Psychology & Brain Sciences 891A - S-Prejudc, Stertyp & Soc Ident

This course is designed to enhance knowledge about basic social psychological research on intergroup relations, prejudice, stereotyping, and social identity, so that you can work with diverse populations in terms of your research. For the purpose of this course, we will use a broad definition of social groups, although particular attention will be focused on race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and age. The first part of this course will examine how people's own group membership and the culture in which they live influence their attitudes and behavior toward others who belong to the same group ("ingroup") or to different groups ("outgroups"). The second part of this course will focus on evaluating interventions that may help alleviate interindividual and intergroup conflicts that arise during social interactions among people of differing cultural backgrounds. The final part of this course will focus on the different ways in which cultural stereotypes affect members of disadvantaged groups (e.g., in terms of mental health, physical health, performance, achievement, self-esteem etc.). In this section of the course, we will also pay attention to the different ways in which individuals from various disadvantaged groups protect themselves and show psychological resilience.

Open to Graduate students only. Others by permission of the Instructor.