Negative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group

1. Attitudes
2. Prejudice

By Dr. Saul McLeod, published 2008

Definitions

• Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group.
• For example, a person may hold prejudiced views towards a certain race or gender etc. (e.g. sexist).
• Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, especially on the basis of sex/race/social class, etc.

Differences Between Prejudice and Discrimination

A prejudiced person may not act on their attitude.  Therefore, someone can be prejudiced towards a certain group but not discriminate against them.

Also, prejudice includes all three components of an attitude (affective, behavioral and cognitive), whereas discrimination just involves behavior.

There are four main explanations of prejudice and discrimination:

1. Authoritarian Personality

2. Realistic Conflict Theory - Robbers Cave

3. Stereotyping

4. Social identity Theory

Conformity could also be used as an explanation of prejudice if you get stuck writing a psychology essay (see below).

Examples of Discrimination

Racial Discrimination

Apartheid (literally "separateness") was a system of racial segregation that was enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.  Non-white people where prevented from voting and lived in separate communities.

World War II - In Germany and German-controlled lands, Jewish people had to wear yellow stars to identify themselves as Jews. Later, the Jews were placed in concentration camps by the Nazis.

Age Discrimination

This is a type of discrimination against a person or group on the grounds of age.

Gender Discrimination

In Western societies, while women are often discriminated against in the workplace, men are often discriminated against in the home and family environments. 

For instance after a divorce women receive primary custody of the children far more often than men. Women on average earn less pay than men for doing the same job.

Conformity as an Explanation of Prejudice and Discrimination

Influences that cause individuals to be racist or sexist, for example, may come from peers, parents, and group membership. Conforming to social norms means people adopt the “normal” set of behavior(s) associated with a particular group or society.

Social norms - behavior considered appropriate within a social group - are one possible influence on prejudice and discrimination.

People may have prejudiced beliefs and feelings and act in a prejudiced way because they are conforming to what is regarded as normal in the social groups to which they belong:

The effect of Social Norms on Prejudice

Minard (1952) investigated how social norms influence prejudice and discrimination. The behavior of black and white miners in a town in the southern United States was observed, both above and below ground.

Below ground, where the social norm was friendly behavior towards work colleagues, 80 of the white miners were friendly towards the black miners. Above ground, where the social norm was prejudiced behavior by whites to blacks, this dropped to 20.

The white miners were conforming to different norms above and below ground. Whether or not prejudice is shown depends on the social context within which behavior takes place.

Pettigrew (1959) also investigated the role of conformity in prejudice. He investigated the idea that people who tended to be more conformist would also be more prejudiced, and found this to be true of white South African students.

Similarly, he accounted for the higher levels of prejudice against black people in the southern United States than in the north in terms of the greater social acceptability of this kind of prejudice in the south.

Rogers and Frantz (1962) found that immigrants to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) became more prejudiced the longer they had been in the country. They gradually conformed more to the prevailing cultural norm of prejudice against the black population.

Evaluation:  Conformity to social norms, then, may offer an explanation for prejudice in some cases. At the same time, norms change over time, so this can only go some way towards explaining prejudice.

How to reference this article:

How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Prejudice and discrimination. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html

APA Style References

Minard, R. D. (1952). Race relationships in the Pocahontas coal field. Journal of Social Issues, 8(1), 29-44.">Race relationships in the Pocahontas coal field. Journal of Social Issues, 8(1), 29-44.

Pettigrew, T. F. (1959). Regional differences in anti-Negro prejudice. Journal of abnormal psychology, 59(1), 28.

Rogers, C. A., & Frantz, C. (1962). Racial themes in Southern Rhodesia: the attitudes and behavior of the white population (p. 338). New Haven: Yale University Press.

How to reference this article:

How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Prejudice and discrimination. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html

Home | About Us | Privacy Policy | Advertise | Contact Us

Simply Psychology's content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

© Simply Scholar Ltd - All rights reserved

What is a negative attitude toward a group and its members?

What is negative discrimination?

What are the 3 types of prejudice?

What's an example of prejudice?