Social Psychology 483When prejudicial attitudes cause members of a particular social group to
be treated differently than others in situations that call for equal treatment, it is
called discrimination. Prejudice is the attitude, and discrimination is the behav-
ior that can result from that attitude. Although laws can be made to minimize
discriminatory behavior, it is not possible to have laws against holding certain
attitudes. In other words, discrimination can be controlled and in some cases elim-
inated, but the prejudicial attitude that is responsible for the discrimination cannot
be so easily controlled or eliminated.
TYPES OF PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION There are many kinds of prejudice.
There are also many kinds of discrimination that occur as a result of prejudice.
There’s ageism, or prejudicial attitudes toward the elderly or teenagers (among oth-
ers); sexism; racism, or prejudice toward those from different ethnic groups; prej-
udice toward those from different religions, those from different economic levels,
those who are overweight, those who are too thin, or those who have a different
sexual orientation. Prejudice can also vary in terms of what type of people or groups
make the most likely targets. In any society, there will always be in-groups and out-
groups, or “us” versus “them.” The in-group is all the people with whom a particu-
lar person identifies and the out-groups are everyone else (Brewer, 2001; Hewstone
et al., 2002; Tajfel & Turner, 1986). An example of this can be found in the Black Lives
Matter movement that began as a Twitter campaign in 2013 in response to the acquittal of
George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin (Day, 2015). The formation of
in-groups and out-groups begins in childhood (Ruble et al., 2004) and continues as children
become adults.
Once an in-group is established, prejudice toward and discriminatory treatment of
the out-group or groups soon follow, causing stress and possible negative impact on the
health of the out-group members (Brewer, 2001; Forsyth et al., 2014). Members of the
out-groups are usually going to become stereotyped according to some superficial char-
acteristic, such as skin color or hair color, and getting rid of a stereotype once formed is
difficult at best ( Cameron et al., 2001; Hamilton & Gifford, 1976). Microaggressions, the
seemingly minor insults and negative exchanges that members of the dominant culture
often use toward minorities, add to the discriminatory treatment. Microaggressions are
not as blatant as someone using a racial or gender-biased epithet, but are more subtle
statements that might repeat a stereotyped idea or that minimize the reality of discrimi-
nation (Sue, 2010). For example, a professional woman who is told by a supervisor that
she needs to change her hairstyle because it is unprofessional may be seen as experienc-
ing microaggression from the supervisor.
SCAPEGOATING Conflicts between groups are usually greater when there are other
pressures or stresses going on, such as war, economic difficulties, or other misfortunes.
When such pressures exist, the need to find a scapegoat becomes stronger. A scapegoat
is a person or a group, typically a member or members of an out-group, who serves as
the target for the frustrations and negative emotions of members of the in-group. (The
term comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of sending a goat out into the wilderness
with the symbolic sins of all the people on its head.)
Scapegoats are going to be the group of people with the least power, and the new-
est immigrants to any area are typically those who have the least power at that time. That
is why many social psychologists believe that the rioting that took place in Los Angeles,
California, in the spring of 1992 occurred in the areas it did. This was the time of the
infamous Rodney King beating. Rodney King was an African American man who was
dragged out of his car onto the street and severely beaten by four police officers. The
beating was caught on tape by a bystander. At the trial, the officers were found not guilty
of assault with a deadly weapon. This decision was followed by a series of violent riots
(Knight, 1996). The puzzling thing about these riots is that the greatest amount of rioting
discrimination
treating people differently because
of RreLudice toward the social grouR to
which they Delong.After the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision
(Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka), schools
in the United States began the process of integration,
allowing African American students to attend school with
white students. The desegregation laws were aimed
at stopping discrimination, but attitudes of prejudice
persisted then and, to some degree, still exist today.
The courts can make laws against discrimination, but
changing prejudicial attitudes is much more difficult.out-groups
social groups with whom a person
does not identify pthem.qin-groups
social groups with whom a person
identifies pus.qThe Black Lives matter movement, begun
in 2013, has become a force for advocating
change, particularly in how black men are
viewed by the police but also advocating
a change to discriminatory treatment of all
people.