Definition
- Prejudice: A negative attitude toward individuals based on group membership.
- Discrimination: Unfair treatment of individuals or groups based on group membership, often resulting from prejudice.
The Origins and Effects of Prejudice and Discrimination
Social Identity Theory (SIT)
- Asserts that prejudice and discriminatory behaviors originate from social categorization (in-groups and out-groups).
Realistic Group Conflict Theory (RGCT)
- Suggests that prejudice and competitive inter-group discriminatory behaviors arise from incompatible goals and negative interdependence.
- When groups compete for limited resources, prejudice and discrimination increase.
Implicit Bias
Prejudice, which leads to discrimination, may stem from cognitive biases. These biases may be explicit (openly stated) or implicit (not openly acknowledged).
- Bartlett’s Schema Theory provides a framework for understanding implicit bias.
- Activation of social schemas influences cognitive processes like memory, leading to prejudice and discrimination.
- Measured using Implicit Association Test (IAT)
- Digital test presents paired words on a screen, participants categorize words based on these pairings.
- The time taken to categorize words reveals the strength of implicit associations.
- Faster reaction times indicate stronger associations between concepts (e.g. "Black" and "unpleasant").
