Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Discrimination

Prejudice means pre-judging, and is defined as having a bad opinion of a group without sufficient evidence, by thinking of that group in terms of unverified stereotypes. Prejudice is a preconceived judgment or opinion. Strictly speaking, prejudice can also be favoring a group without justifiable grounds or sufficient knowledge. But the most common definition of prejudice is an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, group, or race. 2. Why are people prejudiced against others?


Some factors are: ignorance, fear of someone different, low self-esteem, insecurity, a need to feel superior, or negative personal experiences with individuals from that group. Some people are prejudiced because they have a need to protect and maintain their self-image. Some people have the need to express their identity by excluding others. It makes them feel good to put others down through name calling, such as 'nigger, honky, kike, chink, faggot'. Prejudice is learned behavior and is usually passed down to people from their family or is derived from their friends. 3.advanced electric motor slotted set screw.

Most psychologists have long believed that fear is a prelude to hatred. 4. Some common types of prejudice: a) misogyny - Hatred of, or hostility toward women (As an example of how pervasive male dominance has been in human history, the word for hatred of men (misandry) is still not a common word, in fact most dictionaries do not even include it. ) b) xenophobia - fear or dislike of strangers or the unknown, often used to describe nationalistic political beliefs and movements c) homophobia - fear of homosexuals, or people thought to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual. d) anti-semitism - hatred of Jews.

e) racism - a form of discrimination based on race, especially the belief that one race is superior to another. Racism may be expressed individually and consciously, through explicit thoughts, feelings, or acts, or socially and unconsciously, through institutions that promote inequality between races. f) bigotry - the intolerance and prejudice of a bigot, that is, a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from their own 5. Recent experiments were conducted at Dartmouth College with the help of brain-imaging equipment and some undergraduates. They found that racial prejudice makes you stupider.

According to their findings, the more biased people are, the more their brain power is taxed by contact with someone of another race, as they struggle not to say or do anything offensive. The effect is so strong, that even a five minute conversation with a black person left some of the white subjects unable to perform well on a test of cognitive ability PREJUDICE (ITS FUNCTIONS) As an attitude, prejudice can function as a schema for organizing information about members of a group.

Information that is consistent with our prejudices (rather than inconsistent) tends to receive more attention, is rehearsed more frequently, is more likely to be remembered Even though prejudice can be positive or negative, let's focus on the negative Prejudice involves negative feelings when they are in the presence of,or even think about, members of the group Prejudice often involves stereotypes, suggesting that all members of a group behave in certain ways and have certain characteristics Therefore, prejudice has both cognitive and affective components Affective component is the positive or negative attitude/feeling Cognitive component contains stereotypes.

Origins of Prejudice Direct intergroup conflict Social learning Social categorization: Us vs. them Cognitive sources: stereotypes, illusory correlations, outgroup homogeneity Direct Intergroup Conflict This research is based on , or lead to, realistic conflict theory Idea is that real disparities or competition between groups leads to hostility (negative prejudice). Even "perceived" threats (relative deprivation) can lead to prejudice Think about strife existing between early Mormons and other groups.

Can partly be explained in terms of realistic conflict theory, accounted for in terms of real deprivation or perceived deprivation. Some would argue that this theory applies to increasing prejudice (and discrimination) currently prevalent here in Utah Robber's Cave study (Sherif et al. , 1961) Rattlers and Eagles in separate cabins formed close attachments to others in own group (Week 1) Groups brought into competition with one another (Week 2) Groups developed strong prejudices Superordinate goals introduced (e. g. , fixing bus) (Week 3) Conflict reduced.

Hovland & Sears (1940) -- correlation between economic conditions and racial violence Most of 4761 lynchings in US between 1882 and 1930 occurred in the South, and most victims were African Americans Farm value of cotton and per-acre value of cotton each year was strongly correlated with the number of lynchings in each year Again, think about realistic conflict notion in light of current levels of prejudice (and discrimination in the U. S. ). As economic conditions worsen, prejudice and discrimination are on the rise. Social learning as source of prejudice.

Children acquire negative attitudes toward various social groups through direct and vicarious learning experiences Parents, teachers, friends, the mass media all play roles in the development of prejudice Consider how minority groups or the two genders have been portrayed in the media Some even argue that we are "born" with a bias to perceive dark stimuli as more fearful than lighter stimuli (shown with babies and toddlers using "neutral" stimuli) Social categorization as source of Prejudice: Us vs. Them People tend to view "us" in favorable terms and "them" more negatively Ingroup-outgroup distinction affects attribution.

We tend to attribute desirable behaviors of ingroup members to stable internal causes, but tend to attribute desirable behaviors of outgroup members to unstable or to external causes- sometimes called theultimate attribution error How does social categorization result in prejudice? Tajfel (1982) proposes that that individuals seek to enhance their self-esteem by identifying with social groups. This is successful to the extent that persons perceive their group(s) as somehow superior to other group(s) Basking in reflected glory (BIRG'ing) - Chap. 3.

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