Blog 1: Aboriginal Stereotypes

A stereotype is a generalized belief about members of a certain social group that is held by the vast majority of the community. These beliefs reflect what are thought to be characteristic behaviours and traits of a particular group (Kenrick, Newberg & Cialdini, 2005). A number of stereotypes exist in Australia as it is a largely multicultural society. The Aboriginal people in Australia are subject to a particularly negative stereotype which represents them as uneducated, lazy, problem drinkers who are unemployed and receive special treatment from the Government. Such a stereotype can have a negative impact on the Aboriginal community who are prejudiced against as a result. Stereotypes exist for cognitive reasons allowing people to simplify and make sense of their environment and are formed through socialization and an innate tendency to view members of different groups negatively and as all being the same. In Australia, the mass media assisted in the development of the stereotype of Aboriginal people and helps maintain the stereotype through the images it depicts and the stories it chooses to report. People’s tendency to attend to information that supports their beliefs rather than disconfirms it and desire to blame other people for problems also contributes to the maintenance of stereotypes. Stereotypes, negative stereotypes in particular, are difficult to change. Changing stereotypes involves education about and exposure to minority groups as well as individuals attempting to avoid judging people based on stereotypical beliefs.

In Australia, Aboriginal people or Indigenous Australians are victims of a particularly negative stereotype. Aboriginal people are frequently viewed as uneducated alcoholics who are lazy, have no desire to work and receive too much assistance from the Australian government (Walker, 1993). Like most stereotypes, this stereotypical view has some basis in truth, but is in general, terribly inaccurate, overgeneralised and is damaging to the social, psychological and economical well being of Indigenous Australians at an individual and community level (Kenrick et al., 2005). Contrary to popular belief, most Aboriginal people do not abuse alcohol. Approximately 70% of Aboriginal people do not drink alcohol at all; however many of those who do are considered problem drinkers (OMATSIA,1997 ). And whilst there is a high rate of unemployment amongst Indigenous Australians it is not necessarily because Aboriginal people do not wish to work but rather that there is a lack of employment opportunities in areas populated by Aboriginal people and that employers tend to be prejudiced against Aboriginal workers as a result of stereotypical attitudes (OMATSIA,1997). It is commonly believed that Aboriginal people receive special treatment from the Australian Government however Aboriginal people are subject to the same legislation as the general population. The Government does provide additional assistance to Indigenous Australians living in remote and underprivileged regions but Aboriginal people are eligible for the same welfare benefits and Government housing as all Australians (OMATSIA, 1997). And finally, it is true that a large proportion of Aboriginal students do not complete high school and only a small percentage of Aboriginal people receive a tertiary education. The likely explanation for this is that the curriculums of mainstream schools are not compatible with the needs of Aboriginal students and that there are limited tertiary institutions in areas where Aboriginal people live (OMATSIA, 1997).

It seems that people have an innate tendency to categorize people into groups and form stereotypes (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Stereotypes serve a cognitive purpose and act as heuristics allowing people to quickly recognize and categorize members of a certain group in order to simplify their social environment (Spears, Oakes, Ellemers & Haslam, 1997). The content of stereotypes is learned through socialization from members of one’s own group and is consequently likely to present members of different groups in an unfavorable manner according to in-group favoritism which suggests that people tend to have a more positive perception of and favor members of their own group in comparison to that of members of different groups. Another factor that contributes to the formation of stereotypes is the false assumption people make that members of different groups are all similar in behaviors and characteristics, which is known as the out-group homogeneity bias (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). For example, if a person has a negative experience with one Aboriginal person they are likely to make the generalization that all Aboriginal people are the same as the person they encountered (Worchel, Cooper, Goethals & Olson, 2000).

Many factors contribute to the maintenance of stereotypes. The mass media has played a significant role in developing and maintaining the stereotype of Aboriginal people. The Australian media has been criticized for its portrayal of Aboriginal people, as for many years the media has focused largely on stories that depict the Aboriginal people as violent, drunk and uncivilized. Such images in the media confirm people’s beliefs about Aboriginal people (Meadows, 2001). According to the confirmation bias people have a tendency to focus on information that supports their beliefs rather than information that challenges them (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). So if people believe that all Aboriginal people are unemployed alcoholics and they meet an unemployed alcoholic Aboriginal person this belief is confirmed and the stereotype is supported and maintained. People also tend to subtype meaning that if the encounter an individual member of a stereotyped group who does not conform with the stereotype they see this person as an exception rather than a representation of the entire group and does not amend their stereotypical view (Worchel et al., 2000).

Stereotypes are also maintained by people’s desire to have someone to blame. According to the scapegoat theory people tend to blame their problems on members of other groups (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). In Australia, Aboriginal people have been blamed for a number of social problems including youth violence and drug and alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, once stereotypes are established they are particularly difficult to change.

Whilst it is recognized that it is very difficult to change stereotypes it is thought to be possible through education and exposure. At an individual level stereotypes can be reduced through consciously overriding automatic judgments that are made based on stereotypes. Judging an individual based on a stereotype occurs automatically however people can make a conscious effort not to perceive people based on preconceived beliefs but to form a judgment based their experience and knowledge of the person without taking stereotypical beliefs into account (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008).

At a national level, stereotypes can be overcome or at least reduced through education and exposure programs. One of the reasons stereotypes are formed is because people have limited contact and knowledge about certain groups (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). It may be useful to implement education programs that are designed to dispel any myths that exist about certain groups and present people with facts in order to reduce the uncertainty that people have about different groups. It has been found that stereotypes can be more successfully changed in children compared to adults (Worchel et al., 2000). Based on this knowledge education programs should be strongly targeted at children in primary school. Children who are educated about members of minority groups are less likely to develop negative stereotypes and pass them on to their own children. The mass media played a considerable role in constructing the stereotype of Aboriginal people and could play a role in changing it. It could achieve this by reporting more positive stories concerning Aboriginal people and also through educational advertisements which aim to eliminate myths and educate people about Aboriginal people (Meadows, 2001).

Stereotypes are formed as a result of limited exposure to members of certain groups (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). According to the contact hypothesis intergroup contact can result in more positive intergroup attitudes (Worchel et al.,2000). However there are specific conditions under which intergroup contact is effective in reducing contacts. These conditions are that the contact must be positive and the groups must be of equal status (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). An exposure program designed to expose children to Aboriginal people, practices and culture may be useful in eliminating the negative stereotype that exists in Australia concerning Aboriginal people. Such a program would also make Aboriginal people and their culture more familiar which may result in more favorable attitudes according to the exposure effect (Worchel et al., 2000).

Aboriginal people are viewed very negatively by the majority of Australian people. The stereotype concerning Aboriginal people was formed because people use stereotypes to understand and simplify their environment, and tend to believe that people from groups other than their own all share the same unfavorable characteristics. The media has played a role in the formation and maintenance of this stereotype and the confirmation bias and scapegoat theory help to explain how stereotypes are maintained. Negative stereotypes are very difficult to change and changing them involves education, exposure and individual effort to avoid stereotyping.

References

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature (1^st

ed.) Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Kenrick, D.T, Neuberg, S. L., & Cialdini, R. B. (2005). Social Psychology: Unraveling

The Mystery. Boston : Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Meadows, M. (2001). Voices in the wilderness : images of Aboriginal people in the

Australian media. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

Office of the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs,(OMATSIA,1997)

Rebutting the myths: some facts about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Affairs. Canberra : Office of the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Affairs.

Spears, R., Oakes, P. J., Ellemers, N. & Hoslam, S. A. (1997). The Social Psychology of

Stereotyping and Group Life. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.

Walker, Y (1993). Aboriginal Family Issues. Family Matters 35, pp. 51-53.

Worchel, S., Cooper, J., Goethals, G. R., & Olson, J. M. (2000). Prejudice and

stereotypes. In S. Worchel, J. Cooper, G. R. Goethals & J. M. S. Olson (2000).

Social psychology (Ch 7, pp. 192 - 223). Wadsworth: Belmont, CA.

Appendix A

Self evaluation

1.Theory/ Research

I have used a number of theories and social psychology terms that are relevant to stereotyping in my essay. Each theory and terms has been defined and expanded on with examples where possible to aid in understanding. My concept map is well intertwined with my essay and depicts the information contained in the essay and my understanding of the topic.
In conducting research I found seven sources that I believed were relevant. Unfortunately I was unable to locate many journal articles that contained relevant information so I focused heavily on text books. It was particularly difficult to locate Australian texts. However I am satisfied that I have provided a clear and succinct essay with a strong argument.

2. Written Expression

Readability analysis showed a Flesch Reading Ease scale of 51.5. An ideal score is between 60 and 70. I am aware that I tend to use very long sentences and this probably contributed to a less than ideal result. The Flesch Kincaird Grade was 8.1 which is slightly above the ideal score of 8.

I aimed to write in perfect APA style however being inexperienced using blogs resulted in some conventions not being met (Indenting reference list). However I am reasonably confident my essay is mostly in APA format having used a writing in APA style text book

3. Online Engagement

Unfortunately I was not able to engage with others online as much as I would have liked. This is the result of having a large number of assessment items due early in the semester. I did read a lot of blogs others had written but was unable to comment due to limited free time. I would have liked to offer more information on my chosen topic through giving links to articles and references