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Throughout the world, human equality has always been a problem. Stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice have become intergenerational, and society has accepted these forms of behaviors as satisfactory and usual. Based on the article Causes of Prejudice, Vincent N. Parrillo argues that prejudice appears in two forms, either sociological or psychological. The author believes that both types of discrimination are significant since their associated harm harms the individual and society at large. While society entertains prejudice-related behaviors, the attributed effects affect every race.
On the one hand, the psychological cause of prejudice reflects a person’s behavior, and it manifests when people think and act in a specific manner, which positively or negatively influences others. The perspective associated with this form focuses on prejudice levels, personality, frustration, and self-justification (Vincent, 2013). Vincent (2013) associates the personality aspect with the aggression, displacement, and authoritarian development individuals experience as they mature into adulthood. As Vincent sees it, self-justification is how a group or a person denigrates others to justify how they mistreat them. Frustration is a prejudiced segment and involves relative deprivation and scapegoating. Vincent (2013) explains, “if we might persuade ourselves that an additional group is inferior, dangerous or morally wrong, we might feel justified in discriminating them, enchanting them and even killing them” (506). The associated prejudice levels include action-oriented, cognitive, and emotional and are responsible for how the discriminatory behaviors occur.
On the other hand, the sociological type of prejudice results from beliefs that have been passed down among generations in stereotypical or discriminatory behaviors. Here, the primary triggers of the preconception constitute attitudes, sub-cultures, and cultures. Economic competition results in bias through insecurity as a result of aggressive behavior (Vincent, 2013). Based on Vincent (2013), “when there is a serious turndown in the availability of jobs, chauvinism, unenthusiastic, and discrimination arise” (507). The state of joblessness is a critical sociological aspect since it leads to the threat to an individual’s sense of safety, which often equates to aggressiveness and unfriendliness. In the modern world, the state of joblessness causes people to act suddenly see their differences and decide to use aggressive actions to eliminate their economic competitors.
The leading example Vincent uses in the article to show the effect of prejudice is racism. The notion behind it is the belief that people of a specific race have some abilities or characteristics which they use to define the superiority of some races over others. During conflicts, recessions, service issuance, and war, however, prejudice and racism are two potent agents that create hatred and fear. When racism is highlighted in this context, Vincent shows that African-Americans have been subjected to generational slavery since they arrived in Virginia in 1619. The discrimination against this ethnic group continues despite the 1865 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Vincent Parillo brings out a profound understanding of the issues facing society. The author does this by differentiating the causes of prejudice in the modern world into psychological and sociological. Vincent shows that prejudices are attributed to a person’s or a group’s attitude, which can affect others negatively or positively. The essay has shown the opposing challenges of prejudice by illustrating frustration and economic competition. Concerning racism, the paper has shown how certain attitudes have been used against African-Americans since they arrived in the U.S. and how that continues despite constitutional amendments.
Reference
Vincent, P. (2013). “Causes of prejudice.” In Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle (Eds.). Rereading America: Cultural contexts for critical thinking and writing. (pp. 504-516). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.
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