Is Prejudice Inevitable Essay
Is prejudice inevitable?
Discuss.
Prejudice has been one of the most commonly investigated topics in social psychology for many years. The word ‘prejudice’ is defined as a thought or belief constructed prior to having the required knowledge about something (Chambers English Dictionary, 1988), but this can also refer to feelings and behaviour towards individuals within a group, whether or not this is first-hand (Brown, 2010).
Following the categorisation or ‘labelling’ of groups, or individuals within such, stereotypes are the notions one comes up with in their mind about what an individual or group of people is like, based on certain traits or attributes, and prejudice or rather, prejudiced behaviour, is often stimulated by these stereotypes. …show more content…
For example, one may be unlikely to trust car salesmen due to a generalised stereotype caused by a past experience; and instances such as this have caused many researchers to investigate the causes of prejudice, and just how inevitable this really is.
Devine (1989) looks at a theoretical model which focuses on the automatic and controlled processes in the brain that can lead to prejudiced opinions and behaviour, and what the implications of each can be, when separated from the other. The model suggests that stereotypes are automatically activated in the presence of a person fitting this, suggesting that there is some inevitability to this, as one cannot control this activation.
However, some would argue with this, as both those with high and low-prejudiced attitudes are equally knowledgeable of the cultural stereotype, which proves that
Prejudice can in essence be construed as positive as well as negative, and consequently
Low-prejudice people have controlled inhibition of
Discuss.
Prejudice has been one of the most commonly investigated topics in social psychology for many years. The word ‘prejudice’ is defined as a thought or belief constructed prior to having the required knowledge about something (Chambers English Dictionary, 1988), but this can also refer to feelings and behaviour towards individuals within a group, whether or not this is first-hand (Brown, 2010).
Following the categorisation or ‘labelling’ of groups, or individuals within such, stereotypes are the notions one comes up with in their mind about what an individual or group of people is like, based on certain traits or attributes, and prejudice or rather, prejudiced behaviour, is often stimulated by these stereotypes. …show more content…
For example, one may be unlikely to trust car salesmen due to a generalised stereotype caused by a past experience; and instances such as this have caused many researchers to investigate the causes of prejudice, and just how inevitable this really is.
Devine (1989) looks at a theoretical model which focuses on the automatic and controlled processes in the brain that can lead to prejudiced opinions and behaviour, and what the implications of each can be, when separated from the other. The model suggests that stereotypes are automatically activated in the presence of a person fitting this, suggesting that there is some inevitability to this, as one cannot control this activation.
However, some would argue with this, as both those with high and low-prejudiced attitudes are equally knowledgeable of the cultural stereotype, which proves that
Prejudice can in essence be construed as positive as well as negative, and consequently
Low-prejudice people have controlled inhibition of