Patterns of Intergroup Relations

1. Patterns of Intergroup Relations Chapter 10, Section 2

2. Discrimination • Discrimination= denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership. • Involves a behavior of some sort. • Can be individual or societal. • Forms of societal discrimination: • Legal discrimination= discrimination upheld by law; laws can be changed to remove the discrimination. • Institutionalized discrimination= discrimination that arises due to societal structure.

3. Prejudice • Prejudice= an unsupported generalization about a category of people. • Refers to the attitudes one has towards another– usually negative. • Stereotype= an oversimplified, exaggerated, or unfavorable generalization about a group of people. • Robert Merton believed that if confronted with a stereotype long enough, individuals would start to exhibit behaviors that makes the stereotype. • Known as self-fulfilling prophecy.

4. Prejudice (cont’d) • Prejudicial beliefs often used to justify discrimination are often forms of racism– the belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is naturally superior.

5. Sources of Discrimination • Sociological • Some prejudices are embedded in social norms. • Maintain membership within a group • Psychological • Individual personality of someone lends to prejudice– Theodor Adorno • Scapegoating= placing the blame for one’s troubles on an innocent individual or group. • Economic • Competition over scarce resources • Dominant group encourages competition between minority groups

6. Patterns of minority group treatment • Cultural pluralism= encourage ethnic and racial variety. • Assimilation= culturally distinct groups blend together to form one single group with a common culture. • Legal protection= minority rights protected by law. • Segregation= minority group physically separated from dominant. • De jure segregation= based on laws • De facto segregation= based on informal norms.

7. Patterns of Minority group treatment (cont’d) • Subjugation= dominant group controls minority group through force. • Population transfer= dominant group moves minority group to new locations within or outside the country. • Extermination= dominant group attempts to destroy minority group. • Genocide= when the goal of extermination is intentional destruction of an entire targeted population. • Ethnic cleansing= removing a group from an area through terror, expulsion or mass murder.