Strategies to Reduce Prejudice
Prerequisites – before examining strategies to reduce prejudice, you must be able to define prejudice, sexism and racism, and describe and evaluate theories of the origins of prejudice.
By the end of this unit you will be able to describe at least 2 strategies for reducing prejudice. The strategies will be chosen from the table below. Please note that the strategies should be psychological. Non psychological examples are supporting evidence for an excellent exam response.
Strategies for reducing prejudice
Education
One method that can be used to reduce prejudice and conflict is education. Giving people information concerning the cause and effects of prejudice may help reduce it.
This is because education can help prevent society developing prejudice attitudes as the accepted social norm (Bem & Bem, 1970).
Education to reduce prejudice is particularly effective on young people but Hill (2001) states that if adults are forced to listen to information incompatible to their deep-seated attitudes, they will reject it, twist it, or pay no attention to it. So the idea then is to get young malleable minds and educate them to prevent perpetuation of prejudicial attitudes.
Jane Elliott (1968) is a key contributor to the idea of promoting education as a classroom tool to reducing prejudice. She confirmed that it can be used effectively to teach us to be more considerate of others.
The impetus for designing a prejudice reduction strategy.
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee, on 4th April 1968.
The United States at this time was rife with prejudicial attitudes and discrimination against all colours except whites especially in the Southern states of America.
Immediately before Martin Luther King’s murder Elliot had attempted to introduce her young pupils to the concept of racial equality. She had made Martin Luther King her class 'Hero of the Month',...