Psychology
Discrimination
Discrimination refers to the unjust or prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups based on certain characteristics such as race, gender, or age. In psychology, discrimination is studied in the context of understanding its impact on individuals' mental health and well-being. This includes exploring the psychological mechanisms underlying discriminatory behavior and its effects on the targets of discrimination.
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8 Key excerpts on "Discrimination"
- Conrad Lashley(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Taylor & Francis(Publisher)
infrahumaniation as two strands in prejudice and Discrimination. Dehumanisation embraces arguments that suggest groups under discussion are somehow not human, or more animal, than ‘normal’ humans. Football supporters making monkey noises or throwing bananas at black players in the opposing team is founded on the prejudice that players with African origins are not ‘real’ human beings. Infrahumanisation on the other hand accepts the humanity but assumes the sub-ordinate group to be some lesser form of humanity – less developed – more prone to be criminals – more religious fanatics than the dominant group. Racial Discrimination and prejudice deserve a detailed look because recent history has seen this as a major aspect of prejudice and Discrimination leading to conflict and aggression towards people deemed to be unworthy, or outsiders. Similarly, the unequal treatment of women is a feature of patriarchal societies leading to assumptions about domestic roles and workplace rewards, where the ill-treatment of those who do not conform to heterosexual stereotypes deserves some consideration because social condemnation has attracted strong moral and legal sanctions, until recent decades.Race, gender, and other ‘others’
If bias is best understood as a tendency to perceive or react to people, situations, and things in a consistent manner, and prejudice adopts stereotypes to those considered to be all the same, Discrimination refers to behaviour. This can be positive or negative in nature. Clearly the key concern has been with negative behaviours.Alport (1954 ) identified stages in Discrimination and the behaviour towards potential victims:- Antilocution: hostile talks, verbal degeneration, insults, and jokes about the victim’s otherness – sex – race – religion etc.
- Avoidance: deliberately limiting contact without actively harming.
- Discrimination: exclusion from job roles, housing locations, social meeting places like hotels, bars, and restaurants.
- Physical: violence against persons or property.
- Extermination: indiscriminate violence against an entire group.
These are regarded as behaviours that may encompass whole societies or substantial subsets. Recent history has demonstrated in many countries the tendency to blame sections of a community for economic ills, or a sense of injustice. Blaming the stranger, or those who are perceived to be somehow different, has had violent and even genocidal effects. That said, it is possible to perceive through stereotypes without feeling hostile. Individuals may harbour negative feelings without acting upon them. Stereotypical views are learnt behaviour in the way one social group perceives another. The impact of stereotypes on prejudice and Discrimination has been one major strand in human affairs that produces negativity. Stereotypes can result in bias, prejudice, and actions that discriminate merely because the target appears to be different in some way.
eBook - PDFBeyond Common Sense
Psychological Science in the Courtroom
- Eugene Borgida, Susan T. Fiske, Eugene Borgida, Susan T. Fiske(Authors)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
Yet there is ongoing debate about racial Discrimination in con-temporary society. The persistence of significant racial disparities in education, employment, income, and health, for example, has fueled disagreement about the extent and nature of Discrimination currently faced by racial minority group members. Social psychological research has played a prominent role in this debate, largely by shifting the focus from the sorts of deliberate, animus-driven forms of Discrimination that are clearly proscribed by law, to subtler, less conscious, and less hostile manifestations of racial bias whose legal status and social significance 4 R. Richard Banks, Jennifer L. Eberhardt, and Lee Ross are far less clear. Indeed, a great deal of social psychological research focuses on bias among individuals who genuinely believe themselves to be racially unbiased and in fact would be distressed to find out that their behavior indicates otherwise (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1986; Eberhardt & Fiske, 1998; Fiske, 1998; Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). This research demonstrates that, notwithstanding the legal and moral condemnation of Discrimination and overt bias, negative racial stereo-types remain psychologically salient to virtually all Americans. More-over, racial Discrimination can be documented both inside and outside of the laboratory, and may well shape the experiences of many racial minorities. These issues are especially salient in the criminal justice system. Overtly race-based laws and sentencing schemes are now nonexistent. Moreover, state actors in the criminal justice system who once staunchly defended racially biased practices now insist that they are affording equal treatment to all. Since the 1980s, however, racial disparities in rates of incarceration have become more , rather than less, pronounced.
- John F Dovidio, Miles Hewstone, Peter Glick, Victoria M Esses, John F Dovidio, Miles Hewstone, Peter Glick, Victoria M Esses, SAGE Publications Ltd(Authors)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
Thus, making group membership salient can impair performance by producing anxiety and cognitive preoc-cupation with a negative stereotype (Steele, 1997). In sum, stereotypes represent a set of qualities perceived to reflect the essence of a group. Stereotypes systematically affect how people perceive, process information about, and respond to, group members. They are transmitted through socialization, the media, and language and discourse. For the present volume, we define stereotypes as associations and beliefs about the characteristics and attributes of a group and its members that shape how people think about and respond to the group. Discrimination In the context of intergroup relations, dis-crimination has a pejorative meaning. It implies more than simply distinguishing among social objects, but refers also to inappropriate and potentially unfair treatment of individuals due to group membership. Discrimination may involve actively negative behavior toward a member of a group or, more subtly, less positive responses than those PREJUDICE, STEREOTYPING AND Discrimination 9 toward an ingroup member in comparable circumstances. According to Allport (1954), Discrimination involves denying ‘individuals or groups of people equality of treatment which they may wish’ (p. 51). Jones (1972) defined Discrimination as ‘those actions designed to maintain own-group characteris-tics and favored position at the expense of the comparison group’ (p. 4). Discrimination is generally understood as biased behavior, which includes not only actions that directly harm or disadvantage another group, but those that unfairly favor one’s own group (creating a relative disadvan-tage for other groups). Allport (1954) argued that ingroup favoritism plays a fundamental role in intergroup relations, taking psycho-logical precedence over outgroup antipathy. He noted that ‘in-groups are psychologically primary.
eBook - PDFAttitudes and Related Psychosocial Constructs
Theories, Assessment, and Research
- Lewis Aiken(Author)
- 2002(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
4 ▼ Social Prejudice and Discrimination Social Prejudice Stereotypes Scapegoating Personality and Prejudice Social Discrimination Racism Sexism Ageism Hate Crimes A s s e s s m e n t of Prejudice and Discrimination Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination Legislation and Programmatic Action Research on Combating Prejudice and Discrimination Social Categorization Theory Reducing the Effects of Stereotypes Not only are attitudes influenced by the people with whom one associates, but people tend to associate with those whose attitudes and beliefs are simi-lar to their own. In this way, a person comes to belong to and identify with certain groups, so-called in-groups, whose values and beliefs are perceived as different from those of other groups, or out-groups. 79 80 Attitudes and Related Constructs Social Prejudice Having preconceived attitudes or opinions, whether favorable or unfavor-able, toward members of other groups is known as social prejudice, or sim-ply prejudice. Used in a generic sense, however, prejudice refers to pre-judgment, the target of which may be almost anything. Traditional out-groups, or targets of prejudice, have been members of other races, reli-gions, ethnicities, or nationalities. Prejudice may also be expressed toward members of the opposite sex, older adults, people of other sexual orienta-tions (e.g., homophobia), disabled persons, or even pro-choicers or pro-lifers. In many instances, the members of a certain group develop an active dislike for members of another group. Prejudice has existed since time immemorial, contributing to discrimina-tion in employment, education, housing, and social memberships, as well as acting as a stimulus for terrorism, armed conflict, and other forms of vio-lence against persons and property. Prejudice and Discrimination, which are often instigated by economic competition or other events perceived as threats, occur among almost all groups of people.
eBook - PDFYoung Children and Racial Justice
Taking action for racial equality in the early years – understanding the past, thinking about the present, planning for the future
- Jane Lane(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- National Children's Bureau(Publisher)
Prejudiced attitudes and behaviour, reinforcing and perpetuating inequalities, are passed from generation to generation in subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways. This process may be unacknowledged and its consequences largely unrecognised. It is only when attitudes are expressed in behaviour that Discrimination occurs and recognition is possible. Whatever the reasons, if any action resulting from prejudice disadvantages or discriminates against another person (a negative attitude or action), that action is morally wrong. If it is covered by legislation, it may also be unlawful. Forms of Discrimination Some aspects of inequality are obvious, such as overtly prejudiced comments and discriminatory behaviour. For example, some people believe that women cannot make good Members of Parliament and they believe this because they are prejudiced against women doing that sort of work. Perhaps they think women have duties elsewhere. Other forms of inequality are not so obvious. They are hidden in complex practices and procedures or built into the way society has been organised over long periods of time. For example, some meetings or social events are held without access to a loop system to support deaf people or access to alternative forms of print information for blind people, so that people with hearing or visual impairments cannot participate fully. Or public consultation meetings are planned during periods of particular religious festivals or at times of family responsibilities. No single person deliberately arranged for these to happen but the effect is that some disabled people, people of particular faiths and family members/carers are being discriminated against, if unintentionally. This is sometimes called institutional Discrimination (see page 18). Although circumstances are changing, women are still more often responsible for running a home and looking after children than men.
- M. Ronald Buckley, Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben, Anthony R. Wheeler, M. Ronald Buckley, Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben, Anthony R. Wheeler(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Emerald Group Publishing Limited(Publisher)
CONSEQUENCES OF Discrimination It is clear from our review that employment Discrimination, driven by the human mind’s natural tendency to socially categorize, is a pervasive issue that can affect a variety of targets. The official tally of 88,778 discrimina-tion charges in a single year likely underrepresents the pervasiveness of workplace Discrimination ( EEOC, 2014 ). Moreover, the injustice of these experiences can have far-reaching consequences. In this section, we will review the major theories that explain key outcomes of Discrimination and delve into its work-and health-related effects on individuals and organizations. Theoretical Frameworks Research on consequences of Discrimination is grounded in a number of interrelated theories including (1) social exchange, (2) justice, (3) stress, and (4) attributional ambiguous. According to social exchange theory, the norm of reciprocity plays a major role in formation and maintenance of social relationships ( Blau, 1964 ; Gouldner, 1960 ). People form relationships that are either economic or social in nature at work, the former being short-term, quid pro quo in nature while the latter involves long-term exchange of more intangible resources such as recognition and esteem ( Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000 ). Particularly in a social relationship, when individuals devote resources, they expect the other party to return that obligation in the future. This extends to justice theories such that individuals perceive justice when the norm of reciprocity is upheld and 123 Understanding and Reducing Workplace Discrimination they experience equal social exchange ( Masterson, Lewis, Goldman, & Taylor, 2000 ). When individuals are discriminated against on the basis of their social identity, the injustice is a violation of the norm of reciprocity, resulting in negative attitudes such as reduced satisfaction and commitment ( Cohen-Charash & Spector, 2001 ).
eBook - PDFThe Law of Good People
Challenging States' Ability to Regulate Human Behavior
- Yuval Feldman(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
See also Taifel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). Realistic group conflict theory. Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 33–47. For reviews, see Fiske, S. T. (1998). Stereotyping, prejudice, and Discrimination. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 2, 4th ed., pp. 357–411). New York: McGraw-Hill. 6 Fiske, S. T. (2000), Stereotyping, prejudice, and Discrimination at the seam between the centuries: Evolution, culture, mind, and brain. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 299–322. 7 Stanovich, K. E., & West, R. F. (2000). Individual differences in reasoning: Implications for the rationality debate? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(5), 645–665. See also Evans, J. S. (2003). In two minds: Dual-process accounts of reasoning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(10), 454–459. 8 See Krieger & Fiske, supra note 1, at 997. See also Mitchell, G., & Tetlock, P. E. (2006). AntiDiscrimination law and the perils of mindreading. Ohio State Law Journal, 67, 1023. 9 Crandall, C. S., & Eshleman, A. (2003). A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin, 129(3), 414–446. Implicit Discrimination and Differentiated Discrimination 207 processes. 10 We noted that although employment anti-Discrimination laws pro- hibit specific forms of employment Discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and age, these laws do not take into account the different mechanisms generating each of those forms. 11 Rather, the laws take a blanket approach, applying similar remedies and prohibitions to each form. To identify the specific mechanisms motivating each form of Discrimination, we reviewed four types of Discrimination identified in the theoretical and empirical literature. The first form is taste-based Discrimination, which occurs when disparities are the result of discriminators’ likes and dislikes of certain social groups.
- Jamie Maniloff(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Omnigraphics(Publisher)
In particular, those that are poor are the target of Discrimination in both individual and insti-tutional forms. Individual Discrimination involves the prejudicial or unjust treatment of one person by another, while Discrimination in institutionalized form is embedded into society’s institutions. The foundation for both types of Discrimination in the United States is the privilege afforded to those at the higher levels of social stratification. Privilege is an unearned benefit based on traits and characteristics that the dominant culture values. In the United States, privilege is afforded to those who are white, male, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, identify as Christian, and who are middle class. Thus, individuals who hold these traits are valued more than those who do not, which in turn, affords them greater access to resources, and the power that comes from holding those resources. In contrast, classism describes the Discrimination, oppression, or prejudice targeted toward those who are not members of privileged groups. Classism may be upward (when members of a lower social group demonstrate prejudice toward those in the upper tiers) or internalized/lateral (when members of social groups exhibit prejudice toward their own group), but more commonly, it is downward, expressed by the privileged classes toward those they perceive to be of a lower socioeconomic status. This type of classism may be implicit or explicit in nature. With this in mind, classist microaggressions are common. These are everyday, subtle, manifestations of oppressions that injure, insult, degrade or diminish members of marginalized groups. For example, belief systems that assign blame for their
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