Ethnic Stereotype Activation And Inhibition

Stereotypes so far has always been a focus of subject research in social psychology and cognitive psychology. Ethnic stereotype is a kind of specific stereotype based ethnic cultural and ethnic differences. Ethnic stereotype includes the general characteristics of stereotype, which has an important role in the national or ethnic relations. It is an important psychological mechanism of national exchanges and interaction. If there were too much negative ethnic stereotypes, it should bound to have an ethnic bias and not harmonious ethnic interaction psychology between ethnic groups. China is a unified multi-ethnic country, there are many differences between minority and Han nationality in the economic, cultural, language, religion, custom, etc., still holds a certain degree of ethnic stereotypes of group members. Mechanism analysis of the ethnic stereotype, it makes more clearly understand the ethnic stereotype activation and its inhibition effect, and provides the research basis for more abundant as the research of ethnic relations theory construction and social cognitive theory.According to the ethnic stereotype series of processing theory, the researcher through two research and analysis of the process of ethnic stereotypes, namely from the social categorization、 activation and then to the ethnic stereotype inhibition process. The researchers put ethnic face stimulus as the direct group category cued, revealed under the background of multicultural development process in China.In the pre study, researchers used interview method, free association and rating method, investigated and analyzed on 226 Han college students, obtained the current Chinese Han population of ethnic ste reotype content of Uighur groups to hold, trait adjectives materials simultaneously extracting follow- up experimental study. The research results showed that the Han group held obvious positive and negative stereotypes to the Uygur ethnic group members.Study 1 used a series of evaluation priming paradigm, they used Han and Uygur adult faces as ethnic categories to prime, mainly reveals the ethnic stereotype activation effect. In Experiment 1, se lected 54 students of Han nationality, the results of behavioral data found that: in Uighur face priming condition, subjects stereotype trials reaction time was significantly shorter in the non- stereotype trials, and in the Han face priming conditions, there was no significant difference between them, indicating that thecorresponding ethnic categorization was activated when face ethnic was priming. Experiment 2, using ERP technology, had recorded 21 Han subjects trait adjectives potency judgment of reaction time and brain electrical activity, ERP analysis results showed that: in the ethnic face processing stage, Han and Uighur face of N170 induced no significant difference, but Han face greater than Uighurs face induced P250(235-265ms), that is to say, face category information could lead to significant ethnic stereotype activation effect, ethnic stereotype activation induced greater P300(345-480ms) amplitude, the potential period also increased significantly; in the trait adjectives judgment stage, and there was significant difference inducing non-stereotypes and stereotypes conditions P2(155-265) and N2(270-350ms) the amplitude.Study 2 main purpose was to reveal the ethnic stereotype inhibition process, adopting a series of priming paradigm with "go-stop" signal experimental paradigm unifies. 46 of the Han nationality college students were selected, the results found that: in the “go” trials, in Uighur face priming condition, subjects ste reotype test time was significantly shorter reaction time in the non-stereotype trials, and in the Han face starting conditions, there was no significant difference between them; in the “stop” trials, when priming Uighur face, the error rate in the stereot ype trials was significantly higher than that of non-stereotype trials, and in the Han face priming, there was no significant differences of them between that, the fact that individuals in ethnic stereotypes produce inhibition behavior of the corresponding reaction after activation.Based on the results of the above three research data analysis and discussion, this paper drew the following conclusions:(1) Han nationality students held significant positive and negative ethnic stereotypes on Uighur ethnic group members;(2) The ethnic group faces categorization information could produce significant ethnic stereotype activation effect;(3) In the face ethnic categories processing, P250 was the dominant component to the ethnic face identification and categorization; P300 is an important indicator of the ethnic stereotype activation, and the ethnic stereotype began in the early stage of perception.(4) Ethnic stereotype was a series of processing, when activated, it lead to the significant stereotype suppression behavior tendency.