Question

Answer these in detail:

1) What is the difference between an Ingroup and an Outgroup? Give an example.

2) Explain Stereotype Threat. Give an example.

3) Discuss the 3 components of prejudice. Give examples.

4) How are personal, institutional and cultural discrimination different? Give 3 examples of each.

5) What is the Melting Pot Ideal and why has it been replaced by the Multicultural Ideal. Explain in detail.

Answer 1

1. Difference between Ingroup and Outgroup:

SNo	Ingroup	Outgroup
1	The group in which one identifies himself as a part.	The group in which one do not identify himself as a part.
2	“We” feeling is emphasized.	“They” term used for outgroup members.
3	He/she is a member of this group.	He/she is not at all a member of this group.
4	Based on ethnocentrism.	Not based on ethnocentrism
5	Members have similar behaviour and attitude	Dissimilar behaviours and attitudes towards the outgroup members
6	Members have positive attitude towards the ingroup.	Members have a negative attitude towards outgroup.
7	Members will have co-operation and “we” feeling.	Members have sense of indifference and antagonism towards the outgroup members.
8	Example Religion, age group and so on.	Example For an individual who is a member of one musical band, other bands are his outgroups.

2. Stereotype Threat

Stereotype threat is a situation in which individuals feel themselves at risk of conforming to stereotypes about the social group to which they belong. It reduces the performance of members who belong to a negative stereotype group.
For example, females’ performance in physical education is comparably less to their male counterparts; as per the consideration that men are physically well built than females.

3. Prejudice

Prejudice is an attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual's membership in a social group. For example, an individual may hold prejudiced views towards particular gender or race etc. (Eg. feminist).
The three components of Prejudice are:
            a. Affective.
            b. Behavioural.
            c. Cognitive.

4. How are personal, institutional and cultural discrimination different ?

Personal discrimination refers to the behaviour of individual members of one race or gender, which have a differential negative effect on the members of another race or gender group.
For example:- Refusing hiring someone with a disability; age discrimination occurs when a hiring manager refuses to hire someone who is older despite being the best in the process; A parent refusing to let her children play with their neighbours because of race or ethnicity.

Institutional discrimination refers to the discrimination of an individual or group of individuals, by society and other institutions.
For example :- Racism, Discrimination based on religion, education and marriage.

Cultural discrimination is the discrimination of indigenous people and other minorities. Indigeneous discrimination is based on socio economic status, customs and traditions and so on.
For example :- Migrants in a country are discriminated based on their ethnicity, discrimination in work place and educational institutions etc.

5. What is the Melting Pot Ideal and why has it been replaced by the Multicultural Ideal.

Melting pot ideal refers to a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous. Multiculturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures usually at organizational level, for example schools, businesses, nations etc. They support other cultural groups to engage in their society without any intervention.

Melting pot ideal and multiculturism mainly differs in the priority given to individual’s origin. For example in America (melting Pot Ideal), the priority is on the individual being an American first. Their own ethnicity or culture comes only secondary. In multicultural societies like Canada, the UK etc, immigrants to these countries are allowed to follow their own culture rather than taking on the culture of the country they have adopted. This is even applicable to their laws and customs too.