Social Injustice And Prejudice

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Social Injustice has been around the United States for many years and discrimination still exists. The term prejudice means to prejudge something in a negative manner about a person, group of people or situation prior to evaluating the evidence. The factors that seem to contribute to prejudice and discrimination are the scapegoat hypothesis, just-world hypothesis, and conformity. To begin with the first factor that contributes to prejudice and discrimination is the scapegoat hypothesis. The scapegoat hypothesis claims that prejudice arises from a need to blame others for our misfortunes. This feeling can also come from competition over scares resources. For example, if there is less unemployment opportunities in one country, since they are all competing for jobs they might blame the immigrants that are in the country for the lack of job opportunities. In an experiment conducted by …show more content…

This hypothesis is a claim that our attributions are shaped by an assumption that the world is fair and things happen for a reason. Ironically the need for fair is what causes social injustice. This leads us to place blame on groups that are in one position. For example, women who are discriminated by men and those with serious disease like cancer or AIDS. This hypothesis is also referred to as “blaming the victim.” Lastly, one of the last contribution to prejudice and discrimination is conformity. Humans tend to conform for social norms. Conformity may come from a need for social approval. A study in South Africa revealed that Caucasians with high need for conformity were likely to be prejudiced against blacks. A study related to fraternities and sororities proved that they were equally likely to express the negative views of the out groups whether in public or private. However, new pledges were only expressing negative views in public, wanting to be liked by their new in group

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