systemic / institutional racism )

 ex. biases in hiring, housing, health care

The classical Psychological approach to Prejudice : Problem with Self-report

: While members of many ethnic/racial groups in the US experience racism, few people are willing to admit that they are racist when they are asked about it on self-report questionnaires.

-   They may not be aware of their own racism.

-   They may not be willing to admit it.

The classical Psychological approach to Prejudice : Solutions to problems with Self-report

1. Make questions less obvious

2. Use implicit measures ( ex. Implicit Association Test )

Measuring Prejudice : The Big Data Solution _ Stephens - Davidowitz, 2014

- Use number of searches for the n-word* / total searches for a given geographical area as a measure of prejudice in that area.

: using Google Trends

: correlation of .6 with a different indirect measure of prejudice (support for a law banning interracial marriage)

( It is customary in the US to use this euphemism instead of the actual word because it is considered so unacceptable and offensive. If you are not sure what it means, you can look up “What is the n-word?” online. It is usually used as a slur to refer to African Americans. )

Prejudice and health

- US Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

- Life Expectancy at Birth

Classical Psychological Study : Racism and health _ Brondolo Et Al, 2011

Method : Asian ( 46% ), Black ( 35% ), and Latinx adults ( 18% ; total N =734 )

- more women than men

- self-reported health

- perceived discrimination

 : Because of your ethnicity or race

  : how often have you been kept out of a public place or group?

  : how often have you been treated unfairly by co-workers or classmates?

Results : Significant negative relationship between self-reported health and perceived discrimination.

- across all three groups

- partly because people who perceived more discrimination also reported being more anxious and depressed

Big Data Research on Prejudice : Mortality _ Chae Et Al, 2015

- greater racism (as indicated by google searches) associated with higher African American mortality rates

 : # of deaths of African American people within each area

- still holds when covariates are included

 : age, sex, socioeconomic status

- explanation : being the target of racism is stressful and chronic stress is hard on the body

Big Data Research on Prejudice : Infant Birth Outcomes _ Chae El Al, 2018

Theory : racism in the US has led to African Americans living in neighborhoods that are worse in terms of physical conditions (including toxins and pollutants), poverty, and crime

- this affects diet, exercise, smoking, access to medical care

- racism also causes chronic stress during pregnancy

:

- examined measure of prejudice’s association with low birthweight and preterm birth

- covariates–maternal age, socioeconomic status

- Found a significant relationship between racism and low birthweight and preterm births

- caveat–correlational