Prejudice and Stereotypes, Essay Example

Nowadays people are deeply concerned about the problem of prejudice and stereotypes. It is evident that they are harmful for not only interpersonal relations, but also mental state of individuals. That is the reason why people make attempts to look into the problem and find its possible solutions. I decided to consider this issue, as I’m convinced that it is stereotyping that makes our life lack diversity and freedom. We are used to following simplified models of attitudes and relations without paying any attention to individual peculiarities of each person or object. I believe that in order to be successful in all spheres of life one should learn to be open to new experiences, which means that he or she should be ready to tolerate things, even if they are not understandable enough to be followed. In my opinion, to cope with this task one should get acquainted with the notion “stereotype”, as well as point out its reasons and the ways one can get rid of it.

Many people mistakenly think that their perceptions should be similar to other people’s ones and in case they see that two individuals differ in opinion on some issue, one of them is likely to be wrong. However, psychology is prone to rejecting this point of view. According to it, perception of even a simple object is not an isolated action, but an important part of the sophisticated process. It depends primarily upon the system, within which the object is being considered, as well as prior experience, interests and goals of the subject. For example, a certain machinery item may be viewed by an ignorant person as a useless scrap metal. Any book is perceived differently by readers, bookseller and bibliopegists.

Any act of perception is preceded be what psychologists call a mindset, which is a personal squint and preparedness to engage oneself with a definite activity, which is able to satisfy his or her personal requirements. In comparison with a motive a mindset is unconscious and is not apprehend by an individual. However, it is a mindset, which determines the person’s attitude to objects and the way he or she perceives them. So, the person who is collecting book covers, first of all sees this aspect of the book, and those longing for reading the novel will hardly take any notice of its binding. Thus, prior experience and peculiarities of social setting are accumulated in an individual’s mindset system.

The notion “mindset” exists also in social psychology and in the sphere of human relations. When talking to a person who belongs to a particular social group, profession, nation, or age group, we expect that he or she will behave in the corresponding way and evaluate one’s behavior accordingly. For instance, a young man is expected to be romantic, and when we come across this personal feature in a person, we consider it natural. On the other hand, it may seem strange, if an individual lacks romanticism in the age of 18. Scientists are thought to be scatterbrained. Although this feature does not seem to be universal, when we see an organized and focused scientist, we are apt to classifying him as an exception, rather than an ordinary thing.

Stereotype is a preconceived opinion, which is not based upon a new immediate evaluation of each phenomenon, but taken from standardized judgments and expectations. In other words, stereotyping consists in the fact that a simple formula which commonly characterizes the class of similar objects or phenomena is mechanically applied to a complicated unique one. For example, the statement that fat people are thought to be good-natured may be applied to any fat person, which is not backed be any reliable facts. Moreover, it may even contradict real state of events.

Stereotypes are an integral part of commonplace sense. Nobody appears to be able to respond to each event in a creative way. A stereotype gathers collective experience and, when suggested to an individual, helps orientate oneself in life and, therefore, directs one’s behavior. In addition, stereotypes may be true and false, as well as they may evoke both positive and negative emotions. Nevertheless, the point is that they express the attitude of a certain group to particular objects and phenomena. For example, images of some characters in fairy-tales may express attitudes of various social groups to each other. Consequently, it becomes evident that stereotypes of different groups are different, or even oppose each other.

In national psychology there are also stereotypes. Each ethnic group has its own self-comprehension, which fixes all its specific features – real and imaginary. Every nation is unconsciously associated with some specific characteristics. Thus, in 1951 students of Princeton University were asked to characterize each nation with adjectives (such as “clever”, “brave”, “cunning”, etc.), which seem to be the most typical for them. According to results of the research, the Americans are enterprising and ambitious, the English – athletic and conservative, the Jewish – clever and stingy, the Italians – artistic and passionate, the Irish – witty and honest, etc. Judging by these results, we may conclude that stereotypes determine our attitude to particular group. So, having to get in touch with a representative or some nation we expect from him or her behavior which may be absolutely uncharacteristic of them. Moreover, it is difficult to say what the basis of those stereotypes is.

Even more difficult is to judge national customs and traditions. It fully depends upon who judges and from what point of view. Here one should be especially careful. It should be taken into consideration that people perceive other’s traditions through the alembic of their own ones. This inclination to view others on the basis of one’s own culture is called ethnocentrism.

It should be emphasized that it is quite natural that people are apt to thinking that the country they were brought in is the best. For instance, a temperamental Italian may consider a reserved Finn too soft and cold, while the latter may dislike Italian vehemence.  Other’s customs may seem not only strange and awkward, but also absolutely unacceptable. It is natural, as natural are differences in historic background and climate.

Stereotyping becomes a problem, when real or imaginary differences are viewed as a major factor and turn to a hostile psychological mindset towards particular national groups, which disconnects people and leads to various forms of discrimination. That is the ethnic prejudice.

We appear to be engaging in discrimination, whenever we judge people and groups according to our prejudices and stereotypes and treat them differently. Discrimination may be of various forms. For example, one may create unbearable conditions for neighbors he or she is prejudiced against, and, therefore, make them move to another place. Women and national minorities may be exposed to discrimination in education, employment, or social services. Some US clubs have do not allow Jews, African-Americans, or women to join them. Many people fear those who are known to have suffered mental illness, as such people are expected to harm us. There are also criminal cases, when laws that has not been applied equally to all as a result of discrimination.

It should be also noted that prejudices contradict some important standards and values nominally accepted in the country. However, in the world history there were cases, when ethnocentrism was the part of official policy (for example, Nazi Germany).

There are two ways of studying stereotypes. The first one consists in examining the mentality of those who appear to be prejudiced against something or someone. The second one is viewing stereotypes as a social aspect. It is evident that an individual takes the majority of ethic views from social mind. Consequently, to understand the nature of ethic prejudices, one should study not only the prejudiced person, but also society, which breeds stereotypes.   Psychology is engaged into the first method, while sociology – into the second one. Although the latter one seems to be more fruitful, I think psychological findings on this issue would be also of great help.

According to psychologists Tajfel and Turner, one of the reasons why people become prejudiced consists in their need for self-esteem. In the view of Tajfel and his colleagues, people maintain their self-esteem in part by identifying with groups and believing that the groups they belong to are better than other groups (Tajfel and Turner 19). Consequently, even experimentally created minimal groups give people a chance to bolster their self-esteem through in-group biases. Tajfel’s theory, known as “social identity theory,” is supported by both laboratory and field studies. For example, research shows that after university athletic teams win a game, students are more likely to wear clothes that identify the school, and use the word “we” when describing the game’s outcome, especially if their self-esteem has recently been challenged by a personal failure. In addition, a review of 34 separate studies found that people who are high in self-esteem – and who therefore have the most to lose if their self-esteem is undercut – exhibit more in-group bias than do people low in self-esteem (Aberson, Healy, & Romero 201).

It should be emphasized that very often stereotypes are triggered by parents. Children begin to acquire prejudices and stereotypes in very early age. Many researches have proved that in the age of 3 children pick up terms of racial prejudice without even comprehending their significance (Tajfel and Turner 86). Afterwards they begin to form attachments to their racial or ethnic groups and develop negative attitudes towards other ones. In addition, stereotyping may influence other areas of child’s life. Children can suffer from an atmosphere of prejudice at home, because prejudices create social and emotional tension and can result in fear and anxiety, which in turn cause children’s becoming hostile and violent in future (Bettleheim and Morris 76). Moreover, discrimination may undermine the self-esteem and self-confidence of those being humiliated and make them feel unaccepted and, therefore, lonely. Consequently, they may become depressed and socially withdrawn, their school performance suffers greatly. Thus, children get into vicious circle, when they get unable to recover from psycho traumas and more and more abased by counterparts.

Parents’ task here is to help a child deal with diversity in a positive way. Prejudice is learned at a very young age from parents, other children and people and institutions outside of the family. By about 4 years of age, children are aware of differences among people, primarily in characteristics like appearance, language and names, but later they also become aware of religious and cultural distinctions. This is normal, when distinctions are viewed not like a drawback, but a good opportunity to get new experience from relations with various kinds of people.

In addition, it is extremely important to comprehend that young people should be able to accept these individual distinctions. Moreover, they should be able to accept simplified stereotypes about others. When that happens, they not only develop distorted views of the youngsters and adults they encounter in daily life, but they may start to deny and overlook the common, universal human elements and traits that would bring people together. As a result, intolerance may become the main means of fighting against stereotypes.

If people are aware of their being prejudiced, they can examine them and attempt to eliminate hidden attitudes before they are expressed through behavior. This compensation can include attention to language, body language and to the stigmatization felt by target groups.

Research evidence also suggests that changes in behavior can change beliefs and attitudes. It would seem logical that a conscious decision to be egalitarian might lead one to widen one’s circle of friends and knowledge of other groups. Such efforts may, over time, reduce the strength of unconscious stereotypes.

To conclude, this work is an analysis of psychological theory on stereotyping and prejudice. I made an attempt to view the following aspects: the development and causes of intergroup perceptions and antagonism; reasons for the persistence and prevalence of stereotypes and prejudice; ways in which feelings and beliefs about groups influence social perception and interaction; and possible ways to change group stereotypes or reduce prejudice. In examining these issues I made an attempt to consider both the ways that individuals perceive themselves as members of groups and the ways that they perceive other groups.

Works Cited

Aberson, C. L., Healy, M. R., & Romero, V. L. Ingroup bias and self-esteem: A meta-analysis.  Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4, 157-173.

Allport, Gordon W. The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1979.

Avery, Patricia and Dorothy Hoffman, et al. Tolerance for Diversity of Beliefs: A Secondary Curriculum. Boulder, CO: Social Science Education Consortium, 1993

Baird, Robert M. and Studart E. Rosenbaum. Bigotry, Prejudice and Hatred: Definitions, Causes & Solutions. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1992.

Bettleheim, Bruno and Morris Janowitz. Social Change and Prejudice Including Dynamics of Prejudice. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1964.

Gioseffi, Daniela, ed. On Prejudice: A Global Perspective. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

Tajfel, H. & Turner, J. C. The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. In S. Worchel & W. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Chigago: Nelson-Hall, 1986.

Zanna, Mark P. and James M. Olson, eds. The Psychology of Prejudice: The Ontario   Symposium, Volume 7. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1994.