Assignment 1: Social Psychology

1. In the teachers’ lounge, a group of Caucasian teachers huddle around the water cooler gossiping about why one of their fellow teachers, an Asian-American woman, was promoted to assistant principle over other teachers with more years of experience. “I know she has a master’s degree, but I still think this is clearly an affirmative action thing—they just want to get more minorities in administration. They don’t care about who is really qualified, and that’s all there is to it.” 

Select one of the examples above that you feel illustrates prejudiced attitudes. Answer the following:

1. What elements of this scenario make it an example of prejudice? 
2. Is there also discrimination present? 
3. Is there stereotyping in this example? 
4. Explain why the predjudice is occurring using the following terms: Social categorization, in-group, out-group, and ingroup-bias.
5. Based on your readings, what type of intervention could help to reduce prejudice in a situation like this?