12.2
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identitie…
In a social setting, people may interact with others based on their most distinctive attribute, such as age, gender, or race. As a result, one can quickly evaluate another person as a whole—as a construct of the group categorization.
However, this process can result in unfavorable biases. One kind, stereotypes, are mental beliefs that are overgeneralized to the group. For example, older adults are believed to be weaker and less competent than younger adults.
Harboring a stereotype about a group can lead to prejudice—an unjustifiable attitude towards someone based on their membership in the group. By internalizing negative stereotypes about older adults, a person may immediately dislike their new, older neighbor even before getting to know them.
In many cases, an individual may not be consciously aware of their prejudices. Instead they make automatic negative associations, which can be demonstrated through the Implicit Association Test. This computer task measures how fast someone relates members of a group with either positive or negative images and words.
For instance, during one block of trials, the participant may see an image of either a young or old face. With their fingers on the “E” and “I” keys, they are asked to classify, as quickly and accurately as possible, the image into either the left or right category.
In another block of trials, the combinations are reversed: Now bad/young and good/old are paired together as the images appear.
If participants sort faster during good/young compared to the good/old trials, they may have an unconscious prejudice toward older adults, as slower responses are interpreted to reflect more difficult associations.
Since people tend to feel such bias towards a group that they are unfamiliar with, they can reduce their negative attitudes by forming relationships with people from different groups.
Otherwise, prejudice—both conscious and unconscious—can fuel discrimination—a negative action toward a group and its members.
For example, even if both candidates are equally qualified for a job, an employer may decide to hire the younger applicant over an older one solely based on their age. This case is a form of ageist discrimination.
While certain forms of prejudice and discrimination are culturally acceptable and continue to persist, a majority can choose to identify others for the content of their character rather than labeling them by their outer cover.
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Q1: What is the difference between a stereotype and prejudice?
Stereotypes are overgeneralized mental beliefs applied to an entire group, such as assuming older adults are weaker and less competent. Prejudice is an unjustifiable attitude toward someone based on their group membership, often resulting from internalizing those stereotypes. For example, someone may dislike a new older neighbor before knowing them, having formed prejudice through negative stereotypes about age.
Q2: How does the Implicit Association Test measure unconscious bias?
The Implicit Association Test is a computer task measuring how quickly people associate group members with positive or negative images and words. Participants classify faces or images into categories using keyboard keys. Slower response times when pairing a group with positive words suggest unconscious prejudice, as difficult associations take longer to process than automatic, ingrained ones.
Q3: What is discrimination and how does it differ from prejudice?
Discrimination is negative action or behavior toward a group and its members, while prejudice is an attitude or feeling. An employer hiring a younger applicant over an equally qualified older candidate based solely on age commits ageist discrimination. Prejudice fuels discrimination; without acting on biased attitudes, prejudice remains internal, but discrimination manifests as harmful treatment.
Q4: Why do people hold implicit attitudes that differ from their explicit beliefs?
Humans have two attitude types: explicit attitudes, which are conscious and controllable, and implicit attitudes, which are unconscious and uncontrollable. Because egalitarian views are socially desirable, most people avoid showing extreme bias on explicit measures. However, implicit attitude measures often reveal mild to strong racial bias or other prejudices that people may not consciously recognize or intend.
Q5: How can contact with different groups reduce prejudice?
Since people tend to harbor bias toward unfamiliar groups, forming relationships with members of different groups can reduce negative attitudes. Even imagining positive interactions with members of different cultural groups increases positive attitudes toward that group and reduces anxiety about intergroup contact. Direct contact and social interaction are effective strategies for decreasing prejudice across social boundaries.
Q6: What are examples of sexism in modern society?
Sexism includes gender role expectations, such as assuming women should be household caretakers. Women are expected to be friendly, passive, and nurturing; when they behave assertively, they face dislike for violating gender norms. Women also experience sexism in hiring and promotion within male-dominated fields like engineering and aviation, where they are less likely to advance despite equal qualifications.
Q7: What forms of prejudice are most widespread in U.S. culture?
Ageism, homophobia, racism, and sexism are widespread prejudices in U.S. society. Ageism toward older adults portrays them as incompetent, weak, and slow. Homophobia leads to exclusion of LGBT individuals from social groups and employment. Racism manifests through racial profiling and discriminatory treatment. These prejudices persist partly through social learning, as children internalize biased attitudes from parents, media, and peers.