Prejudice vs Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Prejudice vs Discrimination EssayTypewrite a 1 ? to 2 page report card comparing and contrasting prejudice and favoritism. Relate the practice of stereotyping and racial profiling to prejudice and discrimination. Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines prejudice and discrimination as Prejudice (1) injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of ones rights especially detriment to ones legal rights or claims (2) a.(1) preconceived judgment or opinion (2) an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b an showcase of much(prenominal) judgment or opinion c an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a meeting, a race, or their supposed characteristics. Discrimination (1) a. the act of astute b the abut by which two stimuli differing in some aspect be responded to differently (2) the quality or power of finely distinguishing (3) a. the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment The main distinction amid prejudice and discrimination is found in Michael LeMays definition of discrimination, where he says Discrimination is applied prejudice. As in the definition above, prejudice is some preconceived notion about an individual, a group, or a race that demonstrate some sort of judgment upon them. This idea of prejudice is usually kept inside of the individual, so as to take up a quiet judgment among people.Discrimination, however, is prejudice put into practice. Those who discriminate actively practice prejudice it is no longer kept inside, but rather openly practiced against the people. Prejudice is best described as an attitude towards a certain group of peoples ground solely on their membership in that complaisant or ethnic group, whereas discrimination are actions taken against those members, the behavioral manifestation of prejudice. The prac tices of prejudice and discrimination stem from an individuals perception of a certain group ?these predetermined perceptions of a group usually come from stereotypes of a people, or racial profiling. LeMays definition of stereotypes is thisOversimplistic and Overexaggerated beliefs about a group, most often acquired second hand. These images are extremely resistant to change. Stereotyping often derive from social categorization and the idea of ? in group vs. ?out group. Social categorizations is sort of the lumping or classification of people into groups based on common characteristics among them, while the concept of the ? in group versus the ? out group is based on a ? we vs. ?they view, by Peter Rose.The difference between the two is that in social categorization, the person removes themself from their judgment, whereas in the ? we vs. ?they approach, the person is included among others in their judgment, but those judged are not part of their own majority group. This process of thought views ? we in favorable terms, and ? they negatively. The impact of stereotypes, as I have stated, directly affect the perceptions of a people in a negative nimbleness when we think of those people, these traits come to mind ? when we meet people from this group, we will focus more on those traits and process them before others.Stereotyping affects our social judgments about a group of people how much we like the person, our mood and attitudes toward the person, as well as our expectations from that person. Racial profiling is not much off from the principles of stereotyping. Racial profiling is the use of race as a consideration in suspect profiling or other law enforcement practices. This ties into stereotyping in that we suspect suspicious activity from a particular race or people based solely on their ethnicity. A common example of racial profiling would be DWB or movement while black.This is the practice of police or other law enforcement officers targeting African Americans for traffic stops because they believe that African Americans are more likely to be engaged in criminal activity (racial profiling, www. ethnicmajority. com). Overall, one could say that one instance leads to another. Stereotyping can lead to prejudice, which can lead to discrimination. Stereotyping fuels prejudice, though people are not willing to admit this ? they will not admit to stereotyping or being prejudiced, nor discriminating, yet all practices and beliefs of these are rampant today.