An Initial Test of an Intervention Designed to Help Youth Question Negative Ethnic Stereotypes.

[摘要] The present study tested a social cognitive-ecological model to gain an understanding of factors that influence negative ethnic stereotypes and aggressive beliefs toward outside groups.The first goal of this study was to explore how differences in cognition (empathy, perspective taking, social identity, critical thinking) relate to ethnic prejudice and out-group aggressive beliefs. The hypotheses for this goal were that empathy for an out group would relate negatively to ethnic prejudice, negative ethnic stereotypes and aggressive beliefs toward outside groups.Also, it was hypothesized that negative ethnic stereotypes and aggressive beliefs would relate positively to strong ethnic identity and to television viewing of ethnic political violence. The second goal of the study was to test the efficacy of an intervention aimed at reducing ethnic stereotypes and increasing empathy for out-groups among high school students. The hypotheses for this goal were that the intervention would increase perspective taking and empathic behavior resulting in a reduction of youths’ negative ethnic stereotypes and aggressive beliefs toward outside groups.Using an immediate and delayed intervention design, a sample of predominately Arab and Jewish youth from two high schools in the Detroit metropolitan area were recruited. There were 192 students in the first phase of the study. In the intervention phase of the study, 153 students participated with 93 receiving the intervention immediately after the baseline pretest and 60 receiving it on a delayed basis after the first post-test. Thirty-one of the 153, served as peer educators, delivering the intervention curriculum to the 122 peer trainees in 4 sessions. Correlational results supported the first set of hypotheses.Mixed results were found in the intervention phase for the second set of hypotheses.Results showed that the intervention significantly impacted peer educators.Their agreement and support of explicit ethnic stereotypes and desire to engage in critical thinking improved from before to after intervention relative to the peer trainees. Scores for all youth on the implicit measure of negative stereotypes decreased.Furthermore, the peer educators’ negative stereotypes about outside groups decreased significantly relative to the waiting list control group’s negative stereotypes.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] Ethnic Aggressive Beliefs

[关键词] Ethnic Stereotypes;Ethnic Aggressive Beliefs;Arab American and Jewish American Stereotyping;Peer Educators and Peer Trainees;Influence of Media on Stereotyping and Prejudice;Influence of Ethnic Identity on Stereotyping and Prejudice;Psychology;Social Work;Social Sciences;Social Work and Psychology