Prejudice and Discrimination

What’s in a Word or Symbol?

 Racism is a negative behaviour based on
an incorrect assumption that one race is
inherently superior to others.

 Discrimination is unfair actions directed

against people based on their race,
gender, ethnicity, nationality, language
or sexual orientation.

 Discrimination and racism are very

strong words and yet people throw them
around as if they were not so emotional.
 Prejudice, Discrimination and Power
 Issues of prejudice and discrimination involve people
outside of power and authority.

 Stereotypes are beliefs people form about groups when

they take in information, these stereotypes become
problematic when people apply these stereotypes to
individuals. (Blond jokes, become ideas we apply to
blond individuals as a basis for promotions)

 Stereotypes are problematic in both their positive and

negative forms.

 Prejudice forms when stereotypes are negative and are

not changed in the face of contrary evidence.

 Discrimination occurs when people transfer prejudice

into action and create out-groups who suffer from their
deteriorated status.
 Understanding Prejudice and
Discrimination
 Perception of the world is key to
understanding the development of
prejudice.

 Sensory Information->becomes an
image -> that is processed through a
paradigm.

 When a person perceives they take

that reality and incorporate it into
their understanding of the world.

 People do not perceive things as

they actually exist in the world.
 Understanding Prejudice and
Discrimination
 An example is when a child gets close to a
glowing burner and recognizes it as hot.

 Every time they see a glowing burner, no

matter how bright, they always now associate
it as hot.

 This is how discrimination has evolved to

protect the human species, (hot not safe- cool
safe). It works with objects, but not with
people.

 An image of reality can, therefore, differ

from person to person.

 If the image of a certain group is negative,

possibly affected by negative stereotypes,
then they will act badly towards that person
which is discrimination.
 Understanding Prejudice and
Discrimination
 When you add the concept of paradigm to the equation it shows how
differences in perceived images occur. A paradigm is a person’s stored
rules and conditions that they use to understand sensory experiences.

 Ex. One person sees a stranger and wants to run and another sees them
as another passerby, it depends on the paradigm people judge the
situation with.
Systemic Discrimination
 Systematic Discrimination is discrimination practiced by
corporations, public institutions or entire countries.
 Sexism or Racism become part of the whole company or
institution.
 Systemic Discrimination Examples
 Immigration greatly favoured white Europeans for
most of the nineteenth century.

 In 1939 the ship the St Louis carrying 907 Jewish

Refugees was forced to return to Nazi camps
because Canada’s government would not allow for
many Jewish refugees.

 Women were not identified as persons until 1929.

 During the Second World War Japanese were put

into internment camps.

 Aboriginal people were not given full voting rights

until 1962.

 Many in Canada are still disenfranchised by

employers, including aboriginals.
 IQ Testing and Discrimination
 Standard IQ tests were first created by French
Psychologist Theodore Simon.

 The Stanford-Binet Test has replaced this test and has

become widely used.

 The problem is that the test is set up to judge the IQ of

the white majority.

 Many have tried to make the case that some groups

are smarter than others based upon these tests.

 Canadian education psychologist Robert Samuda has

made the case that IQ tests use language and ideas
of the majority so success on these tests depends on
how well a group has assimilated these cultural
ideas.

 Culturally-fair tests are starting to replace the old

Stanford-Binet tests in Canada.
 Genocide
 Genocide is the ultimate form of
discrimination.

 Occurs when those in power try to

eliminate an entire race of people.

 Hitler is best known for the

Holocaust against Jewish People, but
Serbia, Rwanda, Indonesia have all
been places where genocides have
occurred.

 Under the United Nations leaders

who create genocide are tried for war
crimes.
“Do Aboriginal People in Canada Face
Genocide?”
 Read case study on Pg. 294
 Answer questions 1-3
 Prejudice, Discrimination and Self Esteem

 In 1959 a white Texan named Howard

Griffin temporarily changed his skin
colour to find out people’s reactions, he
reported that he was denied things he
had been allowed as a white man and
even faced acts of violence.

 Psychologists have long known that

children judge their self worth on how
others value them; hurtful words can
diminish a person’s self perception.
“We Cannot Blame the White People Any Longer”
 Read the article by:
Dr. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.

Discussion
1. What is the message of the article?
2. What are your reactions to the article?
3. Do you agree or disagree with Bill Cosby? Explain.