Researcher(s)
- Ha Tran, Cognitive Science, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Jennifer Kubota, Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
- Jasmin Cloutier, Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
Research shows that content of the stereotypes applied to a group can impact the type of discrimination the group receives. The Behaviors from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes (BIAS) map posits that the impact (harm/facilitation) and style (active/passive) of a discriminatory action towards a social group is moderated by the warmth and competence implied by the stereotypes of that group (Cuddy et al., 2007). For example, groups stereotyped as highly competent but less warm (e.g., Asian Americans) are more likely to be the receivers of passively facilitative (e.g., cooperate with, get along with) and active harm discrimination from out-group members, while groups stereotyped as less warm and less competent (e.g., Middle Eastern Americans) are more likely to be the receivers of passive (e.g., exclude, demean) and active harmful discrimination (e.g., hate speech, insults). Since stereotypes and discriminatory behaviors rely on social norms and social norms often change, it is possible that the stereotype content posited by the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and the discriminatory behaviors posited by the BIAS map are not the same as today, or the same as in-person interactions. Using scraped social media data from public profiles/pages and linguistic analysis models, we will investigate if the stereotypes expressed towards Asian Americans and Middle Eastern Americans are in fact as warm/competent as they were in the original Stereotype Content Model (SCM), and if the negative online behaviors meted out to them are the same as predicted by the BIAS map. Thus, our investigation will elucidate any changes in the stereotype content of groups or the link between stereotype content and discriminatory behavior experienced in online spaces.