Question

Hi I was wondering if I could get an explanation on how race, ethnic groups, multiracial people, minority groups, dominanat groups, prejudice, discrimination and racisism all relate to one another?

Answer 1

Societal conflict can result in destruction if life and property, and this often has its root cause in discrimination and prejudice. The strong association and cohesiveness can result in the feeling of in-group (an idea where an individual identifies himself with a set of beliefs and ideas of a particular community, leading to a sense of belonging and solidarity with them). Social psychology considers this as an important attribute in building social contracts and relations. However, the downfall of in-group favouritism is the development of out-group ideas (an idea where the people who are not part of the community are deemed as outsider and is often discriminated). This concept of out-group phenomenon leads to psychological distortionand creates prejudice and stereotypes about the others, of which racism is a product. Cultural discrimination and stereotypes often leads to racial segregation and profiling of people. For example, Asians are often stereotyped as intelligent, sly and good in mathematics, while Lationis are perceived as loud,cold and sly population. Extreme example of racism is seen during a drive in America. A black man is mostly likely to be stopped by the police for a random check of gun possession and drug possession, as compared to a white man driving the car.(Rojek, Rosenfeld, & Decker, 2012)The psychological effect of racism can be acute and hazardous. The racism victim usually gathers a sense of worthlessness and hopelessness, which is symptomatic of long term depression. Hence, it is mandatory to understand how our attitudes (prejudice ),behaviour (discrimination)and cognition work together to create racism , and on steps to overcome these cognitive errors.

Barkan, S. E., & Cohn, S. F. (1998). Racial prejudice and support by whites for police use of force: A research note. Justice Quarterly, 743–753.

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