Stereotypes are often considered to exist as a consequence of categorizing people into different groups, our belonging (or not) to the group, and our exposure to perceived covariation between group member’s physical and psychological characteristics However, the process of stereotype learning itself is not always taken into account. In my thesis, I hypothesized that people will categorize artificial social stimuli into groups, and learn to associate them with descriptions compatible with stereotype content, even if they are not actively made aware of such a connection. This learning process is influenced by the individuals process on the one, and its social environment on the other. First, we find that people learn stereotypes in the absence of explicit information about the existence of social outgroups. For stimuli with equal baseline valence, the contrast between perceived stereotypes was stronger when the stereotypical information was more distinctive for one social group over the other. When baseline valence was not the same, stereotype-consistent information increased this difference while non-stereotypical information led to less stereotypical differentiation between the groups.Second, when participants are themselves part of a group, stereotype consistent information is readily integrated into the group impression. For stereotype inconsistent information, and within the context of experimentally induced group belonging, participants did learn the (counter) stereotypical information, but the identification with the group decreased. Finally, the focus is again on outgroup stereotype learning, but this time in the context of small social networks. The aim here was to isolate network structure from social interaction per se and investigate whether structure alone influences the emergence of stereotypes. People learned from each other in these distinct network configurations, i.e. in a fully connected network or a star network. Different from the other studies, participants decided themselves how a member of our experimental social groups was presented to other participants. This way, we could observe whether stereotypes emerge as a consequence of social interaction, restricted by their network ties. We found that participants will learn outgroup stereotypes consistent with the covariation between group stimuli and description to which they were exposed in their respective network. However, the network structure itself does not contribute to stereotype learning or emergence. / Doctorat en Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Stereotypes and threatening images are present in much of our modern entertainment media often going unnoticed for the effects they may have on society. One media which is relatively new and unexplored when it comes to these stereotypes and images of threat is the video game media. This thesis explores how stereotypes are created and maintained within video games and how securitization efforts affect entertainment media, in order to pursue these aims the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) is analysed with a content analysis built on the theories of othering and securitization, in order to see how the Russians are portrayed within the game. The analysis shows that the image attached to Russians is overly negative compared to other people in the game, and the common threats which they pose is going to war with the West. Based on these findings, the thesis concludes that video games do reproduce securitization discourses and create stereotypes.

Neoliberalism’s free market ideology has not only achieved hegemonic status as the dominant organizing principle of markets and economies the world over, its values and doctrines have also come to shape many other areas of contemporary life. The consequences of this takeover include rising inequality, a social policy shift away from welfare and toward personal responsibility, and the triumph of the economic rationale of profitability in the public sector as well as the private sphere. A growing body of research has studied the ramifications of individual facets of the neoliberal order, especially the expanding gap between the rich and poor, but to date, a more comprehensive understanding of how the underlying ideology molds societies is largely absent from the social psychological literature. This doctoral thesis seeks to take a first step toward closing this gap by identifying and investigating three key areas of interest in the context of neoliberalism’s influence on individual and collective life. Based on previous research and theorizing, it puts forward the idea that the neoliberal reorganization of societies along the principles of individualism, competition, materialism, and privatization has a profound impact on intergroup relations, social connection, and individual well-being. The studies presented here provide evidence that neoliberal ideology and policies erode social cohesion (Manuscript 2) and make people feel lonely and isolated (Manuscript 3). Confirming the importance of social factors in determining health outcomes, these developments are then shown to increase feelings of threat, hopelessness, and unhappiness (Manuscript 2) as well as reduce mental and physical well-being (Manuscript 3). Beyond the individual level, intergroup attitudes, especially with regard to socio-economic status groups, are of particular interest to this research. Its findings demonstrate that despite neoliberalism’s propagation of wealth and success as ultimate aspirations, the perceived breakdown of the social fabric and resulting discontent with neoliberal societies lead to negative perceptions of the elite who are seen as corrupt and immoral (Manuscript 2). They also provide support for the assumption that the belief in merit-based inequality, which is central to the neoliberal doctrine, is reflected in representations of individuals with lower socio-economic status who are assigned personal responsibility for their disadvantaged position and, unlike other underprivileged groups, are seen as lacking in moral deservingness by both conservatives and progressives (Manuscript 1). As a whole, the studies that constitute this thesis project bring together several different lines of research and make headway in developing an integrated perspective on the influence of neoliberal ideology on societies and the experiences and attitudes of the individuals within them.

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This thesis aims to analyze and trace gender normativities and stereotypes in the testimoniesfrom the #metoo call #nödvärn (2017) and #nödvärn 2.0 (n.d) in Sweden within the policedepartment. This thesis includes a qualitative thematic analysis of the material combined witha positioning theory. The analysis is based on testimonies from #nödvärn and #nödvärn 2.0regarding harassments inside the Swedish police force. The theoretical framework in thisthesis are based on queer theory with concepts like gender norm, normativities andstereotyping that are illuminating in the material. The thesis also includes an intersectionalapproach to understand the hierarchical perspective between gender and sexuality that areconsisting through the material. This thesis contributes to research due to the missing LGBTQperspective. The analysis shows clearly stated gender stereotypes in both genders, but alsodifferent stereotypes according to status and sexuality in the testimonies. This with a strongconnection to the macho norm that are consisting throughout the previous research andanalysis, with other normativities illustrated such as gender normative and heteronormativity.Finally, there is a hierarchical level illustrated in the analysis related to inclusion andexclusion by categorization.

Two studies were conducted to explore the effects of the sociopolitical ideologies colorblindness and multiculturalism on perceivers’ (1) automatic awareness of race and (2) automatic racial stereotyping. Study 1 showed that a colorblind prime caused White perceivers to notice White targets’ race more compared to a no prime condition, although non-White perceivers were able to ignore race when primed with colorblindness. Multiculturalism, on the other hand, caused individuals to notice race no differently than the control. In terms of stereotyping, Study 2 showed that a colorblind prime did not change automatic stereotyping of Black or White targets. In contrast, multiculturalism increased automatic positive stereotyping of Black targets compared to the control condition, but did not affect stereotyping of White targets. Implications discussed include why colorblindness might affect White and non-White perceivers differently as well as whether or not decreased positive stereotyping of Whites (in the case of colorblindness) and increased positive stereotyping of both Blacks (in the case of multiculturalism) are beneficial ways to attain national unity.

According to Gerbner's cultivation theory, misrepresentations in the media create false realities in the minds of society. To date, much research has been done on the impact of this phenomenon on women, minority races, and the homosexual community. Little consideration has been given, however, to geographic minorities such as Appalachians. This study attempts to identify the frequency and manner of representations of Appalachia in major metropolitan newspapers across the U.S. By conducting a framing analysis on a sample of 823 individual mentions of "Appalachia" in 2005, the author is able to illustrate interesting relationships between geographic proximity and the type of portrayal. Among these, mentions originating in Appalachia were much more likely to frame the region positively than those mentions published outside the region. Similarly, Appalachia and surrounding areas were most likely to report on Appalachia, with more than 75% of all mentions originating within 250 miles of the region.

This paper discusses the issue of how different masculinities are being represented in the English classroom. It specifically aims to examine how a teacher’s own principals concerning gender will be reflected in the texts she chooses to use. The field was explored through a case study, where interviews with an upper secondary English teacher as well as a content analysis on the texts she chose to use in the classroom were central to the study. The results of the case study showed tendencies towards a discrepancy between the teacher’s self-expressed thoughts on gender issues and her choice of texts. The teacher conveyed modern ideas on gender issues, while most of the texts she chose to use in the classroom were positive towards more traditional gender patterns. Therefore, our hypothesis did not correspond to the findings. The findings were analyzed by comparing the teacher’s reported attitudes to the different aspects of gender in the chosen texts. In relation to these findings, the paper focuses on the possibility of further studies within this field of research, such as e.g. observation of how gendered texts are being used in classroom and a more quantified investigation, concerning the number of teachers being studied.

This research project will determine whether or not Arab Americans are portrayed as members of an out-group, in-group, or victim following the events of 9/11. This study improves upon previous research by analyzing the content of newspaper articles in USA Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post pertaining to Arab Americans. Since the majority of research indicated the mass media has a tendency to perpetuate a negative stereotype of minorities and of Arabs, it was expected that the media would portray a negative stereotype of Arab Americans as well. The content analysis addressed the coverage of Arab Americans in the five years before and the five years after 9/11 in order to determine to what extent Arab Americans were depicted as members of an in-group, out-group, or victim following that date. A total of 1379 articles were analyzed placed into the social categories of in-group, out-group, or victim utilizing a clearly defined coding method. Findings showed that overall Arab Americans were depicted as members of an out-group more than they were depicted as members of an in-group or victim. Since the total number of articles dramatically increased following 9/11, the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an in-group, out-group, or victim increased accordingly. However, approximately three years after 9/11, the number of articles pertaining to Arab Americans began returning to pre-9/11 levels. While the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an in-group or victim increased immediately following 9/11, articles in both social categories steadily declined following 9/11. While the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an out-group decreased in the year immediately following 9/11, the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an out-group steadily increased following 9/11.