State of Fear

Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.
—Michael Crichton, State of Fear

Prejudice is an underlying complex mix of mental perceptions and associated emotions and attitudes toward members of another group that often result in social distance and manifest in overt acts of discrimination. An important first step in addressing the roots of prejudice and discrimination is to trace the historical sources and the psychological reinforcements.

In this Assignment, you will explore historical examples of prejudice and discrimination, drawing on how prejudice is perpetuated across generations, and analyzing the implications of persistent prejudice in society.

To prepare:

• Identify one historical example and one contemporary example of discrimination. Consider the underlying causes and the consequences of discrimination in these cases.

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper in which you do the following for both your historical example and your contemporary example of discrimination:

• Analyze the major cause(s) of discrimination.
• Analyze how discrimination has been manifested.
• Analyze the consequences of the discrimination. How has discrimination benefitted one group over another?
• Apply one or more of the theories of prejudice and discrimination (covered in Chapter 3 of the course text (Marger, 2015)) to analyze each example.
• Analyze any social policies that have emerged in order to address the acts of discrimination.

Support your assertions by making at least two documented references to your course readings. Please use proper APA formatting to cite each of your sources.

Length: 3–4 pages

• Marger, M. N. (2015). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives(10th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
  • Chapter 2, “Ethnic Stratification: Majority and Minority” (pp. 27–48)
  • Chapter 3, “Tools of Dominance: Prejudice and Discrimination” (pp. 49–78)

Media

• Ted Conferences (Producer). (2014c). Paul Bloom: Can prejudice ever be a good thing? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_bloom_can_prejudice_ever_be_a_good_thing

  Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 16 minutes.

  “We often think of bias and prejudice as rooted in ignorance. But as psychologist Paul Bloom seeks to show, prejudice is often natural, rational… even moral. The key, says Bloom, is to understand how our own biases work—so we can take control when they go wrong.”

• Understanding Prejudice. (2016b). The lunch date [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/multimedia/stereo.htm
• Understanding Prejudice. (2016c). Implicit associations and hidden biases [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/multimedia/stereo.htm
• Understanding Prejudice. (2016d). The psychological effects of stereotype threat [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/multimedia/stereo.htm