The Relationship Between Prejudice And Discrimination

Unfortunately, prejudice and discrimination have both been around for thousands of years. Prejudice is defined as having an opinion that is not actually based on reason, instead it usually stems from preconceived notions or influences. Oftentimes, prejudice can lead to discrimination, which defined as behaviors directed against another group of people based solely on their sex, race, or religious beliefs. Both prejudice and discrimination are notions that can be influenced by many contributions. Fortunately, there are also a collective number of strategies that help with combating embedded ideas involved with prejudice and discrimination. Although prejudice and discrimination have been around for much of human history, the development of modern day technology has not made the situation any better. The media can have an effect on people’s beliefs. Media can even create prejudice for particular groups. For example, the media may show only Muslim people as terrorist. This can in turn create the image that …show more content…
One way to reduce prejudice and discrimination is called the contact hypothesis. This hypothesis states that the best way to deal with prejudice and discrimination is by bringing members of different groups together. By doing so, people can learn about different cultures and become educated on a certain groups background rather than believing stereotypes. Another form that has been used in America is called the legal hypothesis. This hypothesis states that prejudice can be eliminated by the creation and enforcement of laws that are against discriminative behavior. We saw this hypothesis in action during the era of the civil rights movement. It was made illegal for places in America to discriminate against a person based on their race. Places soon became desegregated and African Americans started to become a part of everyday society in