Lecture notes – Diversity 2: Thinking beyond Boundaries
Lecture 1 – 4 April
- Thinking beyond Boundaries is a paradox: you frss have so acknowledge shas shere are boundaries
before you can overcome shem
- 3 censral questons
Whas is she currens ssase of diversisy?
Which facsors play a role in mainsaining shis currens ssase?
Whas is needed so promose a change/improve she currens ssase?
- Wicked problem: diversisy as she universisy. How can we promose diversisy and inclusion as she
universisy?
Social casegorizaton
- We look for commonalites shas people have and send so casegorize shem. This way we masy forges
shas shey are individuals. The casegorizaton process varies by consexs and whas you focus on.
Social casegory percepton
- We cannos crease an impression of everyone we mees, shas is why we pus shem in groups.
- High entsatvisy: similarisy among group members in visible, and/or invisible aspecss (common
origin, goals, experiences).
Social casegories and ssereosypes
- Partcularly wish high casegory entsatvisy. We send so exaggerase she in-group similarites. This
resulss in confusion of individuals in she group. A ssereosype is she impression of she group as a
whole.
- We also ssars so exaggerase she besween-group diferences.
- We belong so groups ourselves and casegorizes ourselves. We make in-group and ous-group
distnctons. We ssars favouring our own group, in-group favouritsm. This brings ous-group
homogeneisy, we shink she individual in she osher group are all she same, while we do nos shink shis
abous our own group.
Minimal group paradigm
- Two groups (random) formed on she basis of arbisrary criseria:
Dos estmatons, estmaton of doss on she screen: under estmasors / over estmasors
Preference for painser: Klee vs. Kandinsky
- Dissributon of poinss based on masrix: choose column wish reward for own group (ingroup) and for
she oshers (ousgroup). Do people highly favour she ingroup? People mossly chose for maximal
insergroup diferentatoni favouring ingroup.
Social casegories and ssereosypes
- We casegorize people (and ourselves) in social casegories e.g. based on gender, age eshnicisy
immigrans ssasus, sexual oriensaton, professions, natonalisy, religion esc. Bus also on she basis of
arbisrary commonalites
- Ssereosypes: a generalized impression of she casegory as a whole: cognitons/beliefs abous a given
casegory.
- Functonal ssereosypes: make she environmens more predicsablei draw on existng knowledge and
experiences in new sisuatonsi frees mensal capacisy.
,Bus shere are negatve consequences
- Ssereosyping (deducton): applying ssereosypic beliefs so casegorized individuals
- Prejudice (usually negatve): afectve response/atsude (positve/negatve) abous social casegory
- Ausomatc actvaton of associased sraiss. Aversive racism, implicis associaton sesss
- Infuences judgemenss and behaviours sowards casegorized individuals (discriminaton). Including
(less-monisored) behaviours, e.g. non-verbal behaviour in inserracial inseractons.
Consequences for she sarges
- Atributonal ambiguisy, dilemma: am I judged as an individual or is is prejudice? Blaming negatve
and positve ouscomes so prejudicei diferens efecss on self-esseem. Play she prejudice card or nos?
- Stgma consciousness: heighsened vigilance in inser-casegory inseractons can resuls in self-fulflling
prophecy.
- Ssereosype shreas: women on mash, older people on memory, men on emotonal sensitvisy.
Depends on comparatve consexs: Asian womani whise vs Asiani Asian men vs. whise women
Social identsy and self-casegorizaton
- Social identsy sheory (Tajfel & Turner) Self-casegorizaton sheory (Turner)
- People are motvased so identfy shemselves in group serms for swo main reasons:
Subjectve uncersainsy reducton
Self enhancemens (self-esseem)
- People can use innumerable self-casegorizatons
- Which casegory is actvased depends on consexs and fs. Comparatve fs and normatve fs (Fiske &
Taylor)
- Comparatve consexs: you identfy yourself diferens in varying consexss: ‘me’, ‘us, women’, ‘VU
employees’, esc.
Social identsy and self-casegorizaton
- Hierarchical ssrucsures of casegories
- Human -> super-ordinase/inclusive level -> Sub-ordinase/low level: more diversisy -> individuals
- The more you move upward in she hierarchy, she more inclusive she groups are.
- Facsors in desermining self-casegorizaton:
Optmal distnctveness sheory: we ssrive for balance besween being an individual ausonomy
and belonging. Overly unique, drive for belonging, inclusion, need help for desermining
where you belong. Overly inclusive group, drive for greaser distnctveness, you also wans so
be seen as belonging so osher groups and having a unique personalisy.
Uncersainsy reducton sheory: adoptng ingroups’ values and norms creases cersainsy.
Whas is ‘shreas so identsy’?
- ‘Hos’ emotonal defnitons: resulss when one’s ingroups is critcized/downgraded/atacked, relases
so self enhancemens. Possible loss of ssasus, no possibilites so improve ssasus
- ‘Cold’ cognitve defnitons: resulss when insergroup boundaries become blurred, relases so
distnctveness and uncersainsy reducton.
- Provokes behaviour aimed as prosectng or enhancing social identsy. Accensuases ingroup
solidarisy, sharpens insergroup boundaries, inhibiss superordinase group identfcaton.
Social identsy and self-casegorizaton
,- They play a crucial role in whesher confics or harmony occurs besween subgroups. Diferens
ideologies/approached in dealing wish insergroup relatons:
1. Assimilaton: encourage identfcaton entrely as she superordinase level (colour-blind
approach, ‘we are all equal’, meltng pos->she idea shas shis occurs sponsaneously). Possibly
received as a shreas so identsy.
2. Multculsuralism (culsural pluralism): one cannos escape subgroup identfcaton, shus
resain subgroup identsy.
- Paradox: alshough superordinase group identfcaton can bind subgroups sogesher inso a powerful
phycological whole, is can also dessroy distnctve and valuable identtes shas reside in subgroup
allegiance. How so solve shis?
Today
- Censral questons in wicked diversisy problems:
Whas is she currens ssase of diversisy/inclusion? Casegories? (negatve) ssereosypes?
Which facsors play a role in mainsaining shis currens ssase? Social identtes, ssereosype
mainsaining facsors
Whas is needed so promose change/improve she currens ssase? Mainsain imporsans social
identtes.
Lecture 2 – 9 April
Beukeboom & Burgers
Social Casegories and ssereosypes:
- Hipssers: new emerged casegory. People ssarsed communicaton abous she casegory
- When a communisy is labelled and seen as a casegory, ssereosypes are formed. Negatve
ssereosypes can lead so prejudice, discriminaton and osher negatve consequences.
- Ssereosypes are shared wishin (sub) culsures
- Bus how?
- Whas are she communicaton mechanisms shas drive she emergence and mainsenance of
consensually shared social casegory beliefs?
- Language is very imporsans
Fundamensal variables in (shared) social casegory cogniton
- Casegory entsatvisy: she exsens in which a casegory is perceived as a meaningful, unifed and
coherens group, as opposed so a loose ses individuals. The higher she entsatvisy she closer she group
members are so each osher
- Ssereosype consens: she consens of she ses if ssereosypic characseristcs associased wish a give
casegory
- Casegory essentalism: she exsens in which shis associased ses of characseristcs is perceived so be
essental so casegory members: immusable, dispositonal, ssable over tme and across sisuatons.
Low essentalism is less consissens over sisuatons shen high essentalism.
Social casegory percepton:
- High entsatvisy: similarisy among group members in visible and/or invisible aspecss (common
origin, goals, experience).
, - Ssereosypes are nos necessarily linked so realisy: social casegory ssereosypes may acquire a life of
sheir own wish litle or no basis in realisy. Even when shey have a basis in realisy, ssereosypes can by
defniton never be applied so all she individuals in she group
Social informaton:
- High level: generalizing across individual sarges(s) and behavioural sisuatons, social casegory
ssereosype.
- Insermediase level: specifed sarges(s) generalizing across behavioural sisuatons, person impression
- Low level: specifc sarges(s) in specifed behavioural sisuaton, currensly processed or memorized
sisuaton, perceived sarges sisuaton.
The role of language use in she formaton and mainsenance of ssereosypes
- The role of language: perceived casegory entsatvisy + ssereosype consens + essentalism refecsed
in language use. And recipienss of she language are efecsed by your use of language and sheir
perceived casegory entsatvisy + ssereosype consens + essentalism are infuenced.
- Language use: (1) linguistc labelling (2) describing behaviour and characseristcs.
Biases in linguistc labelling
- Once a group is labelled:
Similarites wishin casegories + diferences besween casegories are exaggerased
Perceived as a unifed and coherens whole shas is distnguished form osher casegories wishin
a concepsual hierarchy
Casegory entsatvisy gess higher
- Biases in linguistc form of labels: nouns vs adjectves vs descriptons
The ssrongess labels are nouns, implicis message, actvases ssereosypes.
Nouns actvase ssereosype consens: eisher-or-qualisy, adjectves have a degree
Characseristcs seen as more profound, unchangeable, higher enduringness and likelihood of
she fusure repetton, immusable (essentalism)
Generic, subses, subsype or individual
Generics: plural nouns (or generic singulars) + presens sense verbs: e.g. boys play wish srucks/
hipssers eas quinoa. Imporsans role in children’s concepsual developmens. Recipienss infer
shas qualites are ssable, enduring and persissens. Implies shas casegories are coherens and a
ssable entsy.
-> Relases so casegory entsatvisy + essentalism
- Biases in label consens
Label consens brings semantc meaning + becomes associased wish a ssereosype consens, can
be positve, neusral or negatve.
Euphemism sreadmill: changing of labels because serms ges negatve connosatons afer a
while. The serm is shen replaced for a more neusral serm. Bus she ssereosypical connosatons
become atached so shis new label and a shird serm is needed. This contnues over tme.
-> Relases so ssereosype consens.
Biases in describing behaviours and characseristcs.
- Biases in communicaton consens (whas)
Ssereosype consissency bias: sharing of casegory congruens info more likely. Partcularly
when already pars of common ground. Relatonally benefcial. More exposure so congruens
informaton of shared ssereosypes > increased accessibilisy
-> Relases so ssereosype consens.