Exploring the Relationships between Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination among Japanese University Students: A Survey Study

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination as they show up in the teaching of cross-cultural communication to Japanese college students. The study draws on a social psychology framework that relates affect, behavior and cognition to each other, and then applies this framework to teaching the more emotionally laden aspects of Yashiro’s (2001) culture iceberg. Specifically, it examines the relationship between stereotype and prejudice, based on the premise that intercultural miscommunication starts from stereotypes (in the cognitive level), which are translated into strong feelings of prejudice (in the affective level) and in turn manifested in various forms of discriminatory actions (in the behavioral level). This study finds a relationship between prejudice (affect) and discrimination (behavior) that Japanese students have toward countries in particular, in a sample of 155 college students in Japan. Through studying the relationship between discrimination (behavior), prejudice (affect) and stereotyping (cognition) among Japanese college students, this study extends and deepens the literature on cultural awareness and processing as it relates to teaching culture in Japan.

Keywords

Affect/feelings / behavior / cognition / cross-cultural communication / discrimination / Japanese students / prejudice / stereotyping

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