Chapter 2 Theories and Thinking about Diversity Minorities and Non Dominant Groups Subordinated to majority or dominant group members in terms of Power Prestige Privilege Does not necessarily refer to groups that are numerically fewer than majority group members Common characteristics include identifiability differential power experience of discrimination and group awareness Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice Irrationally based negative attitudes Discrimination Behavior based on prejudicial attitudes Stereotypes Overgeneralization of characteristics to large groups of people Prescriptive stereotyping Ideas about how people should behave based on their group memberships group Descriptive stereotypes Ideas about how people do or will behave based on their membership Social Categorization and Stereotyping Social categorization Tendency to perceive oneself and others as belonging to particular groups Involves creating order in one s social environment by groupings persons Social identity Part of an individual s self concept that originates from His or her membership in a particular social group Value and emotional significance attached to that group membership Consequences of Social Categorization and Social Identity In group favoritism and out group biases Similarity effect Bias in which individuals select and hire demographically similar others Can be negated via structured interviews Attribution errors While evaluating other s behaviors Undermining the influence of external factors Overestimating the influence of internal factors Multiple group memberships Make in group and out group relationships and social identities complex Non dominant groups as the in group Minority groups may favor members of out groups and stereotype their own group members Consequences of Social Categorization and Social Identity cont d 2 Negative consequences include Internalized racism Members of devalued races believe negative messages about their intrinsic worth and those of others of the same race Internalized sexism Women believe negative messages about their intrinsic worth and those of other women negative Stereotype threat Occurs when one is concerned about being judged by a stereotype about one s group Consumer racial profiling Differential treatment of consumers in the marketplace based on race ethnicity Aversive Racism Ambivalent Sexism and Other New Racisms Forms of Racism Aversive racism Occurs when those who evidently adhere to egalitarian values and believe themselves to be unprejudiced still possess negative feelings and beliefs about racial issues and minority group members New racism Belief that racism is an element of the past and that Blacks have gained excessively and unfairly via programs The Concept of New Racism Ambivalent sexism simultaneously holding both hostile and benevolent sexist beliefs about women Hostile sexism antipathy toward women based on faulty and inflexible generalizations Benevolent sexism interrelated attitudes about women that are both sexist and believed to be positive Neosexism conflict between reported egalitarian values and negative attitudes toward women Recommendations for Individuals and Organizations Individual and Organizational Recommendations Guide aversive racist to see the inconsistencies in their behavior and their Engage group members in activities to achieve common superordinate goals Encourage groups to perceive themselves as members of a single superordinate group rather than as two separate groups Implement organizational monitoring and control measures Individual and Organizational Recommendations cont d Create organizational climates for diversity to reduce individual discriminatory actions Hold managers and supervisors responsible for decisions made to reduce covert and overt bias Maintain a diverse recruitment and selection team Conduct structured interviews and ensure that salary decisions are based on Karl Weick s Theory of Organizing Organizations exist in an environment o Physical environment o Information environment Three potential views of environments o Objective o Perceived o Enacted