PSY322H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Gordon Allport, Ethnocentrism, White Privilege
Document Summary
Chapter 1- introducing the concepts of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. In the united states" criminal justice system punishments are harsher for blacks than for whites and a higher percentage of blacks are in jail. Psychological research shows that race, sex, and age are primary categories for organizing information about other people and they are likely to be the first pieces of information people take in about another. Do so without thinking and based on quick reading. our snap judgments can lead to stereo- typic assumptions. Historical events, both recent and more distant, demonstrate how quickly views of other social groups can change. For ex atttiudes toward middle easertns changed after. 9/11. there are very few true bio- logical distinctions between what scientists define as racial groups. Moreover, the categories white and non-white shift with social conventions that, themselves, change over time. Italians, jews, and irish were once considered a differen race and now considered white.
