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Factors shape how we perceive and treat members of other social/racial/ethnic groups
In “The Jogger and the Wolf Pack” a 1989 New York Times article the words viscous, savagery, and barbarity describe black and Latino teens. Given the context of the situation, these words were harmful and led to the negative perception of the teens who were innocent in the case. As stated by Fussell “Stereotypes depend on knowledge of a specific group and therefore can be manipulated”. This means that in some cases the perpetuation of stereotypes causes people to believe in untrue things. Such as Donald Trump calling for the Death Penalty to be used on teens. These fallacies can be harmful to the groups affected. This essay seeks to address how prejudice is formed, how contact can dissolve it, the effectiveness of contact, and possible solutions to prevent the mistreatment of victims of stereotyping.
To formulate a solution, it is important to understand how perceived risks of out-groups form. To begin with, humans have the fundamental urge to be a part of social groups (Waller 2023). Humans evolved to live within large groups to work together to ensure survival (Waller 2023). Additionally, evolutionary biases often lead to individuals viewing themselves as superior, in control, less prone to disaster, and less accountable for mistakes or pain, valuing themselves for sex and survival (Waller 2023). This is a key factor when it comes to stereotypes because they often blame others for torts. An example of this is, an active debate and a substantial body of empirical research resulting from the concern that immigrants "take jobs" from natives and reduce the wages of those they compete with. Furthermore, stereotyping can also occur in minority groups. As stated by Fussel, “Although Blacks may hold more pro-immigrant sentiments than Whites do, their sense of threat is still raised by economic concerns, such as those triggered by contexts in which Asians or Latinos are more economically successful or their numbers are increasing rapidly (McDermott 2011a, Rodriguez & Mindiola 2011).” This is because black people already feel like minorities and may feel that other minorities may take their spot in advancing a system that already holds them back. All in all, there are many ways prejudices may form.
A possible solution when it comes to hasty generalizations is to increase contact between members of various groups. This connection will help people to understand one another and limit stereotyping. : Gordan Allport Claims “[Prejudice] may be reduced by equal status contact between majority and minority groups in the pursuit of common goals. The effect is greatly enhanced if this contact is sanctioned by institutional supports (i.e., by law, custom, or local atmosphere), and provided it is of a sort that leads to the perception of common interests and common humanity between members of the two groups.” From this one can conclude that contact can help people view each other as equals. In Addition, Fincham, Beach, and Baucom revealed that we are generous to spouses, friends, and close group members and would treat them like ourselves. Meaning that if others are viewed as being in our in-group, we are more likely to care for them. To support this, researchers Pettigrew and Tropp carried out a meta-analysis. They identified 515 studies with 713 independent samples comprising 250,089 individuals from 38 nations (Waller 2023). They found that “94% of the samples show an inverse relationship between contact and prejudice” (Pettigrew and Tropp). This study alone supports the notion that exposure leads to lower levels of prejudice. This is also supported in the case of sports. Numerous other studies (e.g., Brown, Brown, Jackson, Sellers, and Manuel, 2003) have examined racial relations in various athletic contexts (Waller 2023). Sports that emphasize teamwork, like basketball or football, are generally found to have lower levels of prejudice than individualistic sports, like cross country (Waller 2023). It is also important to note that Intergroup contact can meaningfully contribute to reductions in prejudice across a broad range of groups and contexts, as demonstrated by the meta-analytic results, the authors conclude (Paluck Green 2006). Paluck and Green state "24 of the 27 experimental comparisons that seem most relevant to policy reveal positive effects." From these sources, it is clear to see that when people are allowed to personally experience those who differ from them, rather than myths and lies, they can relieve their generalizations.
Although there is a sufficient amount of evidence for the importance of exposure when it comes to eliminating stereotyping, there is evidence that suggests the effectiveness level varies. One example of this is when low-income Christian and Muslim men in northern Nigeria received 16 weeks of computer instruction from Scacco and Warren (2018), with some classes combining the two groups while others did not. They discovered that racism increased in the non-mixed classrooms and there was no decrease in prejudice in the mixed rooms (Waller 2023). A second example of this is when Dixon (2006) discovers that while White people's prejudices against Asian or Hispanic people are lessened by simply knowing them, White people need to know and feel close to Black people to have less anti-Black prejudice. These examples Reveal that contact is only a surface-level aspect of minimalizing prejudice. In addition, humans naturally make out groups because of evolution. This is because we are social creatures who compare ourselves to others to ensure we can stay within a group for survival (Waller 2023). This subconscious narcissism makes us look for what others do wrong to make sure we don’t do the same.
As stated previously humans favor being a part of social cohorts, so the solution here is to create a large in-group to prevent outgroups. This is a difficult task to accomplish without economic redistribution and the high rates of segregation in American neighborhoods and schools. However, there are still a few places to start. As stated before, sports that emphasize teamwork produce lower levels of prejudice. From this, it is clear to tell that there needs to be a focus on creating more opportunities for a diverse group of people to work together and bond. In this solution, the target demographic to focus on is America's youth, as they are more open to changing their minds and have limited. This will result in a generation that holds less hasty generalizations. As Allport and many other psychologists conclude, stereotypes are learned, with this solution the younger generations will likely not teach their children prejudices, thus bringing this issue closer to an end.
Works Cited
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