Psychological Factors That Influence Prejudice Prejudice is an unjustified reason to hate or have ill feelings towards someone or a group. It is a recurring problem all over the world. From South America to Europe, Asia to Alaska; it happens in the poorest places in the world as well as the more wealthy. It is also not only secluded to one race, one gender, or even one age group. All types of people are impacted by prejudice on a day to day basis and for decades this has been occurring. With so many different types of prejudice such as, racism, sexism, classism, nationalism, homophobia, and even religious prejudice, it may be difficult to pinpoint reasons or factors that contribute to that prejudice and why it is happening due to there being
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Society and those around us can sometimes shape and mold in our mind what we think is the norm or not. Social norms have been around for ages and can change rapidly or leisurely; they are the unsaid rules of society. They can range from chewing with your mouth closed and saying “please” and “thank you” to the expectation of equality and even dating websites. Social norms are what society has deemed the “appropriate” way to proceed in a social setting. They are not only what to do in certain situations but also what to refrain from doing as well. An example of a social norm influencing prejudice is in previous moments of history when the social norm was for a man to be with a woman and it wasn’t socially acceptable for it to be any other way. Which caused a prejudice against those who didn’t follow the “guidelines” set by society. A group of individuals decided it was unnatural and it became a standard to think of it that way so all of the negative things people think of people who are gay or lesbian now pertain to every gay or lesbian individual even if it is untrue. This is said by Gordon Allport, a social psychologist, when he is describing prejudice. He describes it as, “an aversive or hostile attitude towards a person who belongs to a group simply because he belongs to that group (p.7)”. That is what is occurring when people act or behave a way that is out of what is seen as the social …show more content…
Nevertheless, social context isn’t only the environment that a person is raised in but, can also be the culture in which they were raised or the groups they interact with. They are more apt to trust and help one another and see anyone else who isn’t in their group as an outsider. This factors in forming a prejudice. From a young age children observe their parents and others around them. They notice them act a certain way towards other people. It may be due to their culture or how they were raised then they grow up begin to act in the same way. This corresponds with Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. She remarks that, “Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.” (Bandura). This explains why a parent’s views or behaviors they can be passed down through generations as well as their way of life. Consequently, if a parent was raised with a certain type of prejudice then they tend to carry it through their life and pass it on to their
Society and those around us can sometimes shape and mold in our mind what we think is the norm or not. Social norms have been around for ages and can change rapidly or leisurely; they are the unsaid rules of society. They can range from chewing with your mouth closed and saying “please” and “thank you” to the expectation of equality and even dating websites. Social norms are what society has deemed the “appropriate” way to proceed in a social setting. They are not only what to do in certain situations but also what to refrain from doing as well. An example of a social norm influencing prejudice is in previous moments of history when the social norm was for a man to be with a woman and it wasn’t socially acceptable for it to be any other way. Which caused a prejudice against those who didn’t follow the “guidelines” set by society. A group of individuals decided it was unnatural and it became a standard to think of it that way so all of the negative things people think of people who are gay or lesbian now pertain to every gay or lesbian individual even if it is untrue. This is said by Gordon Allport, a social psychologist, when he is describing prejudice. He describes it as, “an aversive or hostile attitude towards a person who belongs to a group simply because he belongs to that group (p.7)”. That is what is occurring when people act or behave a way that is out of what is seen as the social …show more content…
Nevertheless, social context isn’t only the environment that a person is raised in but, can also be the culture in which they were raised or the groups they interact with. They are more apt to trust and help one another and see anyone else who isn’t in their group as an outsider. This factors in forming a prejudice. From a young age children observe their parents and others around them. They notice them act a certain way towards other people. It may be due to their culture or how they were raised then they grow up begin to act in the same way. This corresponds with Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. She remarks that, “Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.” (Bandura). This explains why a parent’s views or behaviors they can be passed down through generations as well as their way of life. Consequently, if a parent was raised with a certain type of prejudice then they tend to carry it through their life and pass it on to their