Question

how are stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination closely interconnected

Answer 1

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• Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who are members of an unfamiliar cultural group. Thus, certain types of education, contact, interactions, and building relationships with members of different cultural groups can reduce the tendency toward prejudice. In fact, simply imagining interacting with members of different cultural groups might affect prejudice. Indeed, when experimental participants were asked to imagine themselves positively interacting with someone from a different group, this led to an increased positive attitude toward the other group and an increase in positive traits associated with the other group.

Answer 2

$\maltese$ Prejudice

Prejudice is the feeling that people have against a person without any valid reason.  They do not have any bad experience from that person but a bad opinion is formed in their minds. This may be due to their behaviour, caste, creed etc.

For example: Don’t marry her! She is a girl who walks during night time.

[The person has not seen the lady indulge in any offensive behaviour but there is a general belief that girls must not walk at night. As this lady is not working as per the belief, she is prejudiced.]

$\maltese$ Stereotyping

Stereotype is the general belief about people from a specific caste or social group. People expect a specific kind of behaviour from these stereotyped classes and do not believe that they can do some specific things that all humans do.

For example: Africans are seen as unintelligent.

[The continent of Africa is only backward due to slow development. This does not mean that Africans are unintelligent. Many great leaders and scientists hail from Africa.]

$\maltese$ Discrimination

Discrimination refers to classifying people as high and low on the basis of caste, religion etc. The people who are discriminated are also restricted from some basic rights by the so – called “high caste’”.

For example: In rural India, even during modern times, specific caste groups are not allowed to use the public facilities that the higher castes use. They are considered as outlaws in the outskirts of the normal living places.

From the above given explanations and examples, we can see that stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination are very closely related to each other. In all the cases, there is considering of some people as backward or not upto the standards and restricting them from basic rights.