Discrimination and Prejudice in Society

Discrimination has no place in society. To provide an understanding of the concepts which will be discussed, an explanation of the following terms in this piece will be provided discrimination, social distance scale, prejudice, stereotypes, and scapegoats. According to Merriam-Webster, discrimination is a prejudiced outlook, action, or treatment. It is also, as it relates to psychology, the process by which two stimuli differ in some aspect and also respond differently.

Prejudice, according to Boyd (2018, p. 1), means “developing a feeling about a person based on their affiliation with a group.”  For example, one might say I don’t want to be around Mary because all Mexicans have a tendency to be frugal, and I don’t like them. A stereotype is a belief about a certain group of people” (Body, 2018, p. 1). One example of a stereotype is thinking that all African-Americans like watermelon and fried chicken and serve this food at a wedding which is primarily African-American.

Scapegoating refers to “a process by which a person or groups is unfairly blamed for something they didn’t do, and the real source of the problem is ignored” (Crossman, 2018, p. 1). The social distance scale is a “measure of social separation between groups caused by perceived or real differences between groups of people” (Crossman, 2018, p. 1). 

One of the most influential theorists was Emory Bogardus. His work in sociology was profound. He became the founder of the Journal of Applied Sociology and later began studying race relations. Bogardus came up with the idea of the social distance scale in the early 1900s. He used the scale every ten years, which made it a tool that was called “America's experience with diversity and difference" (“Prejudice Theory: Bogardus & the Social Distance Scale,” 2018, para. 2). Bogardus's social distance scale was one of the first in its area to use go gauge attitudes. The social distance scale is still being used in today’s society. 

Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination have no place in society. All people are different, but each one was created equal. To treat a person differently than another simply because of a preconceived notion or the color of one’s skin is simply wrong. No human being can determine the class or ethnic group in which he or she will be a part of. At the same time, one should not think he or she is superior because of the class or ethnic group born into. It's wise for parents to begin teaching their children about discrimination and prejudice before they enter elementary school. 

Behaviors, which include prejudice and stereotypical actions, have caused a lot of mayhem in society. People have died because of racism. Body limbs of humans have been broken because of discrimination. This type of behavior has to stop. To explain further, prejudice and racism both encompass a group of people based on their belonging in that group. Racism is just another element of prejudice, involving behavior towards members of an ethnic group. Stereotyping also interrelates with prejudice and was first used by journalist Walter Lippman (Boyd, 2018). Stereotyping people involves using traits affixed to them based on a trait that signifies their belonging to a particular group. 

For years, prejudiced attitudes have led to discrimination in housing, jobs, and other realms. Because of stereotypical and racial biases, laws had to be enacted. Affirmative action laws in college and universities were created to promote fairness. Many years ago, racial behavior prevented minority students from attending predominantly white universities. In addition, housing was another issue. Blacks could not buy homes in white neighborhoods without being subjected to prejudicial issues that prevented them from purchasing certain homes. A resolution is needed to ensure justice worldwide.

References

Boyd, N. (2018). Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/prejudice-discrimination-stereotypes-definitions-examples.

Crossman, A. (2018). Definition and examples of social distance in psychology. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/social-distance-3026589

Prejudice theory: Bogardus & the social distance scale. (2018).  Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/research-starters/prejudice-theory-bogardus-social-distance-scale#research-starter-research-starter>