Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

REACTION PIECE 1

Joseph OLANDO ODHIAMBO
Ms. Jasia PIETRZAK
The Psychology or Prejudice and Stereotyping
9th September, 2008

ETHNICITY AS IT RELATES TO PREJUDICE, STEREOTYPING AND DISCRIMINATION

Prejudice was derived from the study of intergroup relations which in popular discourse is associated mostly with negative attitudes about members of selected racial and ethnic groups. An unfavorable judgment formed in advance without knowledge of the facts which leads to unsubstantial prejudgment of an individual or group, favorable or unfavorable in character, tending to action in a constant direction which brings about stereotyping. Prejudice and stereotyping are linked. Stereotype is a preconceived or oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people/person without regard to individual differences. Even when positive, they always have a negative impact and can lead to discrimination. And this is the action that someone portrays when they are prejudice; it is an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or group of people because one feels superior to the other.

One of the most obvious sources of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination is competition for scarce resources, political power and socio-cultural status. Indeed, whatever problem result from the simple in-group versus out-group phenomena, they will be magnified by real economic, political or status competition. Thus prejudiced attitudes tend to increase when times are tense and conflict exists or brews over mutually exclusive goals. There are vast examples of this:
Arabs and Israelis fighting over disputed territories
The Genocide in Rwanda over political issues
Post election violence in Kenya over a stolen and rigged election

I would like to take you further in depth and elaborate how prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination have applied in my...