1. Prejudice & Discrimination

2. What’s in a Word or Symbol? Racism is negative behaviour based on an incorrect assumption that one race is inherently superior to others. This is just one form of discrimination – unfair actions directed against people based on their race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, language, faith, or sexual orientation Accusing people with these words, and others like them, can quickly bring on powerful emotions Yet people often toss these terms around without really understanding what they really mean

3. Spot the difference… See if you can spot which students are mistaken in their accusations: 1. One girl says that she has been discriminated against because another girl doesn’t like her 2. A boy accuses someone who calls him names of being a racist 3. Another student claims that the teacher is prejudiced in favour of the athletes in the class

4. Prejudice, Discrimination, & Power Issues of prejudice and discrimination involve people who are outside the mainstream of society or outside positions of power and authority Disadvantage can be based on several factors or combinations of them, including religious affiliation, age, sex or sexual preference, race and ethnicity, and physical or mental characteristics

5. Stereotypes Applying beliefs to individual members of a group For example, we can categorize individuals as “jocks” or “nerds” then make positive or negative judgements about them as members of these groups Reinforcement of stereotypes comes from many sources, including news and entertainment media, jokes, and the powerful influence of friends and family

6. Prejudice Negative judgement Prejudice emerges when stereotypes are negative or inaccurate in nature or when a person fails to change them in the face of contrary evidence Only when those who hold the stereotype have some power or authority can prejudice go to the next level, discrimination.

7. Understanding Prejudice & Discrimination British economist & philosopher Kenneth E. Boulding – 1956 published The Image: Knowledge in Life & Society – He outlined a view of perception, in which incoming information is shaped and changed by the personal background and experiences of individuals

8. “The Image” Boulding used the phrase “the image” to describe how people do not perceive things exactly as they exist in the real word. Instead, they respond to an image of reality, and this image can differ from person to person. Therefore, people use their background & experiences to form images of others

9. Continued… If the image of a certain group in society is negative, we call it a negative stereotype, or if the negative feelings are strong, a prejudice Then, if someone acts upon this prejudice, it becomes discrimination

10. Paradigm 1989 American psychologist Joel Barker expanded on Boulding’s ideas to include the concept of paradigm This is what he called the set of rules & conditions stored in the brain that a person uses to interpret and understand sensory experience A paradigm acts like the filter through which information is processed by the brain to create an image

11. Paradigm For example…the approach of a stranger can be seen by one person as a possible threat, while someone else may see it as just another person passing by The difference is based upon the sets of rules & conditions – the paradigms – that two people use to evaluate the same thing

12. Paradigm Shift Social scientists believe that it is possible to change the set of rules and conditions by which people judge situations They call this a paradigm shift

13. IQ Testing: Systematic Discrimination? Standardized IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests were first developed in 1905 These tests have been used widely in education since 1915, sometimes with negative results for students outside “mainstream” society Many have criticized the test for being “culturally loaded” and the students who get the best results will, “naturally be those who have the values, skills and motivational patterns from their middle-class homes and neighbourhood environment”

14. Give it a try… http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_pag e/index.htm?idRegTest=3108 http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_pag e/index.htm?idRegTest=3108 Visit the following website to try a modified classic IQ test.

15. Genocide Genocide = the deliberate policy of those in power to eliminate a group of people This is the ultimate form of discrimination

16. Genocide Examples Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution” was designed to wipe out European Jews and anyone else he deemed unfit to live in Nazi-dominated Europe Bosnian Serbs undertook two brutal campaigns of torture, rape, and murder which they called “ethnic cleansing” in an effort to eliminate Muslims and other ethnic groups from the region

17. The Psychology of Race Is race relevant? The idea of race is often at the centre of issues surrounding prejudice and discrimination It is a vague concept usually associated with physical characteristics, particularly skin colour, facial features, and hair texture

18. Race today… We realize now that humans are not biologically divided into racial subgroups Scientists have found no significant genetic differences between peoples that justify any division into races The idea of race comes from history and culture, not science