Prejudice

Presented By:
Nor Anisa Bt. Musa
 What is Prejudice?
• Everyone comes face to face with prejudice at
some time or another.
• Prejudice is when we recognize that we feel and
act less positively towards others.
• The roots of prejudice can be found in the
cognitive and emotional processes.
• Prejudice may be perceived as acceptable and
justified
• All inequality and differential treatment is not
perceived and responded to in the same way.
 The nature and origins of streotyping,
prejudice and discrimination
• Prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination often overlap.
• Prejudice is the feelings we have about particular
groups.
• Prejudice is a negative prejudgment of a group and its
individual members.
• Prejudice biases us against others based on the
person’s group.
• Prejudice is a combination of feelings, inclinations to act
and beliefs.
• Prejudice is complex and include a component of
patronizing affection.
 Stereotypes
• Stereotypes are the cognitive component
attitudes towards a social group.
• To stereotypes is to generalize.
• It is a belief about what a particular group is like
• It is a belief about the personal attributes of a
group of people.
• It is sometimes over generalized, inaccurate and
resistant to new information but can be more or
less true.
 Discrimination
• Discrimination is the behavioural
component or differential actions taken
towards others
• Prejudice is a negative attitude and
behaviour, also unjustified behaviour
• Attitudes and behaviour reflects our inner
convictions
• Racism and sexism are practices that
discriminate.
 Stereotyping: beliefs about social
groups
• Stereotyping is the belief about social
groups in terms of the traits or
characteristics that they are deemed to
share
• Stereotypes are cognitive frameworks that
influence the processes of social
information
 Gender Stereotypes
• Gender stereotypes concern the traits possessed by
females and males that distinguish the two genders.
• Women are perceived as high on warmth but low on
competence
• Woman are low in status
• Men are perceived as decisive, assertive and
accomplished but aggressive, insensitive and arrogant
• Men are high status
• Women are seen as less appropriate for high status
positions
• Women are more suitable for support roles.
 Glass ceiling
• When women violate stereotypec
expectancies, they are rejected.
• The glass ceiling is a barrier that prevents
women from reaching top positions.
• Men however get on the glass escalator
when they enter female occupations
• Women must overcome greater obstacles
than men to reach a similar level of
success.
 Tokens
• Tokens make discrimination seem less plausible as an
explanation for other women’s lack of success
• Tokenism can be an effective strategy for deterring
collective protest by disadvantaged groups
• Tokenism have two negative effects
- It lets prejudiced people off the hook as the presence of
a token help maintain the perception that they are not
prejudiced
- It can damage self-esteem and confidence including to
the tokens.
 Why do people form and use
stereotypes?
• Stereotypes function as schemas for organizing,
interpreting and recalling information
• Stereotypes act as theories, guiding and exerting strong
effects on how we process social information
• Once they are formed, they shape our perception so that
new information is interpreted as confirming our
stereotype. We place inconsistencies as ‘subtype’.
• Illusory correlation is the perception of a stronger
association between two variables than actually exists. It
helps explain why negative behaviours are often
attributed to members of minority groups.
• Majority groups tend to perceive out-group members as
‘all alike’ (out-group homogeneity) and their own group
members as more diverse (in-group differentiation)
• Stereotypes change as relations between the groups are
altered. Those in power are more likely to negatively
stereotype those of less status.
• Stereotypic judgment will be stable as long as the nature
of the inter-group relationship that exists between any
two groups is stable
• When values and categorization change, stakes in the
present status is altered.
 Prejudice and discrimination
• Prejudice is an attitude, usually negative towards
members of a social group based on their membership
• It is dependent on the perceived norms and acceptability
of doing so
• Information that is consistent with prejudiced views often
received closer attention and is remembered more
• Prejudice may reflect more specific underlying emotional
responses to different out-groups including fear, guilt and
disgust.
• Discriminatory actions that follow maybe different
 Threats to self-esteem
• Prejudice persist because disparaging
others can protect our self-esteem.
• Threats to our group’s interest can
motivate prejudice and competition can
escalate conflicts
• Holding prejudiced views of an out-group
allows members to bolster their own
group’s image.
 Realistic conflict theory
• Prejudice stems from direct competition
between groups over scarce and valued
resources such as land, jobs, housing etc.
• As competition escalates, members of
opposing groups view each other in
increasingly negative terms.
• Competition can escalate into full-scale,
emotion-laden prejudice.
 Social identity theory
• Prejudice is derived from our tendency to divide
world into ‘us’ and ‘them’. Categorization may be
based on race, religion, gender, age occupation.
• We view our group more favorably than other
out-groups. ‘them’ are assumed to possess
more undesirable traits.
• Part of people’s self-esteem depends on
identifying with their social group. Strong need to
enhance our self-esteem make us see others as
inferior.
 Discrimination: prejudice in action
• Discrimination involves differential actions
towards other social groups
• Blatant forms of discrimination has decreased
because of the law or fear of retaliation.
• More subtle forms such as modern racism and
ambivalent racism persist.
• People with high modern racism may want to
hide their prejudice in public settings but express
them in private.
• Bona fide pipeline in based on the assumption
that people are unaware of their prejudices
 Why prejudice is not inevitable:
Techniques for countering its effects
• Group norms and socialization help to
perpetuate prejudice.
• When people are exposed to derogatory ethnic
labels, they can effect responses to the slurred
target differently depending on their level of
racism.
• Exposure to derogatory ethnic labels can elicit
conformity pressures with people wanting to fit-
in.
• Prejudice appears to be common. However, it
can be reduced.
 Learning not to hate
• Children acquire negative attitudes
because they hear such views expressed
by significant others.
• Children need to be taught early to reduce
prejudice.
• People whi come face to face with their
own prejudices and are willing to modify
their behaviour will lower levels of
prejudice in their children
The potential benefits of contact
• The contact hypothesis involves bringing
previously segregated groups into contact.
• Increased contact can lead to growing
recognition of similarities.
• Positive contact that reflect cooperation
and interdependence can change norms
so that group equality is favoured.
 Recategorization: changing
boundries
• Prejudice can be reduced by shifting the
boundary between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
• People formerly viewed as out group may now
be viewed more positively.
• Increased positive contact between previously
separate groups reduces inter-group bias.
• Groups working together toward shared goals
perceive themselves as a single social entity.
 Learn to ‘just say no’
• Emotional techniques for reducing prejudice are
effective. People with egalitarian standards feel
guilty when they violate those beliefs.
• They can reduce their automatic activation of
stereotypes to behave according to their
egalitarian principles.
• People can reduce their reliance on stereotypes
by consciously saying ‘no’ to association
between stereotypes and specific social groups.
 Social influence
• Social influence plays a role in both
maintenance and reduction of prejudice.
• Evidence suggesting that members of
their group hold less prejudiced views are
out of line with most people of their group,
they may change their views.