Stereotyping And Prejudice

Introduction
Stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice are phenomena that motivate animated debate amid the scholars as well as the public. Many ponder on which acts should be deemed discriminatory, when they can come to a conclusion that a decision or a social guideline preference is actually founded on prejudice and the role played by prejudice in creating gender and racial disparities. Also of immense interest are queries regarding how the society should react to these problems and whether they have been dealt with in a pleasing manner. Social psychologists lunge into this dispute equipped with scientific method, hoping to gather evidence that can shed the much needed light on these continuing worries. In particular, this paper seeks to shed some light as to why stereotypes and prejudices occur in the mind of perceivers, as well as the manner and under which circumstances they are most likely to manipulate perceivers’ explicit behavior.
Conceptual Definitions
Prejudice cannot be readily defined. Even when evidence seems unambiguous, claims of prejudice are usually hotly contested. Allport defined prejudice as an antipathy that is founded on an inflexible and faulty generalization. He further stated that it can be expressed or felt, directed towards an individual or a group. An integral part of the acknowledgment of prejudice lies in properly identifying the appropriate category under which antagonism is targeted. For instance, the populace may not be prejudiced generally against ladies, but they may be fairly prejudiced against ladies who take up social roles usually set for men. Some prejudice may at times take the form condescending or patronizing reactions, when groups are understood to be dependent or incompetent. E...

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...apart from the intricate of determining the past intentions of an individual, this stance fails to notice the fact that many types of decisions, including lawful ones, can be made in a way that mirrors mindless routines that can replicate discriminatory results without any conscious intention on the part of the person who made the decision. For instance, personnel managers may depend on their former schoolmates’ networks in order to identify competent candidates merely because that is what has been done in the past, without bearing in mind that this approach may disadvantage other qualified individuals who are not well connected. Decision makers may also be influenced in a manner they do not consciously appreciate by involuntary mental associations that color their idea of others.
Discrimination can also take fine forms and need not comprise of blatant exclusion.