To understand what prejudice is, it is useful to first understand the concept of attitude based on studies in Social Psychology.
ATTITUDE is a relatively stable system for organizing experiences and behaviors related to a particular object or event.
For each attitude there is a rational and cognitive concept - beliefs and ideas, associated affective values of feelings and emotions that, in turn, lead to a series of behavioral trends: predispositions.
Therefore, every attitude is composed of three components: a cognitive, an affective and a behavioral one:
the cognition – the term attitude is always used with reference to an object. What is an attitude taken towards? This object can be an abstraction, a person, a group or a social institution.
the affection – it is a value that can generate positive feelings, which, in turn, generates a positive attitude; or generate negative feelings that can generate negative attitudes.
the behavior – predisposition: positive feelings lead to approximation; and negative, to dodge or escape.
Thus, PREJUDICE is understood as a negative attitude that an individual is predisposed to feel, think, and behave towards a certain group in a predictable negative way.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PREJUDICE:
It is a historical and pervasive phenomenon;
Its intensity leads to a justification and legitimization of its actions;
There is a great feeling of powerlessness when trying to change someone with strong prejudice.
We see in others and rarely in ourselves.
I AM ECENTRIC, YOU ARE CRAZY!
I'm brilliant; you are chatty; he is drunk.
I am cute; you have good features; she doesn't look good.
I'm picky; you are nervous; he is an old woman.
I reconsidered; you changed your mind; he went back on his word.
I have around me something subtle, mysterious, the fragrance of the East; you overdo it on the perfume and it smells bad.
CAUSES OF PREJUDICE:
Like attitudes in general, prejudice has three components: beliefs; feelings and behavioral tendencies. Prejudiced beliefs are always negative stereotypes.
According to Allport (1954), prejudice is the result of people's frustrations, which, under certain circumstances, can turn into anger and hostility. People who feel exploited and oppressed often cannot express their anger against an identifiable or suitable target; thus, they shift their hostility towards those who are even “lower” on the social scale. The result is prejudice and discrimination.
As for Adorno (1950), the source of prejudice is an authoritarian or intolerant personality. Authoritarian people tend to be rigidly conventional. Supporters of following norms and respecting tradition, they are hostile to those who challenge social rules. They respect and submit to authority, as well as worry about the power of resistance. When looking at the world through a lens of rigid categories, they don't believe in nature human, fearing and rejecting all social groups to which they do not belong, as they suspect their. Prejudice is a manifestation of your distrust and suspicion.
There are also cognitive sources of prejudice. Human beings are “cognitive misers” who try to simplify and organize their social thinking as much as possible. Oversimplification leads to mistaken thinking, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.
Furthermore, prejudice and discrimination can have their origins in people's attempts to conform (social conformity). If we interact with people who express prejudices, we are more likely to accept them than to resist them. Pressures for social compliance help explain why children quickly absorb prejudices and their parents and peers long before they formed their own beliefs and opinions based on the experience. Peer pressure often makes it “cool” or acceptable to express certain biased views – rather than showing tolerance to members of other social groups.
REDUCTION OF PREJUDICE:
Living together, through a community attitude, is perhaps the most appropriate way to reduce prejudice.
HOW DOES STEREOTYPE WORK:
It is a set of characteristics presumably shared by all members of a social category. It's a simplistic but very intensely maintained scheme that isn't necessarily based on much direct experience. It can involve virtually any distinctive aspect of a person – age, race, sex, occupation, place of residence or group with which they are associated.
When our first impression of a person is guided by a stereotype, we tend to deduce things about the person selectively or inaccurately, thus perpetuating our stereotype initial.
RACISM:
It is the belief in the innate inferiority of members of certain ethnic and racial groups. Racists believe that intelligence, ingenuity, morality, and other valued traits are biologically determined and therefore cannot be changed. Racism leads to thinking either/or: either you are one of us or you are one of them.
By Regina Célia de Souza
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE:
McDavid, John and Harari, Herbert. Psychology and social behavior. Ed. Interscience. RJ 1974.
Morris, Charles G. and Maisto, Albert A.. Introduction to Psychology. Ed. Pearson and Prentice Hall. SP. 2004.
ATTENTION: READ THE FOLLOWING REPORTS AND MAKE A REFLECTION CONSIDERING THE CONCEPTS OF STEREOTYPE AND PREJUDICE.
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/psicologia/atitude-preconceito-estereotipo.htm
