Module 77 Prejudice and Discrimination
KEY TERMS
1. Prejudice: An unfounded and typically negative attitude towards a group and its
members, often involving stereotypes, negative emotions, and a predisposition to act in
discriminatory ways.
2. Stereotype: A generalized belief about a group of people that can sometimes contain a
kernel of truth but is often overly simplistic or inaccurate.
3. Discrimination: Unfair and negative behavior directed at individuals or groups based on
their membership in a particular group.
4. Just-World Phenomenon: The belief that the world is fair and people get what they
deserve, leading to rationalizations for social inequalities.
5. Ingroup: The group of people with whom we share a common identity or belong.
6. Outgroup: People perceived as different or not belonging to one's ingroup.
7. Ingroup Bias: The tendency to favor and prioritize the interests of one's own group over
those of others.
8. Scapegoat Theory: The idea that prejudice serves as an outlet for anger by providing
someone or a group to blame for problems or frustrations.
9. Other-Race Effect: The tendency to recognize and recall faces of one’s own race more
accurately than faces of other races. Also known as cross-race effect or own-race bias.
MAIN IDEA
What is prejudice? What are its social and emotional roots?
● Prejudice:
○ Prejudice is an unjustifiable and typically negative attitude directed toward a
group and its members. It is composed of three elements:
■ Beliefs (often stereotypes): Generalized ideas about a group of people.
■ Emotions: Negative feelings, such as fear or hostility, towards a group.
■ Actions (discrimination): A predisposition to act in a negative way
towards individuals from the group.
● Social Roots of Prejudice:
○ Social Inequality: Prejudice can be fueled by the existence of social inequalities,
where higher-status groups tend to justify their privilege by believing in the just-
world phenomenon—the idea that everyone gets what they deserve.
○ Ingroup and Outgroup:
■ Humans naturally categorize themselves into groups, often labeling
others as outsiders (outgroup) while favoring their own group (ingroup
bias).
■ This division between "us" and "them" can foster prejudice as we tend to
favor those who are similar to us while developing negative views of
outsiders.
○ Scapegoating: Prejudice may serve an emotional purpose by providing
someone or a group to blame (scapegoat theory) during times of frustration or
hardship, helping individuals relieve their own negative emotions by targeting
another group.
What are the cognitive roots of prejudice?
● Cognitive Roots:
○ The mental processes involved in organizing information can also contribute to
prejudice:
■ Categorization: Our brains naturally categorize people to simplify the
social world, which can lead to overgeneralizations, like stereotypes.
■ Vivid Cases: People tend to remember extreme examples, such as a
memorable incident involving a member of a particular group, leading
them to form biased conclusions about the entire group.
■ Just-World Belief: People often believe that the world is fair, and thus,
tend to rationalize inequalities by assuming that people in less fortunate
positions deserve their circumstances due to their actions or character.
This belief can strengthen discriminatory attitudes.
● Other-Race Effect:
○ Our cognitive processing also leads to the other-race effect, where individuals
are better at recognizing faces from their own racial group compared to those
from other racial groups. This can contribute to a lack of empathy or
understanding towards individuals from different races.
