21st March 2020 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

SATURDAY

KUSHAGRA PRASAD
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY)

Why Prejudice is Not Inevitable: Techniques for Countering its Effects

ON LEARNING NOT TO HATE-

 Social Learning View- Children exposed to negative attitudes towards various groups
because of hearing such views being expressed and awarded by significant others.
 Parental influence and children trying to make parents proud show the greatest signs
of such attitudes.
THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF CONTACT: CONTACT HYPOTHESIS-

 Increase in contact-Increased recognition of similarities between them.

 Positive contact between various groups deals a severe blow and nullifies the held
beliefs about a particular group.
RE-CATEGORISATION-

 Situations, where we tend to shift the boundaries between US and THEM, can lead
us to believe that we are part of one single social fabric and identity and the
attitudes tend to be more positive.
THE BENEFITS OF GUILT FOR PREJUDICE REDUCTION

 Egalitarian self-images- motivate to suppress prejudice.

 The feeling of collective guilt, based on the actions of other members of their group
whenever the confrontation with what they did to the other group.

Stereotypes acquired by learning to particular characteristics and the automatic associations

are formed and activated. The possibility of people being able to say NO to the stereotypes
which are in direct correlation to the negative behaviour towards another group.