Gordon Allport

An American Girl: Case Study of Prejudice and Discrimination in America

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• published: 26 Aug 2012
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The word prejudice (or foredeeming) is most often used to refer to preconceived, usually unfavorable, judgments toward people or a person because of gender, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, nationality or other personal characteristics. It can also refer to unfounded beliefs and may include "any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence." Gordon Allport defined prejudice as a "feeling, favorable or unfavorable, toward a person or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual experience." Racism is defined as "the belief that races exist, that physical characteristics determine cultural traits, and that racial characteristics make some groups superior." By separating people into hierarchies based upon their race, it has been argued that unequal treatment among the different groups of people is just and fair due to their genetic differences. Racism can occur amongst any group that can be identified based upon physical features or even characteristics of their culture. Though people may be lumped together and called a specific race, everyone does not fit neatly into such categories, making it hard to define and describe a race accurately. Scientific racism began to flourish in the eighteenth century and was greatly influenced by Charles Darwin's evolutionary studies, as well as ideas taken from the writings of philosophers like Aristotle; for example, Aristotle believed in the concept of "natural slaves". This concept focuses on the necessity of hierarchies and how some people are bound to be on the bottom of the pyramid. Though racism has been a prominent topic in history, there is still debate over whether race actually exists, making the discussion of race a controversial topic. Even though the concept of race is still being debated, the effects of racism are apparent. Racism and other forms of prejudice can affect a person's behavior, thoughts and feelings, and social psychologists strive to study exactly that. While various religions teach its members to be tolerant of those who are different and to have compassion, throughout history there have also been instances where religion has been used in order to promote hate. Researchers have done various studies in order to understand the relationship between religion and prejudice; thus far, they have received mixed results. A study done with US college students found that those who reported religion to be very influential in their lives seem to have a higher rate of prejudice than those who reported not being religious. Other studies found that religion has a positive affect on people as far as prejudice is concerned. This difference in results may be attributed to the differences in religious practices or religious interpretations amongst the individuals. Those who practice "institutionalized religion," which is when one focuses more on the social and political aspects of religious events, are more likely to have an increase in prejudice. Those who practice "interiorized religion," which is when one devotes him or herself to his or her beliefs, are most likely to have a decrease in prejudice. In-group favoritism, otherwise known as in-group--out-group bias, in-group bias, or intergroup bias, refers to a preference and affinity for one's in-group over the out-group, or anyone viewed as outside the in-group. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, linking, allocation of resources and many other ways. This interaction has been researched by many psychologists and linked to many theories related to group conflict and prejudice. The phenomenon is primarily viewed from a social psychology standpoint rather than a personality psychology perspective. Thus, the phenomenon centers around the perception of others in relation to oneself, rather than individual differences in cognition. There are several theories that relate to this overarching phenomenon. Experiments using minimal group paradigm have found that even arbitrary and virtually meaningless distinctions between groups (e.g. the color of their shirts) can trigger a tendency to favour one's own group at the expense of others. The realistic conflict theory proposes that intergroup conflict arises when two groups engage in competition over limited resources. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prejudice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-group%E2%80%93out-group_bias