Prejudice, Stereotypes and Discrimination
PSY 301: Social Psychology
February, 11, 2013
Prejudice, Stereotypes and Discrimination
Judgments' prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.
~ Wayne W. Dyer ~
When it comes to one of the most sought after actions in a human beings life, social interaction, it is expected that one will make preconceived notions/assessments of others that they may come in contact with. These assessments (judgments') commonly stem from prejudices, stereotypes and thus form a form of discrimination in which the individual may harbor. Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Discrimination are an age old dilemma in which humanity faces off with on a daily basis, one that unless we come to an understanding, will never dissipate from our world. These three words alone hold one strong common factor when it comes to how they wield there power over others, FEAR. All three develop from a fear of the unknown, Sigmund Freud a famous Psychologist said it best when he said, " The greatest motivator of humankind and human behavior is fear." Thus, this essay is going to cover the definition, descriptions and ins and outs when it comes to the many different versions of Prejudice, Stereotypes and Discrimination within humanity.
In our text, Introduction to Social Psychology, by J. Feenstra (2011), it informs us that social psychologist differentiate among prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination by maintaining focus on whether they include components such as feelings (affect), cognition, or behaviors to individualize them; In doing so, social psychologists have discovered that Prejudice is the affect, or feelings aspect out of the three, stereotypes is the cognitive aspect which, leaves discrimination as the behaviors aspect of the group (Feenstra, J., 2011, pg. 74). These three groups are comprised of two smaller units know as in-groups and out-groups. The in-group (a group you are...