Project 3: Survey

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of our field research study is to evaluate whether stereotypes play a role in creating feelings of powerlessness and negativity. We also aim to gather data on the role that United States governing systems play in creating feelings of powerlessness and the community's present level of awareness and feelings toward it. Our research is based on the belief that every individual deserves fair treatment and negative stereotypes should not be as prevalent as they currently are. However, our research shows that U.S. governing systems, such as the healthcare and judicial systems, contribute to feelings of powerlessness by the stereotyping individuals. With the findings from our survey, we hope to determine the frequency with which this occurs as well as the impact it has on those affected. We also hope to assess the community's level of awareness of these stereotypes and potentially bring a call to action based on these results. This research is important because the results will determine steps to reduce stereotypes and how to reduce negative feelings and feelings of powerlessness within the community. We hope that this study will bring awareness to problems caused by stereotyping specifically within the judicial and healthcare systems of America.

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

Our study shows that when an individual is stereotyped it leads to negative feelings and feelings of powerlessness. One study we found examines the degree to which feeling stereotyped leads to feelings of powerlessness and inhibition amongst both stigmatized and non-stigmatized participants. The study found that when stereotyped both groups felt feelings of inhibition and low power. The stigmatized participants, however, felt the effects less as they likely developed coping mechanisms by living with the stigma (Cook et al.165). The findings of our study show that the majority of participants (66.67%) have felt they have been stereotyped against. Of those who felt that they have been stereotyped against nearly all admit that it was either a slightly negative, moderately negative, or extremely negative experience. When asked in what ways, if any, had these stereotypes effected them, of the responses each specific instance caused the individual to be powerless or left feelings of powerlessness. Such as, refusal or delaying of services, dismissal of requests, needs not being met, and/or both verbal and physical harassment.

Another article proposes a theory regarding the psychology of how in an oppressive relationship of power, specific behavioral constraints are imposed on a powerless group by a powerful group (Sunar 511). This theory is explained as when the powerful group imposes behavioral precedents among a powerless group, in turn, the powerless group begins to act out these behaviors thus justifying the stereotypes created by the group in power. This directly relates to our study as nearly 77% of our participants felt that stereotypes shape protocol and/or the treatment of individuals in governing systems and yet, 78% of these participants answered no when asked if a U.S. governing system had ever taken away their decision-making ability in some way.

Our results showed that when participants (or someone they knew) had been stereotyped, it affected them by mainly physical or verbal harassment (37.74%). The intergroup threat theory proposes that when social groups experience threats (either real or perceived), the threats can lead to negative verbal and nonverbal behaviors and overt hostile behavior (W. Stephan and C. Stephan 1) Our results support this theory. An intergroup can be a socioeconomic group, cultural group, or even a governing system, for example, the judicial or healthcare systems. If one of these intergroups feels threatened in some way or perceives a concern related to their values, norms or beliefs this can also lead to negative emotional reactions (W. Stephan and C. Stephan 1). This is where stereotyping comes into play, for when a governing system generalizes or stereotypes an individual or intergroup, it can lead to negative nonverbal behaviors, such as delaying of services, imposing harsher sentences, etc. On the flip side, those who are stereotyped also feel threatened and can react in a manner that displays hostile behavior, thus perpetuating the cycle.

Our results seem to show that people in our community are aware of people being treated unfairly and being stereotyped but they are either unaffected by it or it isn't particularly important to them. One theory, the system justification theory, further supports our results by proposing that individuals have a basic human need to "reduce uncertainty, manage threat, and uphold a sense of socially shared reality." (Toorn et al. 93). Individuals who suffer more powerlessness than others may feel that their lives are less manageable and predictable which leads them to justify the system to maintain control over their social circumstances. In our survey, when asked if participants had ever personally experienced or witnessed someone receiving preferential treatment based on a presumed stereotype, 76.67% said yes. When asked how this made them feel, 98% felt some type of negative emotion (embarrassed, angry, sad, uncomfortable). Yet, 78% answered no when asked if their decision making ability had ever been taken away by a governing system, thus supporting the system justification theory and justifying the system to maintain control over their circumstances.

CONCLUSION

Our study found that the community is aware of stereotypes and feelings of powerlessness as related to US governing systems. The community is also aware of the negative feelings these stereotypes produce and that stereotypes play a role in shaping protocol and the treatment of individuals. Furthermore, it is relatively important to the majority of participants. Avenues for further research include a study analyzing how to reduce stigmas and stereotypes as that will cause a reduction in feelings of powerlessness. There are many studies in existence already that analyze stigma reduction methods, however, these studies mostly focus on the individual rather than a community as a whole. Further research could also be done on effective methods of bringing about awareness to large social groups.

LIMITATIONS

Originally, we had thought we could get closer to 150 participants, however, we only received 61 responses. Had we received 150 responses we would have had much more data and results to analyze and our results would have been more consistent and reliable. By posting the survey link on the CCGA app, approximately 20% of our respondents were young adults in the 18-24 age range. This demographic could limit our survey data because many young adults, specifically students, many have not been in situations where governmental systems have treated them inequitably. Another limitation of our study is the disadvantage of interpreting data from our open ended questions. Our own assumptions and interpretations of responses could have skewed the true data and our open-ended questions could have been more specific. Another limitation that we found while reviewing or survey data is the racial/ethnic demographic. Our participants mainly identified as white or Caucasian with very few identifying as Hispanic/Latino, Asian or Pacific islander, native American or American Indian, and multiracial. We had no participants identify as black or African American, Middle Eastern, or any other racial or ethnic group that was not listed. The black and African American communities are among one of the higher stereotyped populations so our data could have been significantly more impacted if we had more of this demographic participate. Finally, we found that the majority of our participants (78.69%) identified as being female which also could have an impact on our results.

WORKS CITED

Cook, Jonathan E., et al. "The Effect of Feeling Stereotyped on Social Power and Inhibition." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 37, no. 2, 2011, pp. 165-180, doi:10.1177/0146167210390389.

Stephan, Walter G., and Cookie White Stephan. "Intergroup Threat Theory." The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication, 2017, pp. 1-12, doi:10.1002/9781118783665.ieicc0162.

Sunar, Diane G. "Stereotypes of the Powerless: A Social Psychological Analysis." Psychological Reports, vol. 43, no. 2, 1978, pp. 511-528, doi:10.2466/pr0.1978.43.2.511.

Toorn, Jojanneke Van Der, et al. "A Sense of Powerlessness Fosters System Justification: Implications for the Legitimation of Authority, Hierarchy, and Government." Political Psychology, vol. 36, no. 1, 2014, pp. 93-110, doi:10.1111/pops.12183.