Theories on Prejudice and Discrimination - Essay Example

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Introduction Learning journal is a journal that gives the reflections of a scholar, what they have learnt from the subject in question, and how the subject can be applied in real life experiences. Learning journals are important because they help students become self aware about what they have learnt, are able to integrate what is learnt to real life situations and aid in intellectual development and establish thinking critically. Critical thinking is fundamental in problem solving processes, decision making processes and providing effective solutions to problems. This learning journal therefore, will analyze the theories, concepts and application of elements of social psychology. That is, self and identity, prejudice and discrimination and attraction and close relationships and how they influence human thinking, their relationships and interactions with others and their behavior. Social psychology is associated with learning how the presence or absence of other people be it real, implied, thought or imagined, influence how people think, what influences people to experience different feelings for different experiences and why people behave the way they do or react they way they do to different circumstances in their lives (Franzoi, 2003:8). The purpose of the learning journal is to bring to light psychosocial frameworks that influence human relationships, interaction and behavior. Which is based on perspectives both historically and theoretically, issues related to being self-aware, self identity, knowing and understanding the concept of self. In addition, evaluate theories associated with prejudice and discrimination, types of prejudice, combating prejudice, and processes attributed to behavior and forming relationships. Self & identity According to studies done on social psychology, I have learnt that self and identity plays a major role in understanding human development, behavior and psychological processes (Leary & Tangney, 2005:5). Thus, making self and identity crucial in multiple disciplines like anthropology, sociology, neurology and understanding the concepts of socialism, having different personalities, cognitive process and development. Self and identity is composed of what I think as a person and what I perceives I am, what I am in the present and what I would want or would not want to be in the future, thus influencing my behavior, feelings, motivation, interactions with culture and society . It is apparent that perception of self can be perceived in terms of academics where individuals describes themselves as learned, bright or illiterate. It can be perceived in terms of gender where I describe myself as either male or female, and by racial or ethnic identities where I can describe myself in terms of which nationality, race, tribe, clan or ethnic groupings I come from (Leary & Tangney, 2005:114). The concept of self and identity is based on assessments and perceptions that I have as an individual on my personal strengths and weaknesses, personal and physical attributes, talents and skills, my personal interests and i do for a living. The point of interest in self and identity element in social psychology that has appealed to me as an individual are problems in self and identity as a result of delays in development, regression, psychosocial crisis as explained by Erikson’s psychosocial theory, Vroom’s expectancy motivation theory and Feud’s psychosexual theories, leads to life problems. Among life problems is low self esteem and low self worth. I have seen people who believe they are not good enough even if this is not true (Kashima, et al. 2002:74). Low self esteem is primarily caused by negative criticism by colleagues, family, friends and harshly criticizing oneself if they have not achieved what they wanted or their efforts and skills are not appreciated. The other life problem associated with self and identity problems that I have seen among colleagues are low self efficacy. Where one feels they are not able to take control of their lives, are ineffective, are unable to overcome hardships, are unable to influence the outcomes of the circumstances they may find themselves in. low self efficacy is the major cause of depression, lack of self confidence an increased feelings of helplessness s(Smith & Mackie, 2000:342). According to the theorist Eric, self is influenced by how I effectively transits from one development stage to another, and how an incomplete transition from one stage to the next has an overall effect on the perceptions I have on myself and the world in general. For example the stage of intimacy and isolation where young adults develop love and affiliation and identity versus role confusion stage where one develops fidelity and devotion among other psychosocial stages (Kashima, et al. 2002: 43). Feud suggests that effective psychosocial processes during lifespan development influence who and what type of individuals become later on in life, their personal attributes and their personalities. For example, during anal stage a child develop elements of trust or mistrust, anal stage a child develops autonomy or shame and phallic stage a child develops initiative or guilt. The study can be used by motivational speakers, guidance counseling and during therapies. Prejudice & discrimination Prejudice is described as attitudes and perceptions negative or positive that one may have concerning a culture or a group of people. Prejudice compounds into forming stereotypes, where I can believe that certain groups of people have similar physical or personal attributes and my behavior and emotions towards the group of people in question (Chin, 2009:26). Prejudice and discrimination have cognitive, behavioral and affective dimensions and when prejudiced emotions and feelings are acted on they result in discrimination. Discrimination therefore entails alienating or sidelining a people, in order to refuse them opportunities because they are perceived as inferior and not deserving of the opportunities or fair share (Chin, 2009:113). The important aspect of prejudice and discrimination in social psychology that I have pressed on in this learning journal is causes of prejudice and discrimination, which are through aspects of socialization (Oskamp, 2000: 150). A child learn to prejudice others from what it has learnt from family and friends and others prejudice and discriminate based on what they see in movies, in the media against vulnerable groups like women, homosexuals, disabled people among other minority groups. Other contributing factors are having different personalities. For example some people are authoritative and will sideline other people’s opinions and consider others inferior, conformity sometimes forces me to discriminate against others in order to fit in and conform to what my peers believe in and avoid being socially associated with the sidelined group. Group closure is another cause where a particular group of people refuse to integrate with other groups by creating boundaries and refusing people to intermarry based on differences in cultural beliefs and traditions (Oskamp, 2000:47). One time or the other I have become prejudiced or discriminated by becoming ethnocentric and evaluating other people’s beliefs and cultures against my own and being highly suspicious of anything outside my belief or norms. Theories on prejudice and discrimination are conflict theories where the perceived privileged people conflict with the underprivileged, the privileged fights of competition for power, resources, possessions and status while the others want to have a share of the resources and power (Chin, 2009:173). The functionalist approach focuses on the dysfunction of the vice and symbolic interactionism where prejudice and discrimination are acquired through habit, language use and learning during development. For example a child learns from parents how to prejudice through rude remarks pertaining group of people and people are likely to become what they profess they are or what they are constantly told they are. The important thing that I have established in this area of social psychology is that harmonious and violence-free living is possible universally by individuals acquiring appropriate education, having high esteem, integrating different cultures together and accepting diversity, formulating punitive measures against discriminative behavior and actions, fostering social justice, equality in status and fair distribution of resources in the society. Among types of prejudicious acts and discrimination behaviors are cognitive prejudice which entails people believing and perceiving what they consider to be true based on past experience, research and behavior (Oskamp, 2000:102). Conative prejudice is prejudice which suggests that people are inclined to behave in a certain way and affective prejudice which encompasses individual likes and dislikes. Attraction and close relationships Among fundamental components to understanding social psychological processes, human behavior, motivation and interaction, is getting a clear understanding of what causes people to be attracted to one another and what is the basis to forming stable, close and lasting relationships (Reis, et al. 2004:17). I first get attracted to other people, we become acquaintances and friends before we can form close relationships. From the study, it is evident that attraction happens when I become physically attracted to others either by the way they dress, the way they look like or the way they carry themselves. Then there is proximity which illustrates that the more nearer one is to me, the more likely we are to be attracted to one another since we can easily observe each other with or without the knowledge of the other (Reis, et al. 2004:65). Proximity breeds familiarity, where we become more relaxed and can easily share our feelings and experiences thus increasing attraction between us. Once we are close and are familiar with one another, we form patterns of how similar we are. Similarities may arise in having same hobbies, interests, occupation, race, physical attributes, status, religion, age, attitudes, backgrounds, personality types and knowledge and skills. People will seek to attract and be attracted simply to satisfy their social needs and the needs to belong. Relationships are fundamental in forming behavior and development mentally, socially, spiritually, culturally, religiously, economically, and emotionally. This development helps curb loneliness, solve problems, share, and instill self worth and self confidence and increase motivation (Franzoi, 2003:331). Theories formulated to explain attraction and the need for close relationships are evolutionary theory where males are attracted to females more especially when females are fertile, thus suggesting the primary role of interpersonal relationships among opposite sexes is reproduction (Reis, et al. 2004:93). The theory suggests that people will be more attracted to people with attributes of their own and people who are healthy are likely to attract more attention than others. Women will seek men with resources and particular traits of resourcefulness in order their children to have the same traits and will be provided for well while men attract female who are healthy who are likely to easily conceive (Manusov, et al. 2001:18). The other theory is the social exchange theory which implies that individuals are more attracted to people based on the costs and rewards and invest in people who seem to have highest probability of relationships succeeding (Reis, et al. 2004:175). By comparing, I can decide if the relationship I am in is offering rewards equivalent to efforts put in or the costs are more and if I am likely to develop better relationships with someone else. I may fail to get attracted to certain people because of their attitudes, the first impressions they make, if they are self limiting, their personalities and inability to effectively communicate who they are, what they want out of life and what they want from others (Smith & Mackie, 2000:47). It is imperative to understand there are various types of relationships which are influenced by the different type of people we interact with such as parents, friends, neighbors, colleagues, age mates, spouses and peers. The study can be used to form stable and lasting relationships in the busy modern world, and help those seeking marriage partners. Conclusion The journal has been integral in understanding the role of self and identity prejudice and discrimination and attraction and close relationships on social psychology. This is because they establish a framework under which I can understand human behavior, what influences social interactions between me and other people, mental processes involved in making me like or dislike others and ways in which cohesive living can be realized. Am satisfied with the outcomes of this journal, since it has shed light on why people have low self esteem and low self efficacy, why people prejudice and discriminate against others based on social and cultural status, beliefs, religion, race, sexual orientation, health, disability and perceptions. Furthermore, I have learnt how to become more self aware, understand my self and how development processes influence my behavior, the way I solve problems and the way I make decisions as described by self and identity theories. Lessons learnt are that the only way I and the society can stop prejudice is by, offering equality in status to different segments of people, individuals acquiring appropriate education, having high esteem, integrating different cultures together and accepting diversity, formulating punitive measures against discriminative behavior and actions, fostering social justice, and fair distribution of resources in the society. From the journal i understand clearly that for close relationships to be formed, attraction needs to be there which can be created by physical attractiveness, familiarity, proximity and similarity among different people. I did not realize any weaknesses in the journal since it has covered and highlighted all the objectives I had set initially and how various aspects can be applied in daily life. References Chin, J.L. (2009). The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Los Angeles: ABC-CLIO. Franzoi, S.L. (2003). Social psychology. San Diego: McGraw-Hill. Kashima, Y., et al. (2002). Self and identity: personal, social, and symbolic. London: Routledge. Leary, M.R., Tangney, J.P. (2005). Handbook of self and identity. New York: Guilford Press. Manusov, V.L. et al. (2001). Attribution, communication behavior, and close relationships; Advances in personal relationships. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oskamp, S. (2000). Reducing prejudice and discrimination. London: Routledge. Reis, H.T. et al. (2004). Close relationships: key readings; Key readings in social psychology. Psychology Press, 2004 Smith, E.R., Mackie, D.M. (2000). Social psychology. Stanford: Psychology Press. Read More