93508 - SOCIAL PREJUDICE

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

By the end of the course students will know the theoretical models, the fundamental methods of investigation and the practical course of actions leading to social discrimination, stereotypes and social prejudice

Contenuti

The course is designed to provide advanced knowledge of fundamental issues of the human experience, such as the origins and persistence of old and new forms of social prejudice and their link with stereotyping and discriminative behaviours. A comprehensive summary and critical analysis of the state of theory and research on the causes and consequences of intergroup prejudice will be illustrated. Moreover, similarities and differences among distinct types of prejudice and their related processes will be addressed.

The course involves 2 modules, whose specific contents are the following:

Prof. Rubini's Module (15 hours):

· Basic processes and definitions of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination (e.g., cognitive, affective and motivational processes)

Prof. Prati's Module (45 hours):

· Causes of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination (e.g., individual, social and contextual factors)

· Expression of specific types of biases (e.g., ethnocentrism, sexism, hetero-sexism, ageism, anti-immigration bias, weight bias)

· Extreme forms of discrimination (e.g., dehumanization, social exclusion, hate crimes)

· Different measures, methodological challenges and tools for studying prejudice

· Social impact of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination (e.g., bias in mass media, bias in organizations, health care disparities)

Testi/Bibliografia

J. Dovidio, M. Hewstone, P. Glick and V. Esses (eds.) 2010, The SAGE Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination. London, Sage

Scientific articles will be made available at the University course website.

Metodi didattici

The course will be taught through frontal lessons. Video-clips will be used to further explain and deep the different psychological processes that will be the main objects of the course. Work groups and discussions will be strongly encouraged in order to understand how social-psychological process explain daily life phenomena, and facilitate the links with other psychological domains.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The exam aims at verifying the acquisition of the knowledge on the topics presented during the course.

The final exam is in written form. Students will be asked to prepare an individual essay on specific topics. This work will be evaluated on criteria such as the deeply understanding of the contents of the course, the ability to make connections among them and the originality of the work.

Students will be also asked to prepare a group presentation on a specific topic during the course. This work will be evaluated and it will contribute to the final mark.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

PowerPoint slides and scientific articles will be made available on the University course website (according with copyright).

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Francesca Prati

Consulta il sito web di Monica Rubini