What Is The Definition Of Prejudice In Sociology
Being prejudiced usually means having preconceived beliefs about groups of people or cultural practices.
What is the definition of prejudice in sociology. Prejudice is the attitude while discrimination is the behavior. What is the best definition of prejudice. American english ˈprɛdʒədəs british english ˈprɛdʒᵿdɪs usage notes. As for a current definition the merriam webster english dictionary has two definitions.
The word comes from the latin praejudicium meaning judgment in advance. After world war ii the accepted viewpoint was that only those with certain personality factors such as authoritarianism were prejudiced. Prejudice does not depend on negative experiences with others. Later the word was used in old french and finally as prejudice in middle english.
Quite simply it is a pre judgment that one makes of another that is not rooted in their own experience. Define prejudice racism and stereotypes. Annual review of sociology 26 135 168. In fact simply imagining interacting with members of different cultural groups might affect.
Show transcript prejudice is a negative outlook toward a person or group based on the perceived status or characteristics of that person or group. Prejudice is common against people who are members of an unfamiliar cultural group. Prejudice can be negative as in the case of racist or sexist ideology or positive as in the case of a preference for a particular ethnic food and can thus either help or harm a person so judged. Prejudices prejudice can be positive or negative but the term typically connotes negative feelings or opinions about an individual or group.
Prejudice and discrimination are often confused but the basic difference between them is this. It also reveals that people who are prejudiced against one racial or ethnic group also tend to be prejudiced against other groups. Home study social sciences sociology sociology definitions prejudice. Prejudices are often held independently of facts about the person or group.
Prejudice when contrasted to discrimination can be viewed as a theory of inequality a cause and discrimination as the. Prejudice is the judging of a person or idea without prior knowledge of the person or idea on the basis of some perceived group membership. People can be and are prejudiced against people they have never met and even against groups that do not exist or existed in past. One of the first sociologists to research this in depth was henri tajfel.
Prejudice and discrimination have been prevalent throughout human history. Prejudice has to do with the inflexible and irrational attitudes and opinions held by members of one group about another while discrimination refers to behaviors directed against another group. What does sociology have to say about stereotypes and prejudice. Thus certain types of education contact interactions and building relationships with members of different cultural groups can reduce the tendency toward prejudice.
Prejudice is a negative.