4) Prejudice- “a feeling, favorable or unfavorable, toward a person or thing prior to and not based on actual experience”- Generalize feeling- Major reason for ineffective communication, avoid people and groups we don’t likeWhen interacting look for information that will reinforce our initial feelings (dislike) and will perceive information to confirm our initial bias.5) Conscious prejudice- Aware we have it, admit to it, our resulting behaviors are deliberate and intentional6) Unconscious prejudice- Not aware of it, don’t admit to it, resulting behaviors are automatic and spontaneous.- Act without thinking7) Stereotypes- Feeling of disliking or liking, stereotype is a though, a cognition or belief about a group, a belief that a group has certain traits and generalization that all members of the group will have those traits.- Automatically assign perceived group traits to any member of that group, disregarding information that may argue against this generalization8) Conscious stereotypes- Aware of it. Used to deliberately and intentionally guide behaviors toward target groups, aware we have them and admit to having them9) Unconscious stereotypes- Unaware of and don’t know we have them.- Store in memories and are activated spontaneously and unintentionally by triggers or stimuli in the environment10) Dimensions of stereotypes- Work ethic- Aggression- Competence- Morality- Social desirability- Attractiveness- Simultaneously hold positive and negative stereotypes of an out-group as defined by the dimensions11) How are stereotypes learned?- From the environment through observation, passive socialization and active teaching by socialization agents- Children learn to associate certain races and gender with occupations, status and certain traits by observation12) Ethnocentrism- The technical name for the view of things in which ones group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and related with reference to it- Leads to a feeling of group superiority, a feeling that other groups do not measure up to our self-defined standards; therefore we are “better”13) Americentrism- A belief that other cultures should be judged by American standards- “what is good for America is good for the rest of the world”14) American exceptionalism- Belief that America is an exceptional nation and that America has the responsibility to bring to the rest of the world its ideals, primarily liberty and democracy15) Confirmation bias- “the human understanding when it has once adapted an opinion...draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects or despises, or else by some distinction sets aside or rejects”- Is our tendency to seek out, process or perceive, and remember information in the interest of confirming or reinforcing existing beliefs, behaviors and world views, our culture.16) Explanations, confirmation bias- Accomplished by how we receive and make sense of available information in the environment- The processes of selective exposure, perception and retention.- Processes are based on a theory of cognitive dissonance17) Cognitive dissonance- Is aroused in a person when two or more related cognitions that are simultaneously held contradict each other.A cognition is a thought about the behavior, an opinion (belief), an attitude (feeling), or a choice.- Cognitions contradict each other when1. Cognition does not follow logically from the otherExample: convinced smoking causes lung cancer but still continues to smoke2. Personal experience, established knowledge, or members of my in-groups tells me that cognition A is wrong but I do or believe something that demonstrates or supports cognition A.- Dissonance is uncomfortable drive state that is stressful and that can motivate the individual to action.A person in a dissonant state is primed for action. They will be motivated to do something because dissonance is psychologically uncomfortable.18) Selective exposure- (selective attention) we seek out or pay attention to information supporting existing beliefs and values that we avoid or pay less attention to contradictory information. This predisposition to information is also predicted by confirmation bias theory.- Supportive information reduces dissonance and maintains a consonant, desirable state19) When contradictory information will not be avoided- 1. Perceived information, salience and novelty value of the information. Contradictory information that is interesting, entertaining, personally relevant or new will not always be avoided. Contradictory information may offer rewards to the receiver that outweigh its negative outcome (arousing dissonance)- 2. Perceived utility of the information. We may not avoid information that is useful in solving a problem or teaching a skill even if it contradicts our beliefs or values- 3. Confidence in initial position. We may not avoid contradictory information if we are secure in the correctness of our beliefs and values- 4. Norm to be open-minded. We may not avoid contradictory information if norms of “open-mindedness”, fair play and rationality are made salient by peers or are activated within our culture.20) Selective perception- Perception- refers to the mental activity involved in recognizing and assigning meaning to events, people and objects in our environment. Perception in our interpretation of those apsects of our environment that are important at the moment because of physical or psychological proximity.- Information will be influenced by past experience, old information stored in memory, new information in the environment and by culture.- Problem in biased processing of information21) Principles of perceptionChapter 5:22) Culture shock: severe discomfort felt by a newcomer when interacting with people from another culture usually in the latter’s territory and over an extended period of time.Manifested in “washing hands excessively, being overly concerned with food and drinking, fearing people, being absent-minded, refusing to learn the host country’s language and customs, and worrying about being robbed, cheated or injured”23) Anxiety/uncertainty management theory (Fig. 5-1)- Developed by William Gudykunst- Explains how anxiety and uncertainty can lead to ineffective intercultural communication between newcomers or strangers and members of a host cultureEx: American exchange students attending