what is prejudice?

Question

detail please

explain FULLY

Answer 1

Prejudice Defined


Each citizen within the American society has his own definition of the word
prejudice. A person's translation of the word dictates his response to other people's
prejudices. One interpretation of it could be a feeling of partiality resulting from a
prejudgment that influences a person's thoughts, mindset, and behavior.

Today's society usually associates negative connotations with the word prejudice.
This is why the average American cringes or switches to self-defense mode when he
hears the word uttered. However, prejudices do not have to be negative. For example, a
prejudice, or prejudgment, can be made on a particular activity or location to determine
whether or not a person places himself/herself there. A person's prejudice could help to
keep them out of a harmful or even dangerous situation. The fact that a person has
preconceived ideas, or prejudices, toward a particular setting or environment does not
make the ideas negative. Therefore, those with a positive view need to reclaim the word
from those with negative mindsets.

Unfortunately, the most common association of the word prejudice is the feelings of
hatred between whites and blacks. Prejudices have driven individual people groups to
look down upon and mistreat other people groups because they are different. This
interpretation of the word is wrong. Not only are individuals hurt, but society as a whole
experiences a wave of disunity and ill feelings among the citizens. This demonstrates
how prejudices can impact people's behavior and interaction with one another. Clearly,
prejudices, or biases, need to become associated with positive, or harmless, feelings and
emotions. Society needs to see that the word prejudice in and of itself is not negative; it is
simply the meaning each person puts behind it that is.

Accordingly, prejudice is simply defined as a fondness toward something caused by
a person's preconceptions, altering his thoughts, mindset, and actions. The definition
shows that the word is not negative, but society has taken it and associated it with
negativity. Society cannot become unified until it finds a way to overshadow the negative connotations with positive ones.

Answer 2

basically, a preducided person will make a judgement on other people before getting to know them, simply based on assumptions/stereotypes that he/she may already have

while it is generally used in a negative manner (e.g. being racially prejudiced) - nearly all humans use it as a heuristic (a cognitive shortcut). Everyday we make snap judgments about the people we see on the street, at work and at class.

A common example:

"An employer can be influenced on whether to hire a male or a female for a leading position on the job. The employer may be influenced by his attitude on gender and how each gender applies leadership qualities. "

Some people also judge politicians based on prejudice - their religious views, their background, their party etc.

What i'm trying to say is, some people do innocently use prejudice. For example when they don’t have a large database of knowledge on the subject or if it isn’t very important to them.

Hope that helps

Answer 3

The word prejudice, broken down, simply means to "pre - judge"... or to make a judgment before you have knowledge or facts about a person or situation. Obviously, if we make judgments in such a way, we are going to make a lot of mistakes. Being human and not liking to admit that we are wrong, in these situations we tend to then twist the facts around to justify or support whatever opinion or judgment we initially made. This just compounds our error.

The best way to make a decision is to study things out thoroughly, getting opposing viewpoints even, and then make a decision based on as much fact as we can get. We need to be wise enough to be able to alter that decision, also, as new facts come to light, or as things change.

Don't listen to gossip, as this can be a big factor in prejudging others, but judge others on what you see their actions are, not by their skin color, type of clothes they wear, etc.

Answer 4

In its original use, the word prejudice refers to prejudgement: i.e. making a decision before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case. The word has commonly been used in certain restricted contexts, particularly in the expression 'racial prejudice'. Initially this referred to making a judgement about a person based on their race, before receiving information relevant to the particular issue on which a judgement was being made; it came, however, to be widely used to refer to any hostile attitude towards people based on their race. Subsequently the word has come to be widely so interpreted in this way in contexts other than those relating to race. The meaning now is frequently any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.

I hope it helps!

Answer 5

Prejudice and discrimination are negative manifestations of integrative power. Instead of bringing or holding people together, prejudice and discrimination push them apart. Ironically, even prejudice and discrimination imply some sort of relationship, however. If there is no relationship people would be completely unaware of another person's or group's existence. When there is any relationship at all--even a negative one--there is some integration. Kenneth Boulding referred to this as "disintegrative power"-"the integration that is achieved through hatred, fear, and the threat of a common enemy." (Boulding, 1989, p. 62.) This is seen in military patriotism, in nationalism, and in any situation of "negative identity" in which one group defines itself in terms of what it is not. This tends to lead into a "pathological situation of internal violence, often perpetuated through the family itself." While this is especially obvious and destructive when it occurs on a large scale--as it did in the Balkans, Somalia, Sri Lanka, or the Middle East--it also occurs on smaller scales as well, when one group holds negative stereotypes of another group and discriminates against members of that group based on those stereotypes.

Answer 6

Prejudice=ignorance

Prejudice is assuming something (usually) negative about a group or particular person. Often times it involves stereotypes, based on preconcieved ideas that are typically wrong.

Answer 7

stupitidy wrapped up in a " known " set of self rules....if a person does not like a particular peoples or objects, then that person will not tolerate that one set to interfere with their lives. be it the color of someone or the fact they just do not like a certain car or bus....prejudice is not set to just one part of society

Answer 8

Prejudice is when you have a hate for a certain group of people... but you do not act on it (like the KKK did)