Stereotypes vs. Prejudice vs. Discrimination

In this video, we’ll differentiate between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, and we’ll discuss several important social psychological concepts and hypotheses related to each, including what causes them to arise in the first place.

Stereotype: A belief, positive or negative, about the characteristics of members of a group that is applied generally to most members of the group; can lead to prejudice.

Prejudice: Drawing negative conclusions about a person, group of people, or situation prior to evaluating the evidence; can lead to discrimination.

Discrimination: Negative behavior toward members of out-groups.

In-group: A group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.

Out-group: A group that we don’t belong to and/or that we view as fundamentally different from us.

Implicit Stereotypes and Prejudice: Stereotypes and prejudice that we are unaware of.

Explicit Stereotypes and Prejudice: Stereotypes and prejudice that we are consciously aware of.

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them.

Cognitive Misers: A term used to describe how, as humans, we seek to use only minimal cognitive resources when explaining the world around us.

In-group Bias: The tendency to favor individuals within our group over those from outside our group.

Ultimate Attribution Error: The assumption that behaviors among individual members of a group are due to their internal dispositions.

Out-group Homogeneity: The tendency to view all individuals outside our group as highly similar.

Scapegoating: The act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal.