Prejudice%20and%20Discrimination%20Prejudice

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Prejudice and DiscriminationPrejudice

• Prejudice is a system of negative beliefs,
  feelings, and action-orientations regarding a
  certain group or groups of people.

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Prejudice and DiscriminationPrejudice

• Prejudice- means prejudgment, and unjustifiable
  and usually negative attitude toward a
  group--often a different cultural, ethnic or
  gender group. It is a mixture of beliefs
  (overgeneralized - stereotypes), emotions
  (hostility, envy, or fear), and predispositions
  to action (to discriminate).

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Prejudice and DiscriminationPsychology of
Prejudice

• The psychology of prejudice examines the
  subjective state of individuals, noting three
  levels of prejudice
• Cognitive
• Emotional
• Action-orientation
• Some possible causes are self-justification,
  personality, and frustration aggression

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Prejudice and DiscriminationPsychology of
Prejudice

• Cognitive- persons beliefs and perceptions of
  group as threatening/non-threatening, inferior/
  equal, seclusive/intrusive, impulse gratifying,
  acquisitive, or possessing positive or negative
  characteristics
• Emotional - feelings that a minority group
  arouses in an individual
• Action-orientation - positive or negative
  predisposition to engage in discriminatory
  behavior.

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Prejudice and DiscriminationPsychology of
Prejudice

• Self-Justification- denigrating a person or group
  to justify maltreatment of them, leading to
  prejudice and discrimination against members of
  another group
• Authoritarian personality - harsh parental
  discipline, child tends to be insecure and
  nurture much latent hostility against the parent.
  As an adult, may demonstrate displaced aggression
  against a powerless group to compensate for their
  feelings of insecurity and fear.
• Frustration - result of relative deprivation in
  which expectations remain unsatisfied

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Prejudice and DiscriminationSociology of
Prejudice

• The sociology of prejudice examines the objective
  conditions of society as social forces behind
  prejudiced attitudes.
• Some possible causes are--
• Socializations
• Competition
• Conformity to social norms

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Prejudice and DiscriminationStereotype

• A stereotype is an overcomplicated generalization
  by which we attribute certain traits or
  characteristics to any person in a group without
  regard to individuals differences.
• Once established, stereotypes are difficult to
  eradicate, as several studies have shown.

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Prejudice and DiscriminationEthnophaulisms

• Ethnophaulisms are derogatory words or
  expressions used to describe racial or ethnic
  groups.
• Ethnic humor is often at the expense of a
  particular group, but may also serve to
  strengthen group cohesiveness, dissociate oneself
  from stereotypes of ones group, or affirm
  oneself by pointing out the absurdity of ones
  predicaments..

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Prejudice and DiscriminationSocial Prejudice

• Television plays a major roll in shaping
  attitudes and perceptions.
• Studies find television usually perpetrates
  stereotypes as well as reaffirming viewer
  attitudes.
• One study showed one-fourth of respondents
  believed TV depicted reality and influenced their
  racial and ethnic attitudes

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Prejudice and DiscriminationSocial Prejudice

• Greater interaction and education do not
  necessarily reduce the level of prejudice in a
  society.
• Use of cooperative learning technique in a
  classroom setting has demonstrated an effective
  means of promoting better intergroup
  understanding and self-esteem

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Prejudice and DiscriminationDiscrimination

• Discrimination is an action or practice of
  differential and unequal treatment of other
  groups of people, usually along racial,
  religious, or ethnic levels.

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Prejudice and DiscriminationDiscrimination

• Like prejudice, discrimination also exists at
  different levels of intensity

• Verbal expression
• Avoidance
• Exclusion
• Physical abuse
• Extermination

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Prejudice and DiscriminationEthnoviolence

• Ethnoviolence is a new term describing a wide
  range of behavior against a particular group.
• Merton explains how social-situational variables
  can influence the relationship between prejudice
  and discrimination

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Prejudice and DiscriminationEthnoviolence

• The International Scence boxed feature discusses
  institutional discrimination against the Irish in
  Northern Ireland. (pg. 101)
• Think about what must be done to lessen the
  prejudice and discrimination that sow the seeds
  of violence in Northern Ireland.

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Prejudice and DiscriminationAffirmative Action

• From its origins in 1941 through the present,
  affirmative action programs have been
  controversial.
• Supreme Court rulings in the late 1970s and
  1980s upheld the principle of affirmative action
  but since 1989, a more conservative court has
  been ruling against race-conscious remedies.

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Prejudice and DiscriminationAffirmative Action

• Evidence about the programs success is mixed.
• Minority group opponents call affirmative action
  misplaced condescension that has poisoned race
  relations.
• Negative public opinion polls and proposed
  legislation suggest the real possibility of
  significant changes to come.

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Prejudice and Discrimination

• What is prejudice? What are some of its
  manifestations.
• What are some of the possible causes of
  prejudice?
• What role do the media play in combating or
  reinforcing stereotypes?
• What is discrimination? What are some of its
  manifestations?
• What is the relationship between prejudice and
  discrimination?
• Discuss the pros and cons of affirmative action.