prejudice
Summary
Prejudice is a preconceived, usually negative attitude toward people because of their group membership. It is the feeling component of an attitude; stereotypes are beliefs and discrimination is behavior, and prejudice can occur without discrimination.
Detail
Meaning: Prejudice is a preconceived, usually negative attitude toward people because of their group membership, such as race, gender, religion or class. In the ABC model of attitudes, prejudice is the affective part (feelings), a stereotype is the cognitive part (beliefs about a group), and discrimination is the behavioral part (unequal treatment). Explanations include in-group/out-group categorization, competition for scarce resources (realistic conflict theory), scapegoating, and, in sociology, differences in power, prestige and class.
On the MCAT: A passage describes a person or institution and asks you to label the situation as prejudice, stereotype or discrimination. Expect related items such as ethnocentrism, stereotype threat, the self-fulfilling prophecy and institutional discrimination. Under realistic conflict theory, predict that prejudice between groups rises as competition for limited resources increases.
Common confusion: Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is an action. A person can hold prejudice and not act on it, and a person can discriminate by following a biased policy without personal prejudice. Ask whether the item describes a feeling, a belief or a behavior, and the label follows.
Sources
- Social Psychology (Aronson, Wilson, Akert)
- Psychology (Myers)
- Introduction to Sociology (Giddens et al.)
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.