Pejudice's Role In Reducing Prejudice
Pejudice is a term that describes a negative attitude towards a specific social group that is often acquired through socialization and reinforced by the personal beliefs, attitudes, and values of friends and family, as well as one’s own social group or culture (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1999). Despite being a conditioned response that is further perpetuated by the social and cultural environment, there are a number of techniques that may help in reducing prejudice. One method, for instance, is to implement a new form of legislation to protect individuals and cultural groups from discrimination (Hall, 2010). For example, the American Disability Act (ADA) is an American law that protects the civil rights of individuals with either physical or psychological
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According to Crisp & Turner (2016), there are a number of ways that increasing the exposure and contact that members of various social or cultural groups may help in diminishing prejudice, such as improving intergroup attitudes and behaviors, greater projection of more positive affect and attribution towards members in the out-group, decreasing feelings of anxiety, and reducing the overall stereotype threat that is common in groups. Nevertheless, volunteer programs are a great way to help members of different social groups connect with one another, where they can bond as they work towards the achievement of a common or shared goal. Likewise, it may also help to limit prejudice by increase feelings of empathy between groups as well. Not surprisingly, the last method for reducing prejudice is to encourage empathy and compassion as a society (Hall, 2010). Most people tend to forget that other people have different experiences and, therefore, may have a completely different perspective on a given situation. In order to change how individuals’ view members of other groups, however, it is important to teach people how to be empathetic to alternative perspectives or situations that they may not inherently understand based on their own experiences or upbringing. One of the ways to change individual perspective through empathy is by establishing advocacy programs or classes that teach the importance of communal values and
According to Crisp & Turner (2016), there are a number of ways that increasing the exposure and contact that members of various social or cultural groups may help in diminishing prejudice, such as improving intergroup attitudes and behaviors, greater projection of more positive affect and attribution towards members in the out-group, decreasing feelings of anxiety, and reducing the overall stereotype threat that is common in groups. Nevertheless, volunteer programs are a great way to help members of different social groups connect with one another, where they can bond as they work towards the achievement of a common or shared goal. Likewise, it may also help to limit prejudice by increase feelings of empathy between groups as well. Not surprisingly, the last method for reducing prejudice is to encourage empathy and compassion as a society (Hall, 2010). Most people tend to forget that other people have different experiences and, therefore, may have a completely different perspective on a given situation. In order to change how individuals’ view members of other groups, however, it is important to teach people how to be empathetic to alternative perspectives or situations that they may not inherently understand based on their own experiences or upbringing. One of the ways to change individual perspective through empathy is by establishing advocacy programs or classes that teach the importance of communal values and