This document summarizes key concepts from Chapter 8 of the textbook "Understanding Intercultural Communication". It discusses how human perception tendencies can lead to biases against outgroups through selective attention, organization, and interpretation. Specifically, it examines ethnocentrism and the development of stereotypes along dimensions of warmth and competence. The chapter also explores how ingroup and outgroup membership boundaries are formed through social identity and attribution biases. Prejudice, discrimination, and different types of racism are then defined and explained. Finally, recommendations are provided for reducing biases through self-reflection, seeking accurate knowledge of other groups, and cultivating intergroup contact and cooperation.

1. Understanding InterculturalUnderstanding Intercultural
CommunicationCommunication Second EditionSecond Edition
Chapter 8
What Causes us to Hold Biases Against
Outgroups?
StellaTing-Toomey & Leeva C. Chung
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
PowerPoint Slides Designed by Alex Flecky and Noorie Baig

2. MENUMENU
I. Human Perception Tendencies: Some
General Principles
II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and Stereotypes
III. Marking Ingroup/Outgroup
Membership Boundaries
IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,
Discrimination, and Racism
V. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-Ables

3. I. Human Perception Tendencies: SomeI. Human Perception Tendencies: Some
General PrinciplesGeneral Principles
Human perception:
• Process of selecting cues quickly from the
environment, organizing them into a coherent
pattern and labeling that pattern, and
interpreting that pattern in accordance with
our expectation.
Quick three-step process:
• Selective attention
• Selective organization and labeling
• Selective interpretation.

4. II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
A. Ethnocentrism and Communication
Ethnocentrism: derived from two Greek
words:
Ethno: “one’s own ethnic or cultural group”
Centrism: “One’s own group should be
looked upon as the center of the world”
Degrees of ethnocentrism:
• Distance of disparagement (high ethnocentrism)
• Distance of avoidance (moderate ethnocentrism)
• Distance of indifference (low ethnocentrism)

5. II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
Developmental Model of Intercultural
Sensitivity (DMIS)
Developed by Janet Bennett & Milton Bennett
A Popular Intercultural Training Model:
• Three states of ethnocentrism
• Three states in development of ethnorelativism

6. II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity

7. II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
Stereotype content model (SCM):
Formed along two dimensions:
• Perception of warmth dimension
• Perception of competence dimension

8. II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
A Two-Dimensional Stereotype Content Model

9. II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
Stereotyping is inevitable; key is to distinguish
between inflexible and flexible stereotyping.
• Inflexible stereotyping: holds onto negative
stereotypes by operating on automatic pilot.
• Flexible stereotyping: “mindfully minding our
mind.”

10. Automatic pilot reaction
Rigid categories
Premature closure
Polarized evaluations
Information distortion
Unwilling to change
categories
Mindful of categorization
Open-ended categories
First best-guesses
Loose interpretations
Information openness
Willingness to change
categories
II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
Ethnocentrism and StereotypesEthnocentrism and Stereotypes
Flexible StereotypingInflexible Stereotyping
Table 8.1

11. B. Stereotypes and Communication
Stereotypes:
• Exaggerated pictures about a group of people on
the basis of inflexible beliefs and expectations
about the characteristics or behaviors of the
group.
• What are some factors that shape stereotypes?
II. Biased Intergroup Filters:II. Biased Intergroup Filters:
EthnocentrismEthnocentrism
and Stereotypesand Stereotypes

12. III.III. Marking Ingroup-OutgroupMarking Ingroup-Outgroup
Membership BoundariesMembership Boundaries
Ingroup and Outgroup Attribution Differences

13. III. Marking Ingroup-OutgroupIII. Marking Ingroup-Outgroup
Membership BoundariesMembership Boundaries
A. Us versus Them
Social identity theory:
Study of ingroup, outgroup membership,
how emotional attachment to social group
plays key role in forming social/personal
identity.
Ingroup: feel connected to.
Outgroup: feel emotionally and psychologically
detached.

14. III. Marking Ingroup/OutgroupIII. Marking Ingroup/Outgroup
Membership BoundariesMembership Boundaries
B. Group Membership Struggle
C. Intergroup Attribution Biases
Attributions: the explanations—the meanings
of why people behave as they do.
• Fundamental attribution error
• Principle of negativity
• Favorable self-bias and other-derogation
principle
• Self-effacement bias

15. IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,
Discrimination, and RacismDiscrimination, and Racism
Prejudice:
Describes an individual’s feelings and
predispositions toward outgroup members in a
pejorative or negative direction, but can also
mean the opposite: One can be indiscriminately
for or against members of a particular group.
Four explanations for development of prejudice:
• Exploitation theory
• Scapegoating theory
• Authoritarian personality approach
• Structural approach

16. IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,
Discrimination, and RacismDiscrimination, and Racism
C. Four Discriminatory Practices
Discrimination:
Verbal and nonverbal actions that carry out
prejudiced attitudes. Four practices:
• Isolate discrimination:
• Small-group discrimination
• Direct institutional discrimination
• Indirect institutional discrimination

17. IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,IV. Shattered Lens: Prejudice,
Discrimination, and RacismDiscrimination, and Racism
D. Different Types of Racism
Racism involves three principles:
• Feelings of superiority based on biological or racial
differences;
• Strong ingroup preferences and the rejection of
outgroups, different in customs or beliefs; and
• Doctrine that conveys special advantage to those in
power.
Three basic examples of racism:
• Racial profiling
• Perpetuating stereotypic images
• Hate crimes

18. V. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-AblesV. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-Ables
• Be honest about your own biases.
• Understand where you learn your stereotypes.
• Seek accurate identity membership knowledge.
• Get involved in diverse identity communities.
• Cultivate constructive, intergroup contacts.
• Work on positive, interdependent task goals.
• Personalized the relationships & build trust.
• Learn to listen and share…

19. Parting Thoughts…Parting Thoughts…
In spite of everything I still believe that people are
really good at heart.
I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation
consisting of confusion, misery and death.
~ Anne Frank