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Content Summary: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice are all distinct, but not isolated, social justice
issues that often intersect. These issues are pervasive and reach far beyond individual
illiberalities. Stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudices are deep-seated and become
institutionally integrated. As a society, we have come a long way, but we still have a long
journey ahead of us. To correct these societal issues, we must begin at the root of the problem-
individuals.
Stereotyping: The Cognitive
Through socialization with family, peers, and the media, we learn our cultural and social
norms, beliefs, and group memberships. Socialization shapes an individual’s identity and the
groups with which they identify. At a young age, people learn about the gender differences and
what is typically associated with their gender. We are taught that pink and Barbies are for girls
while blue and Hot Wheels are for boys. This is the underpinning of our learned traditional
gender roles and reinforces double standards. Humans instinctively categorize others socially
based on common attributes such as gender and race (Kassin et al., 2021). When a person
socially categorizes others, they are also simultaneously categorizing themselves. Self-
categorization involves the hierarchical and contextual classification of an individual’s identities.
When social categories are psychologically activated, individuals tend to shift from personal
identity to group identity, resulting in acting as a group member. Self-categorization and social
categorization form the foundation of individuals’ social identification (Reimer et al., 2022).
Social identification is a multidimensional concept involving self-concept, belonging to
groups, and the value placed on those groups. It consists of seven distinct factors. First, social
identification depends on how much a person identifies with a group and how positively or
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negatively they evaluate that group, both publicly and privately. Second, it is shaped by the
importance placed on self-concept, both implicitly and explicitly, as well as the emotional
investment in and sense of belonging to the ingroup. The impact on daily life and relationships
influences one’s social identification. Lastly, it considers how much a person depends on the
group behavior and the significance of the group’s self-attributes and narratives (Reimer et al.,
2022).
Through self-categorization, social categorization, and social identification, individuals
form groups. They associate themselves with others who share similar characteristics to create
ingroups, which they identify with, and with dissimilar others, forming outgroups that they do
not identify with (Reimer et al., 2022). For teenagers and young adults, music preference can be
a significant factor in determining ingroups and outgroups (Shepherd & Sigg, 2015). This
process explains how stereotypes develop. When group memberships are active, they relate to
stereotypes by comparing perceived individuals to categorize them socially. This not only
reinforces stereotypes but also makes them functionally antagonistic because the individual’s
identity becomes the only active one (Crisp et al., 2022).
Prejudice: The Emotion
Prejudices are negative feelings or attitudes, either conscious or unconscious, toward
individuals based on their group membership, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation. When
creating ingroups, humans tend to overemphasize the differences between ingroups and
outgroups, which reinforces cognitive biases. Conversely, people may overexaggerate the
similarities within the outgroup while acknowledging minor differences among ingroup
members. Prejudice can also originate from humans’ instinct for self-preservation, competition,
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and the need to belong. When feeling threatened or distrustful, humans naturally seek safety,
which is often found within the ingroup (Kassin et al., 2021).
Individuals tend to favor those who are members of the ingroup to achieve or reaffirm
their positive social identity with the ingroup. Furthermore, people want to demonstrate that their
ingroup is better than or different from the outgroup, which, in turn, boosts the ingroup's status
and their self-esteem (Reimer et al., 2022). One way one may positively distinguish oneself from
an outgroup is to belittle the members of the outgroup (Crisps et al., 2022). This can lead to the
dehumanization of other group memberships, resulting in discrimination and social dominance
orientation (Kassin et al., 2021).
Discrimination: The Behavior
Discrimination involves mistreating someone based solely on prejudice. It can happen on
both individual and systemic levels. One cause of prejudice is competition, which can generate
hostility between groups and eventually lead to conflict. Some groups may become resentful of
others due to relative deprivation. (Kassin et al., 2021). Relative deprivation is the mental
comparison of others to oneself and the resulting feelings of unfairness that influence behavior.
This sense of deprivation can be experienced either at the individual or group level, depending
on how much the individual identifies with a group. People seek fairness in input and output
ratios, judging their inputs and outputs against those of others. When someone perceives this
comparison as unfair, it can result in individual relative deprivation. Similarly, in group relative
deprivation, people compare their group’s status—such as wealth or social standing—to their
own and may feel it is unequal, leading to collective feelings of injustice. This can trigger
protests or other movements (Conrique et al., 2022).
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Two major themes are evident in the concepts of stereotypes, prejudice, and
discrimination: racism and sexism. Institutionally, Black and Hispanic minority groups are
disproportionately marginalized in employment, education, incarceration rates, and even within
healthcare. Although we have made progress from overt, explicit racism, we still contend with
modern forms of racism that are covert. This is often shown through microaggressions and
implicit racism that are unintentional and unconscious but still damaging. Sexism is a broad term
that describes the idea that one gender is more dominant than the other. It prescribes specific
characteristics for females and males. Hostile sexism and benevolent sexism reinforce gender
inequality (Kassin et al., 2021).
America has made significant progress in achieving equality. Activists lobbied, held
demonstrations, marched, and defied authority to ensure race and gender could no longer be
grounds for discrimination. Until 2011, the U.S. military was legally allowed to discriminate
based on sexual orientation until the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was nullified by President
Obama. Despite these advances, why are people still resistant to change? Stereotypes. The
stereotypes associated with social activists discouraged individuals from taking an active role in
social change (Bashir et al., 2013).
Conclusion
Stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination are all distinct but interconnected social
issues that are resistant to change. Each of these issues is complex and deeply embedded in
society and within ourselves. Stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination are fueled by our need
for self-esteem, self-preservation, and competition, and they are exploited by the media. To
create change, we must confront ourselves and become familiar with outgroups (Kassin et al.,
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References
Bashir, N.Y., Lockwood, P., Chasteen, A.L., Nadolny, D., & Noyes, I. (2013). The ironic impact
of activists: Negative stereotypes reduce the influence of social change. Eur. J. Soc.
Psychol., 43: 614–626.Fhttps://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1983
Conrique, B. G., & Crosby, F. J. (2022). Relative Deprivation and Cognate Theories: Making
Sense of Irrational Behaviors. InFTheories in Social Psychology, Second EditionF(pp.
188–213).
Crisp, R. J., Maitner, A. T., & Marcinko, A. J. (2022). From Culture to Cognition: Social
Categorization Theory Reloaded. In D. Chadee (Ed.),FTheories in Social Psychology
(pp.296–316).
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021).FSocial psychology (11th ed.).FCengage.
Reimer, N. K., Schmid, K., Hewstone, M., & Al Ramiah, A. (2011). Self-Categorization and
Social Identification: Making Sense of Us and Them. In D. Chadee (Ed.),FTheories in
Social PsychologyF(pp. 273–295).
Shepherd, D., & Sigg, N. (2015). Music Preference, Social Identity, and Self-Esteem. Music
Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 32(5), 507–514.
https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2015.32.5.507
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