In academic research and the mass media, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination are used interchangeably. However, in practice and in formal definition, these terms are different. This research will examine these three terms and explore the differences between them.
Stereotypes are generalizations or beliefs held about a certain group of individuals, not based on actual characteristic but by projecting these generalizations onto the individual. The danger of a stereotype is that people will ignore individual differences, which can cause false beliefs about an individual based on perceptions about the group that they belong to (McLeod, 2008b). A stereotype may begin with a generalization such as “All black persons are…”, when in fact, an individual may not fit into that category.
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"Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination".
Prejudice is based on stereotypes, but rather than stopping at beliefs about a person belonging to a certain group, it means having a certain attitude towards someone based on a stereotype. Stereotyping can be benign until it turns into prejudicial attitude (McLeod, 2008a). Prejudice goes beyond stereotyping and involves affect, behavior, and cognition about the group (McLeod, 2008). Discrimination means putting stereotypes and prejudices into action (McLeod, 2008a).
One extreme form of discrimination is waging war against a certain group of people.
Individuals are attacked in the action, not because of their own actions, but simply because they belong to a certain group. Discrimination involves treating someone differently because of their membership in a group. One example of this is not hiring a qualified job candidate because of the color of their skin. Discrimination begins with stereotyping and prejudice. A person may night even be aware that they are prejudiced or that they are reacting to stereotypes.
- McLeod, S. (2008). Prejudice and Discrimination. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/
- McLeod, S. (2008). Stereotypes. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org
