Reflection on Causes

of Prejudice by Vincent
Parrillo
Created By: Ehrin Yates
UWRT 1103-004
Vignette #4

What does prejudice Mean?

Can be positive or negative
Defined as: system of negative beliefs, feelings, and
action-orientations regarding a certain group or groups of
people

Psychological vs. Sociological

Perspectives
Psychological: Usually focus on the states of mind of
individuals which are subjective.
Sociological: Focuses on society and its conditions, social
forces, racial and ethnic relationships, etc.

Four Areas of Psychological

Perspective Study
Levels of Prejudice
Cognitive
Emotional
Action Orientation
Self-justification

Personality
Frustration

Cognitive Level of Prejudice

Revolves around beliefs and perceptions of groups or
people to be threatening or not, inferior or not, etc.
Ex: Irish are heavy drinkers
Ethnocentrism: The generalization to reject outgroups
based on and in group focus or membership.
Ex: Rejecting a someone from a workplace solely because of their
belief system

Emotional Level of Prejudice

Specified to feelings provoked in someone because of an
individual or group
This may be based on the cognitive level, but is more
personal
Ex: Getting angry because a certain group is eating at a
restaurant

Action Orientation Level of

Prejudice
Positive or negative disposition of an individual to act out
discriminatory behavior.
This is the PREDISPOSITION, not the action itself.
This could be actions someone takes to ensure inequality
in economic, political, educational, or social areas towards
an individual of a particular group.

Self Justification
Belittling a group to justify the maltreatment of an
individual from that group.
Leads to discrimination against a specific group.
History is filled with examples of this.
Experts say humans are rationalizing beings as opposed to
rational.

Personality
This pertains to the correlation between an individuals early
childhood and upbringing to how they act as adults.
Role of self-esteem:
Higher self esteem correlates with higher evaluation of others.
Effects attitudes about themselves and others.
Authoritarian personality and effects:
May cause displaced aggression.
Relationship of higher social classes with lower levels of authoritarian
style.

Frustration
This is the direct result of deprivation; where expectations are
unfulfilled.
Relative Deprivation: Lack of resources, rewards, in ones standard of living
compared with others of the society..

Frustration tends to increase aggression towards others.

Displaced Aggression: One directs their anger onto a more visible target which
is unable to fight back.

Scapegoating: Blaming others for something that is not their fault.

Ex: Students blame teachers for their bad test grade when they didnt study.

Sociological Perspective Areas of

Study

Behavior
Socialization
Economic Competition
Social Norms

Behavior
How an individual acts can bridge social and
psychological ideas about frustration aggression theory.
Family and Occupational:
May produce anxieties and insecurities to produce frustrations.
Growing up process is key.
Repressed aggression can become free floating-susceptible to
redirection.
Emphasis on workplace competition and individual achievement
generates anxieties.

Socialization
The socialization process is where individuals acquire
values, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions of culture- including
religion, nationality, and social class.
Generally children conform to their parents beliefs.
Humans are taught through this process to believe certain things.
Ideas may be embedded by society.

Economic Competition
People tend to become more hostile when they feel that
their security is threatened.
Studies show that negative stereotyping, prejudice, and
discrimination rates increase when competition for jobs increase.
Muzafer Sherif- conducted experiments which showed that intercompetition at boys camps led to increased hostility between
campers.

Social Norms
This pertains to the relationship between prejudice and a persons
tendency to conform with society.
Ex: Peer Pressure
Social Norms: The norms of ones culture-form the generally
shared rules defining what is and is not proper behavior in ones
culture.
Direct correlation between degree of conformity and degree of prejudice.
Levels and types of prejudice change with changing area.
Ex: Southerners who interacted with African Americans in the army were less
prejudiced against them.

My Thoughts and Comments

I connected most with this reading because I learn best when ideas are set
up for me to formulate opinions on. A lot of examples were also given
throughout this article, which I really enjoyed. I really connected with the
scientific approach and feel like there is tremendous value in studying why we
do the things we do based on psychology and society out together, as well as
reflecting on historical events. It is to my benefit when I can read about specific
studies to back up a statement because it allows me to better understand the
process of how the reader came to this conclusion. I encountered a few issues
throughout the reading, including the statements that generalized every human
to think the same way and to be impacted by experiences, their childhood for
example, in the same manner. I thought it was very interesting to be able to look
at statements and draw my own conclusions as well as come up with my own
examples. The structure of the article where the ideas were arranged
categorically and terms were sub-categories was very helpful to me. Overall,
this was my favorite reading from the issues of race folder because it provided a
sort of in depth analysis of prejudice without forcing opinions on you. It simply

Works Cited
Parrillo, Vincent N. "Causes of Prejudice."Created Equal.
Excerpt originally
published inCreated Equal, pp. 504-16.