Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual

based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group.

For example, a person may hold prejudiced views towards a certain race or gender etc. (e.g.
sexist).

Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of

people, especially on the basis of sex/race/social class, etc.

The Difference Between Prejudice and Discrimination

A prejudiced person may not act on their attitude. Therefore, someone can be prejudiced
towards a certain group but not discriminate against them. Also, prejudice includes all three
components of an attitude (affective, behavioral and cognitive), whereas discrimination just
involves behavior.

There are four main explanations of prejudice and discrimination:

1. Authoritarian Personality

2. Realistic Conflict Theory - Robbers Cave

3. Stereotyping

4. Social identity Theory

Conformity could also be used as an explanation of prejudice if you get stuck writing a
psychology essay (see below).

Examples of Discrimination
Racial Discrimination
Apartheid (literally "separateness") was a system of racial segregation that was enforced in
South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Non-white people where prevented from voting and lived in
separate communities.
The effect of Social Norms on Prejudice
Minard (1952) investigated how social norms influence prejudice and discrimination. The
behavior of black and white miners in a town in the southern United States was observed,
both above and below ground.

Results: Below ground, where the social norm was friendly behavior towards work
colleagues, 80 of the white miners were friendly towards the black miners. Above ground,
where the social norm was prejudiced behavior by whites to blacks, this dropped to 20.

Conclusion: The white miners were conforming to different norms above and below
ground. Whether or not prejudice is shown depends on the social context within which
behavior takes place.

Pettigrew (1959) also investigated the role of conformity in prejudice. He investigated the
idea that people who tended to be more conformist would also be more prejudiced, and
found this to be true of white South African students. Similarly, he accounted for the higher
levels of prejudice against black people in the southern United States than in the north in
terms of the greater social acceptability of this kind of prejudice in the south.

A study by Rogers and Frantz (1962) found that immigrants to Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) became more prejudiced the longer they had been in the country. They gradually
conformed more to the prevailing cultural norm of prejudice against the black population.

Evaluation: Conformity to social norms, then, may offer an explanation for prejudice in
some cases. At the same time, norms change over time, so this can only go some way towards
explaining prejudice.

World War II - In Germany and German-controlled lands, Jewish people had to wear yellow
stars to identify themselves as Jews. Later, the Jews were placed in concentration camps by
the Nazis.

Age Discrimination
This is a type of discrimination against a person or group on the grounds of age.

Gender Discrimination
In Western societies while women are often discriminated against in the workplace, men are
often discriminated against in the home and family environments.
For instance after a divorce women receive primary custody of the children far more often
than men. Women on average earn less pay than men for doing the same job.

The effect of Social Norms on Prejudice

Minard (1952) investigated how social norms influence prejudice and discrimination. The
behavior of black and white miners in a town in the southern United States was observed,
both above and below ground.

Results: Below ground, where the social norm was friendly behavior towards work
colleagues, 80 of the white miners were friendly towards the black miners. Above ground,
where the social norm was prejudiced behavior by whites to blacks, this dropped to 20.

Conclusion: The white miners were conforming to different norms above and below
ground. Whether or not prejudice is shown depends on the social context within which
behavior takes place.

Pettigrew (1959) also investigated the role of conformity in prejudice. He investigated the
idea that people who tended to be more conformist would also be more prejudiced, and
found this to be true of white South African students. Similarly, he accounted for the higher
levels of prejudice against black people in the southern United States than in the north in
terms of the greater social acceptability of this kind of prejudice in the south.

A study by Rogers and Frantz (1962) found that immigrants to Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) became more prejudiced the longer they had been in the country. They gradually
conformed more to the prevailing cultural norm of prejudice against the black population.

Evaluation: Conformity to social norms, then, may offer an explanation for prejudice in
some cases. At the same time, norms change over time, so this can only go some way towards
explaining prejudice.

How People's Prejudices Develop

Prejudice can have a strong influence on how people behave and interact with others, particularly with those
who are different from them. Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group.
Common features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a tendency to discriminate
against members of the group. While specific definitions of prejudice given by social scientists often differ,
most agree that it involves prejudgments that are usually negative about members of a group.
When people hold prejudicial attitudes toward others, they tend to view everyone who fits into a certain group
as being "all the same." They paint every individual who holds particular characteristics or beliefs with a very
broad brush and fail to really look at each person as a unique individual.

Prejudice can have a strong influence on how people behave and interact with others, particularly with those
who are different from them. Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group.
Common features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a tendency to discriminate
against members of the group. While specific definitions of prejudice given by social scientists often differ,
most agree that it involves prejudgments that are usually negative about members of a group.

When people hold prejudicial attitudes toward others, they tend to view everyone who fits into a certain group
as being "all the same." They paint every individual who holds particular characteristics or beliefs with a very
broad brush and fail to really look at each person as a unique individual.

Prejudice and Stereotyping

When prejudice occurs, stereotyping, discrimination, and bullying may also result. In many cases, prejudices are
based on stereotypes.

A stereotype is a simplified assumption about a group based on prior experiences or beliefs.

Stereotypes can be positive ("women are warm and nurturing") or negative ("teenagers are lazy"). Stereotypes
can not only lead to faulty beliefs, but they can also result in both prejudice and discrimination.

According to psychologist Gordon Allport, prejudice and stereotypes emerge in part as a result of normal human
thinking. In order to make sense of the world around us, it's important to sort information into mental categories.
"The human mind must think with the aid of categories," Allport explained in his book, The Nature of
Prejudice. "Once formed, categories are the basis for normal prejudgment. We cannot possibly avoid this
process. Orderly living depends upon it." 1

Prejudice and Stereotyping Are Mental Mistakes

In other words, we depend upon our ability to place people, ideas, and objects
into different categories in order to make the world simpler and easier to
understand. We are simply inundated with too much information to sort through
all of it in a logical, methodical, and rational fashion. Being able to quickly
categorize information allows us to interact and react quickly, but it also leads
to mistakes. Prejudice and stereotyping are just two examples of the mental
mistakes that result from our tendency to quickly categorize information in the
world around us.

In fact, according to an article in Current Directions in Psychological Science,

prejudice comes from a deep psychological need where people who aren't
comfortable with ambiguity are prone to make generalizations about others.

What We Can Do to Reduce Prejudice

In addition to looking at the reasons why prejudice occurs, researchers have also explored
different ways that prejudice can be reduced or even eliminated. Training people to become
more empathetic to members of other groups is one method that has shown a considerable
success. By imagining themselves in the same situation, people are able to think about how
they would react and gain a greater understanding of other people's actions.

Other techniques that are used to reduce prejudice include:

 Passing laws and regulations that require fair and equal treatment for all groups of
people
 Gaining public support and awareness for anti-prejudice social norms
 Making people aware of the inconsistencies in their own beliefs
 Increased contact with members of other social groups