Question

Discuss Ambivalent Sexism theory and in doing so describe the beliefs contributing to this type of sexism and also how those beliefs can influence ones behavior towards women. Also discuss the 4 necessary conditions of contact. Then describe Pettigrews Reformulated Contact hypothesis making sure to explain the 3 processes involved in prejudice reaction and how they work?

Answer 1

Ambivalent sexism theory is that sexism is a form of prejudice which is marked by a deep ambivalence.sexism is a unique particular sort of prejudice.Nomatter how much a man is accomplished he is truly not complete as a person till he loves a woman,a good woman should be set on a pedestal by her man,woman should be protectded by her man,everyman should have the woman he loves.Ambivalent sexism is the most common form in which many men engage ,preferring female sex for many reasons,but also disliking them for others.The theory distuingishes between hostile and benevolent sexism which encompasses positive attitude towards women in tradional roles ,idealization of women and desire for intimate relations.Hostile sexism encompasses the negative equivalents on dominative patternalism,heterosexual hositility.Contact hypothesis is the theory that direct a contact between two hostile groups will reduce predujice under certain conditions.The four necessary conditions are social norms which should favor intergroup contact,cooperative activites where two groups should join together to achieve the goals,personal interaction where there should be one to one interaction among individuals of the two groups,and equal status.In pettigrews model of contact hypothesis intergroup friendship has a special role and the contact bias relation is mediated by changing behaviour,ingroup appraisal,and learning about the outgroup.The three central models are decategorization,salient categorization,and finally recategorization.Pettigrew reformulated the contact hypotheseis into a longitudinal model,it is at meso level of analysis that fits between microlevel context of the larger societal setting of the situation.