Stereotypes and Prejudice: Understanding its Impact and Control

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Prejudice is the attitude of conveying negative stereotypes to a particular group, usually known as the out-groups. Usually the stereotypes are generalizations based on superficial opinions, so they have an invalid connotation behind it. Stereotypes in some cases evoke prejudice mindsets, leading to discriminate a certain ethnic group, age group, religion, seuxal orienntation, or body size. Stereotypes are usually socially learned from one’s environment and latched onto the mind of a young child. This could possibly later influence their opinion about something they are not fully educated on. One cannot control what they are taught, but one can control what they do with that information. They can either not believe a word of it or take it into …show more content…

Scapegoating is a common way to target a certain group and blame them for something that has occurred. These negative emotions are usually the ingroup, or those with dominant power, targeting the out-group, or those with weaker power. They have occurred since the Holocaust, when Hitler blamed the Jews for the fall of Germany and needed to exterminate all Jews to make Germany great again. Prejudice was learned in this case, by the Nazis and those who spread the misconception of Jewish people, known as the social cognitive theory. However, some factors could be conflict between these two groups, known as the realistic conflict theory. For example, Mexicans have been thought to “steal all of Americans jobs” and be violent human beings. Mexican immigrants are actually less likely to commit crime, according to the Washington Post and earn jobs Americans are too lazy to do, or even better at. One can even participate in their own prejudice, known as stereotype vulnerability. This can affect their actions and lead them to feel anxious about behaving the way they are allegedly “portrayed” as. The most essential technique in overcoming and even unlearning bias is being educated. Learning that everyone has their own difference and it is difficult to “know” someone by looking at them. Intergroup contact is a common way to have all cultural and racial backgrounds collab and is a way to be comfortable around these diverse backgrounds. Treating one as an equal is essential to establish because it has been shown to reduce prejudice and discrimination. This is known as the equal status contact and has a positive effect on groups who desire to have no power over each

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