How Peoples Prejudices Develop

How People's Prejudices Develop Theories Cognitive Psychology Print How Peoples Prejudices Develop By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Reviewed by Reviewed by Amy Morin, LCSW on October 31, 2019 facebook twitter instagram Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, author of the bestselling book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Dont Do, and a highly sought-after speaker. Learn about our Wellness Board Amy Morin, LCSW Updated on November 07, 2019 Juanmonino / Getty Images More in Theories Cognitive Psychology Behavioral Psychology Developmental Psychology Personality Psychology Social Psychology Biological Psychology Psychosocial Psychology In This Article Table of Contents Expand Types Stereotyping Categorizing Reducing Prejudice View All Back To Top Prejudice can have a strong influence on how people behave and interact with others, particularly with those who are different from them. Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group. Common features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a tendency to discriminate against members of the group. While specific definitions of prejudice given by social scientists often differ, most agree that it involves prejudgments that are usually negative about members of a group. When people hold prejudicial attitudes toward others, they tend to view everyone who fits into a certain group as being all the same. They paint every individual who holds particular characteristics or beliefs with a very broad brush and fail to really look at each person as a unique individual. Types Prejudice can be based on a number of factors including sex, race, age, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, and religion. Some of the most well-known types of prejudice include: RacismSexismClassismHomophobiaNationalismReligious prejudiceAgeismXenophobia Prejudice and Stereotyping When prejudice occurs, stereotyping, discrimination, and bullying may also result. In many cases, prejudices are based on stereotypes. A stereotype is a simplified assumption about a group based on prior experiences or beliefs. Stereotypes can be positive (women are warm and nurturing) or negative (teenagers are lazy). Stereotypes can not only lead to faulty beliefs, but they can also result in both prejudice and discrimination. According to psychologist Gordon Allport, prejudice and stereotypes emerge in part as a result of normal human thinking. In order to make sense of the world around us, its important to sort information into mental categories. The human mind must think with the aid of categories, Allport explained in his book, The Nature of Prejudice. Once formed, categories are the basis for normal prejudgment. We cannot possibly avoid this process. Orderly living depends upon it.?? Prejudice and Stereotyping Are Mental Mistakes In other words, we depend upon our ability to place people, ideas, and objects into different categories in order to make the world simpler and easier to understand. We are simply inundated with too much information to sort through all of it in a logical, methodical, and rational fashion. Being able to quickly categorize information allows us to interact and react quickly, but it also leads to mistakes. Prejudice and stereotyping are just two examples of the mental mistakes that result from our tendency to quickly categorize information in the world around us. In fact, according to an article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, prejudice comes from a deep psychological need where people who arent comfortable with ambiguity are prone to make generalizations about others.?? Research on Categorizing The process of categorization applies to the social world as well as we sort people into mental groups based on factors such as age, sex, and race. Researchers have found that when it comes to categorizing information about people, we tend to minimize the differences between people in certain  groups and exaggerate the differences between groups In one classic experiment, participants were asked to judge the height of people shown in photographs. People in the experiment were also told that In this booklet, the men and women are actually of equal height. We have taken care to match the heights of the men and women pictured. That is, for every woman of a particular height, somewhere in the booklet there is also a man of that same height. Therefore, in order to make as accurate a height judgment as possible, try to judge each photograph as an individual case; do not rely on the persons sex. In addition to these instructions, a $50 cash prize was offered to whoever made the most accurate judgments of height. Despite this, participants consistently rated the men as being a few inches taller than the women. Because of their prejudgment that men are taller than women, the participants were unable to dismiss their existing categorical beliefs about men and women in order to judge the heights accurately. Researchers have also found that people tend to view members of outside groups as being more homogenous than members of their own group, a phenomenon referred to as the out-group homogeneity bias. This perception that all members of an out-group are alike holds true of all groups, whether based on race, nationality, religion, age, or other naturally occurring group affiliations. People tend to see individual differences among members of their own groups, but they tend to see those who belong to out-groups as being all the same. What We Can Do to Reduce Prejudice In addition to looking at the reasons why prejudice occurs, researchers have also explored different ways that prejudice can be reduced or even eliminated. Training people to become more empathetic to members of other groups is one method that has shown a considerable success. By imagining themselves in the same situation, people are able to think about how they would react and gain a greater understanding of other peoples actions. Other techniques that are used to reduce prejudice include: Passing laws and regulations that require fair and equal treatment for all groups of peopleGaining public support and awareness for anti-prejudice social normsMaking people aware of the inconsistencies in their own beliefsIncreased contact with members of other social groups