POLI 100M: Poli-cal Psychology Lecture 10: Implicit A;tudes and Race - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

POLI 100M: Poli-cal Psychology

Lecture 10: Implicit A;tudes and Race Taylor N. Carlson Ceenstr@ucsd.edu

Announcements

• Final project is due Saturday, Sept. 9, 11:30am

– Submit to Turn it In on TritonEd – Review the rubric and detailed assignment guidelines on TritonEd

• Office hours this week: today 2:30-4:30.

Last Time

• Poli-cal Networks

– Largely homogeneous, but more disagreement than we would expect – Psychological characteris-cs condi-on the effects

• f disagreement on poli-cal behavior
• Social Media

– Most content is not poli-cal, yet the poli-cal content can be consequen-al – Online networks are more diverse than offline networks – Facilitates affec-ve polariza-on

What ques-ons do you have?

Today: Driving Ques-ons

• What is the difference between implicit and

explicit a;tudes? How do they each impact behavior?

• What are the psychological explana-ons for

racial bias?

• Should we care about psychology in

understanding poli-cs?

Today: Learning Outcomes

• Define the following key terms: implicit

a;tude, explicit a;tude, implicit bias, explicit bias, linked fate, social iden-ty theory, contact hypothesis, self-monitoring

• Describe the psychological mechanisms that

might explain racial bias in the U.S.

• Evaluate whether we should care about

psychology in understanding poli-cs

Race in America

Stereotypes and Prejudice

Stereotypes & Prejudice: Defini-ons

• In-group: a group to which an individual

belongs

• Out-group: any group other than the in-group
• Prejudice: a hos-le or nega-ve a;tude

toward a dis-nguishable group of people, based solely on their group membership

What causes prejudice?

• Is it learned? Or are we born with it?
• Evolu-onary Psychology Research: animals

have a tendency to feel more favorably toward gene-cally similar others and to express fear toward dissimilar organisms

• Social Psychology Research: Culture (parents,

media) move us to assign nega-ve quali-es to people different from us

Social Cogni-ve Perspec-ve: Categoriza-on

• Social categoriza-on simplifies the social

world

• In group favori-sm effect: we evaluate in-

group members more posi-vely, reward them more, and expect beder treatment from them

• Out group homogeneity effect: we see out

group members as different from us, but all the same as one another

Implicit and Explicit A;tudes

• Implicit a;tudes: evalua-ons that occur

without conscious awareness towards an a;tude object or the self

– “introspec-vely uniden-fied (or inaccurately iden-fied) traces of past experience that mediate favorable or unfavorable feeling, thought, or ac-on toward social objects” (Greenwald & Banaji)

• Explicit a;tudes: evalua-ons that are

expressed with conscious awareness toward an a;tude object or the self

Dual Process Model

• Thoughts arise as a result of two processes

– Implicit: automa-c, unconscious

• Very difficult to change, form new habits, form new

implicit associa-ons

– Explicit: controlled, conscious

• Can change with persuasion, educa-on

Dual Process Model: Stereotyping

• 1. When we perceive an individual, salient

stereotypes are ac-vated automa-cally (Implicit)

• 2. Ac-vated stereotypes guide our expressed

(explicit) a;tudes and/or behavior

• When we are mo#vated and cogni#vely able,

we can overcome implicit biases by altering

• ur explicit behavior

When are we likely to stereotype?

• Ambiguous, inadequate informa-on
• Cogni-vely busy
• In a bad mood

How do we learn stereotypes?

• Social Learning Theory

– Parents, peers, teachers

• Children are not born with prejudice, but by age 7 most

show signs of prejudice

• Reinforcement: gender roles, tell kids who to be friends

with, exposure to parent stereotyping behavior

– Media

Social Learning Theory: The Media

• Social Psychology Study

– Par-cipants watched 7 college basketball games and 5 NFL playoff games – 77% of comments made about white players were about intelligence, whereas only about 22.5% of comments about black players were about intelligence – 65% of comments about black players were about athle-cs, whereas only about 12% of comments about white players were about athle-cs

Social Learning Theory: The Media

• Perez (2015) shows several examples of how

the media exposes us to specific associa-ons about minority groups

– Immigra-on and La-nos – Illegal and Immigra-on [and Illegal and La-nos] – Crime and La-nos [other research shows Crime and African Americans as well]

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K i m a n i G r e y s h

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Maddow O'Reilly Jan 2013 Apr 2013 Jul 2013 Oct 2013 Jan 2014 10 20 30 40 10 20 30 40

Date Percent of Show Mentioning Race

Source: Engelhardt 2017

• Topic Attention Difference Between O'Reilly and Maddow

More O'Reilly Attention More Maddow Attention

• Illegal Immigration
• Population

Characteristics

• Race as a Problem
• City/Community Problems
• Deaths of Black Americans
• Racism
• Tea Party racism
• Discrimination
• Immigration Reform
• Civil/Voting Rights

−0.08 −0.04 0.04 0.08

Source: Engelhardt 2017

Examples of Discrimina-on in Poli-cs

Candidate Evalua-ons: Experimental Evidence

• Terkildsen (1993)

– White voters shown three hypothe-cal candidates running for governor: white male, light-skinned black male, dark- skinned black male – White voters were less likely to report vo-ng for the darker skinned candidates

• Kam (2007)

– Implicit nega-ve a;tudes toward Hispanics reduces support for a Hispanic poli-cal candidate in the absence of par-san cues

• Lajevardi working paper

– Par-cipants were less likely to report vo-ng for a Muslim candidate of color than a non-Muslim, white candidate

Candidate Evalua-ons: Observa-onal Data

• Highton (2004)

– Exit poll data from the 1996 and 1998 House elec-ons suggest lidle support for the hypothesis that white voters discriminate against black candidates

• Bullock (2000)

– Precinct-level returns suggest that white support for Black Democra-c incumbents was not different from white support for two most successful white Democra-c candidates – Key advantage in this study is that party is held constant

• Krupnikov & Piston (2015)

– When a prejudiced strong par-san shares the par-sanship

• f a black candidate, s/he is likely to experience a decision

conflict—prejudice and par-sanship in opposite direc-ons —decreasing the likelihood that s/he turns out to vote

Reducing Prejudice

Reducing Prejudice

• Contact Theory

– Coopera-ve Interdependence – Equal Status – Acquaintance Poten-al – Ins-tu-onal Support

• Example: Sherif (1961) Scout Camp

– Used coopera-ve ac-vi-es that required different groups working together – More likely to be friends with people in another group auer the cross-group ac-vi-es

Post-Racial or Most Racial?

Poli-cal Psychology

Topic Ques-on(s) Introduc-on What is poli-cal psychology? Individual Differences How do differences in personality, gene-cs, and psychophysiology impact poli-cal behavior? Vo-ng What are the psychological mo-va-ons behind why people vote and which candidates they support? (Mis)informa-on How do individuals process informa-on? Why do people believe poli-cal rumors? Media What role does the media play in informing the public? Why do individuals choose informa-on sources? Campaigns How do campaigns use psychology to win elec-ons?

Topic Ques-on(s) Irrelevant and Apoli-cal Influences

• n Poli-cal Behavior

Do “irrelevant” events influence poli-cal behavior? Why? Polariza-on Why and how are liberals and conserva-ves different? Social Networks, Poli-cal Discussion, and Social Media Why and with whom do individuals discuss (or avoid discussing) poli-cs? How do individuals engage with poli-cs

• n social media?

Implicit vs. Explicit A;tudes What are the psychological explana-ons for racial bias in poli-cs?

Reflec-ons

• What are the advantages of thinking about

poli-cs from a poli-cal psychological perspec-ve?

• What are the disadvantages of thinking about

poli-cs from a poli-cal psychological perspec-ve?