Theoryofthesocialrepresenta1ons:stereotypes
andprejudices
MODULE2Topic3
CONTENT
I.Socialrepresenta;ons II.Stereotypes
III.Prejudices
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SocialRepresenta;ons
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SocialRepresenta;on
Concept Theory
Polysemic
Jodelet’sDefini;on
Moscovici’sDefini;on
As
Social theory of knowledgethat allows us to explaincogni;veandsocialprocesseswithwhichrealityisbuilt.
“It is easy to no,ce the reality of socialrepresenta,ons, it is not easy tounderstand the concept” (Moscovici, inIbáñez,1988)
Others(Farr,
Branchs,etc.)
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SocialRepresenta;ons
MODULE2.Culturaldiversityandinterethnicrela;ons.Topic3:Theoryofthesocialrepresenta;ons:stereotypesandprejudices
“Larepresentaciónsocialesunamodalidadpar,culardeconocimiento,cuya funcióneslaelaboracióndeloscomportamientosylacomunicaciónentrelosindividuos.La representaciónesuncorpusorganizadode conocimientos yunade lasac1vidadespsíquicas gracias a las cuales los hombreshaceninteligiblelarealidad<sicaysocial,seintegran en un grupo o en una relaciónco,diana de intercambios, liberan lospoderesdesuimaginación”
(Moscovici,1979)
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Aswehavehighlighted,definingtheconceptofsocialrepresenta;onisadifficulttaskduetothecomplexityoftheterm.Twoofthebestdefini;onsproposedaretheonesofJodelet(1968)andMoscovici(1973):
Thesestructureshelpustounderstandandinterpretwhatwedointheworld.
“The concept of social representa,onentails an specific knowledge, commonsense,whichhascontents thatmanifestgenera,veandfunc,onalprocessesthatare socially characterised. In a widersense,wecantalkaboutsocialthinking.Social representa,ons createmodali,esof prac,cal thinking that are orientedtowardscommunica1on,understandingand control of the social environment,materialaswellasideal”.
(Jodelet,1968)
“A social representa,on is a system ofvalues, ideasandprac,ceswitha twofoldfunc,on: first, to establish an orderwhichwill enable individuals to orientatethemselves in their material and socialworld and to master it; and secondly toenable communica,on to take placeamong members of a community byproviding them with a code for socialexchange and a code for naming andclassifying unambiguously the variousaspects of theirworld and their individualgrouphistory”
(Moscovici,1973)
Peoplesociallyinteractaccordingtothesocialrepresenta;onstheyhaveoftheobjectsthatsurroundthem.
Characteris;csofthesocialrepresenta;onsTheymakereference
toobjectsTheycanmakepresentsomethingthatisonlyatamentallevelandthatismateriallyabsentinreality.
Theyhavefigura;veandsymbolicaspects
Theyarepsychologicalconstruc;onsof
reality
Theyhaveasocialcharacter
Theyareawayofnaturalthoughtorcommonsense
Theyhaveanaffec;vedimension
Theyareaguideforourbehaviour
Knowledgebecomesanimage,towhichasenseandameaningisgiven.
The subject does not copy reality but ac;vely elaborates, interprets andreinterprets it. This perspec;ve of reality is built upon social interac;on andknowledge.Ittransgressesgenera;onsthroughsocialisa;on,duringwhichtheinforma;onisreinterpretedandtransformed.
Theyareelaboratedandsharedbythegroupwith theaimofclassifyingandknowingasocialobjectinordertoaddittotheirdailylife.
Itisnotaboutins;tu;onalisedknowledgebutknowledgethatisdailycreatedin the community. By sharing informa;on between members and thedivulga;oninmassmedia,newelementsareaddedthatwith;mewillbecometruthstothecommonsense.
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Emo;onsandaffec;onsofapersonthatinfluencehis/herperspec;veandelaboratenewknowledgeaboutreality.
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ElementsinSocialRepresenta;ons
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Socialrepresenta;on
Informa)onaboutthe
socialobject
Object(Situa;on,event,
character,place,etc.)
Subject(individual,family,
group,etc.)
It has a figura;ve, symbolic andaffec;vedimension.D ifferent sources : cu l ture ,ideology, previous experiences,socialcondi;ons,etc.
Itelaboratesasocialrepresenta;onfromt h e r e l a ; o nbetween the socialobject and anothersubject.
Social representa,ons have a socialobject that is formed in the rela,onbetweendifferent subjects.On theseobjects,contentsandinforma,onarecreated and shared between theelements of the group and areinheritedbyfollowinggenera,ons.
The social object is the centrale l e m e n t o f t h e s o c i a lrepresenta;on.This representa;on is created fromthe informa;on that the contactwiththeobjectprovides.
Func;onsofsocialrepresenta;ons
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Integra,ng the novelty to the set of knowledge that one has, makingfamiliarwhatisunknowntous.
Interpre,ng and building reality: understanding the world impliesinterpre;ng what is known to us and elabora;ng our own interpretedreality(representa;ons)
Guidingtheconducts:thedecisionsthatpeoplemakeareinfluencedbytherepresenta;onscreatedaboutthesocialobject.
Crea,onofpersonalandgroupiden,,es
AccordingtoJodelet(1989)andIbañez(1988):
• When a group shares social representa;ons about certain social objects (elaborated from theinterac;onofmembers in apar;cular cultural, social andhistorical context) these representa;onsaredifferentfromtheonesofothergroupsthatliveunderdifferentcircumstances.
• This fosters a sense of belonging and highlights the difference between the endogroup and theexogroup,whichisessen;alforthecrea;onofthegroupandourpersonaliden;ty.
StereotypesASTEREOTYPEisdefinedas“ageneralbeliefaboutgroupsofpeople,speciallyabouttheirpsychologicalandpersonalityfeatures“(Matsumoto&Juang,2012).
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Elabora)ng stereotypes means labelling the members of a group, crea;ng thendifferencesbetweenmembersofothergroups.Ithelpsustouseinforma;onaboutothergroups.
Thefunc)onofstereotypes
• Individualfunc;onSimplifyingrealityanddefendingpersonalvalues.
• Socialfunc;onExplaininggroupeventsthatoccuratabigscale.Jus,fyingac,onsagainstothergroups.Differen,a,ngfromothersinaposi,veway.
Keepingtherela;onships
betweengroups
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THEADAPTIVEVALUEOFTHESTEREOTYPE
Essen;altothesocialisa;onofaperson
Ithelpstoreachabekerunderstandingoftheworld
Itarisesasenseofsocialbelongingwhenweiden;fy
ourselveswiththestereotypesofagroup
Itfacilitatessocialiden;ty Itsimplifiesrealityandsavesustheeffortand;meof
analysingit
Itallowsustomakefuturepredic;ons
Stereotypes
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CHARACTERISTICSOFSTEREOTYPES
Theyimplyvalua;ons(posi;ve
ornega;ve)
Theyareautoma;callyac;vated
Theyuseincompleteinforma;on
Theycanbemodified,butthiscanbedifficult
Peoplemaydevelopbiases:
MODULE2.Culturaldiversityandinterethnicrela;ons.Topic3:Theoryofthesocialrepresenta;ons:stereotypesandprejudices
• Endo-groupfavouri;sm• Equalisa;onoftheexo-group• Afundamentalmistakeofakribu;on
“Muslimsareterrorists”
“Japanese are good atmaths”
We are not able to make themdisappearbutwecanfocusontheirmanifesta;onandtrytoconfrontit
Reasons• Theyarecreatedthroughsocial learningorintergenera;onaltransmission.• Theyarebeliefssharedbyabignumberofpeople= it isdifficult tomakechangesintheindividual’scogni;veprocesses.
Stereotypes
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CHANGINGSTEREOTYPES
Models Itconsistsin
Breakingthestereotypes
chain
• Stereotypesaretransmikedtotheindividualsofagroupthroughsocialisa;on.• Strategy:- Make the socialisa;on agents (parents, school, etc.) see the stereotypes theyhaveandtheconsequencesderivedfromtheirtransmission.- Counterac)ngthemessagesthatappearinmassmedia.
Hypothesisofgroupcontact
• Contac;ngpeoplefromothergroupshelpstodiminishstereotypes.
• Strategy:- The stereotype is not erased only by contac)ng the other culture; they areconsideredas“excep;onalcases”andarenotrepresenta;veofthegroup.-Condi)onsinwhichthecontactmusttakeplace:*Thegroupsincontactmustbesimilar(social,workoreconomicstatus)*Thesitua,onmustleadtocoopera,onandworkinordertoachieveacommongoal.*Informalcharacterofthecontact * A non discrimina,ng context nor a context from which one of the groups maybenefit.*Duringtheinterac,on,therehastobeadiscussionofmistakenbeliefs.*Thepeopleinvolvedinthecontactmustfitinaprototypeprofileoftheirgroup.
• Strategylimita;on:Itisdifficulttomeetwithallthecondi;onsrequired.
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Stereotypes
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CHANGINGSTEREOTYPES
Models Itconsistsin
Recategorisa)on
• Stereotypes are created, specially, when one perceives a person as amemberofothergroup/category.Thesepercep)onscanbemodified.
• “Model of the common endo-group iden;ty” Strategy: if subjects fromdifferent groups start to see each other as members of the same group,theiraqtudescanbemoreposi;ve;itpromotesgroupcontact.
• It is different from theHypothesis ofGroup Contact because subjects seethemselvesasmembersofasuperiorcategoryorendo-group(intheothermodel they see each other as members of the same category) => Biggergeneralisa;on.
• Limita;ons:-In situa;ons where a new difference appears (us-them), a newcategorisa;onoccursandthesocialiden;tyoftheendo-groupisrecovered.-It ispossible that in specific situa;ons, thecrea;onofa superior categorythatinvolvesallthesubjectisnotachievable.
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Stereotypes
PrejudicesPREJUDICESareaFtudesthatimplynega)vevalua)ons(some;mestheycanbeposi;ve)aboutthemembersofagroup(LópezZafraetal.,2008).
Thejudgementsarenotbasedonprevious,directorrealexperienceswiththeelementsofa group. Many of the prejudicial behaviours, as well as stereotypes, are originated ortransmikedduringthesocialisa;onprocessinchildhood.
Therela;onbetweenprejudicesandstereotypes isnot inevitable,whichmeansthat theexistenceofstereotypesisnotnecessarilythecauseofaprejudicialaqtude.
Whilst stereotypes are automa;c results of the daily cogni;ve process, prejudices anddiscrimina;onaren’t,andsotheycanbemanaged.
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Thepercep;onofothersiscreatedaccordingtothestereotypeswehaveofthem.
Me?Prejudices? DON’TBESILLY!! When have I said something badabout those filthy negros, eh? Tellme!,When?!
Typesof(morecommon)prejudices
Physicalappearance Age Gender
Cultural/ethnicorigin
Na;onality/region
Disability/disease
Ideology Economicstatus Sexualorienta;on
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Prejudices
MODULE2.Culturaldiversityandinterethnicrela;ons.Topic3:Theoryofthesocialrepresenta;ons:stereotypesandprejudices
Rela;onshipstereotype-prejudice-discrimina;on
Prejudice Stereotype
Discrimina)on
Nega)vevalua)onofapersonorgroup
BeliefSocioculturalrepresenta;onofagroup
Nega)veAFtude/conduct
towardsagrouporaperson
i.e.«IdonotlikePolishpeople».
i.e.«Polishpeopledrinkalot,theyareverycold
andserious»
i.e.«IhatePolishpeopleandIdonotwanttovisittheircountryorknowtheir
culture»
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ResourcesFilmsaboutprejudices
• «Europa,Europa»,byAgnieszkaHolland• «ShophieScholl»,byMarcRothemund• «HotelRwanda»,byTerryGeorge• «LaOla»,byDennisGansel.Seetrailer:h[p://www.videosurf.com/video/la‑ola‑die‑welle‑trai‑ler‑espa‑ol‑75590863?vlt=ffext&vlt_posi,on=inline• “ColorPurple”byStevenSpilberg,USA1985• “Crush.”PaulHaggis,RobertMoresco,USA,Germany,2004
Readings• Stereotyping and impression forma,on: How categorical thinking shapes person percep,on:h[p://kimberlyquinn.net/QuinnEtAl_SAGEHandbook_2003.pdf• SusanT.FiskeandMichaelS.North.MeasuresofStereotypingandPrejudice:BarometersofBias,inpdf:h[p://sta,c1.1.sqspcdn.com/sta,c/f/1605966/24201752/1389641568813/North_Measures.pdf?
token=Lu71xAD0WIDflesEMjrPiFLnr6A%3D• Stereotypesinmassmedia:§ The Impact of Media Stereotypes on Opinions and Aptudes towards La,nos: h[p://www.la,nodecisions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RevisedNHMC.Aug2012.pdf§ PaulMar;n Lester, SusanDente Ross, Images that Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in theMedia,GreenwoodPublishingGroup,2003,e-book:h[p://qaidecuwy.ru/totasudywy.pdf§ Stereotypes in media, presenta,on: hkp://www.slideshare.net/feelgoodinc2024/stereotypes-in-media-45357129§ StereotypesintheMedia–thenandnow,prezipresenta,on:h[ps://prezi.com/mwhacmlosn-a/stereotypes-in-the-media-then-and-now/§ Common Stereotypes of Minori,es in Film and Television, ar,cle: hkp://racerela;ons.about.com/od/hollywood/tp/Common-Stereotypes-Of-Minori;es-In-Film-And-Television.htm
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BibliographyandreferencesReferences• Ibáñez,T.(1988).Ideologíasdelavidaco,diana.Barcelona,Spain:Sendai.
• Jodelet,D.(1986):Larepresentaciónsocial:fenómenos,conceptoyteoría.InMoscovici,S.(Ed.):PsicologíaSocial,II.Pensamientoyvidasocial.Psicologíasocialyproblemassociales(pp.469-494).Barcelona,Spain:Paidós.
• LópezZafra,E.,Berrios,P.,&Augusto,J.M.(2008).IntroducciónalaPsicologíaSocial.Jaén,España:EdicionesdelLunar.
• Matsumoto,D.,&Juang,L.(2012).CultureandPsychology(5taEd.).Belmont,UnitedStates:WadsworthPublishing.
• Moscovici,S.(1973).Foreword.InC.Herzlich(Ed.):HealthandIllness.ASocialPsychologicalAnalysis.London,England:AcademicPress.
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Bibliography• Allport,G.W.(1954).TheNatureofPrejudice.Oxford,England:Addison-Wesley.
• Brown,R.J.(1995).Prejudice:Itssocialpsychology.Oxford,England:Wiley-Blackwell.
• Mikulincer,M.,&Shaver,P.R.(2015).APAHandbookofPersonalityandSocialPsychology.Vol.2:GroupProcesses.Washington,D.C.,UnitedStates:AmericanPsychologicalAssocia;on.
• Navas,M.,GarcíaM.,Rojas,A.J.,Pumares,P.,&Cuadrado,I.(2006).Ac;tudesdeaculturaciónyprejuicio:laperspec;vadeautóctonoseinmigrantes.Psicothema,18(2),187-193.
• Navas,M.,Pumares,P.,Sánchez,J.,García,M.C.,Rojas,A.J.,Cuadrado,I.,Asensio,M.&Fernández,J.S.(2004).Estrategiasyac,tudesdeaculturación:laperspec,vadelosinmigrantesydelosautóctonosenAlmería.Seville,Spain:JuntadeAndalucía,DirecciónGeneraldeCoordinacióndePolí;casMigratorias.
• Nelson,T.D.(Ed.)(2016).HandbookofPrejudice,Stereotyping,andDiscrimina,on.(2ndEd.).NewYork,UnitedStates:PsychologyPress.
• Oakes,P.J.,&Haslam,S.A.(1994).StereotypingandSocialReality.Oxford,England:Wiley-Blackwell.
• Swin,J.K.&Stangor,C.(Eds.)(1998).Prejudice:TheTarget’sPerspec,ve.SanDiego,CA,UnitedStates:AcademicPress.
• Tajfel,H.(1969).Cogni;veaspectsofprejudice.JournalofSociologyIssues,25(4),79-97.
• Tajfel,H.(1982).Socialpsychologyofintergrouprela;ons.AnnualReviewofPsychology,(33),1-39.
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Bibliographyandreferences