SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BOOKLET

M ARCH 2017

BY: JAMIE V. CANAUAY

MA-PSYCHOLOGY
TO: DR. HAZEL M ARTINEZ
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. PREJUDICE
DEFINITION
CONSEQUENCES
DISCRIMINATION
III. EXAMPLES OF PREJUDICE
AND DISCRIMINATION
IV. SOCIAL CAUSES OF
PREJUDICE
V. SOLUTIONS TO PREJUDICE
VI. ACTIVITY I
VII. ACTIVITY II
VIII. REFERENCES
 Throughout human history, conflict in
human relations has resulted in persecution,
crimes against one another, segregation, war
and other atrocities like genocide. In ancient
times, Egyptians, Romans and Greeks took
Jews and other groups that are not one of their
own, as slaves. The extermination of Native
Americans since the 15th century which left their
number at merely 250,000 by the 19th century.
African-Americans were the recipient of
maltreatment and atrociousness from white
colonists, they were assumed to be animals and
not humans. Filipinos suffered oppression from
the many colonists that occupied the
Philippines, from the Spaniards, to Americans
and to the Japanese Empire. In the 19th century,
Suffragists fought for womens right to vote.
During the 1800s to the 1940s, homosexuality is
a crime and is punishable by imprisonment,
castration or death.
These human conflicts exists even in
present day. And although in recent years, there
has been a decline there are still problems in
human relations. These conflicts are often said
to arise from prejudice and discrimination.
According to Merriam Webster, prejudice is
defined as a, preconceived judgment or
opinion or an adverse opinion or leaning formed
without just grounds or before sufficient
knowledge. Also, in Gordon Allports The
Nature of Prejudice, he defined prejudice as, an
aversive or hostile attitude toward a person who
belongs to a group, simply because he belongs
to that group, and is therefore presumed to have
objectionable qualities ascribed to the group.
While prejudice is a preconceived thought about
a group and avoidance of a particular group,
discrimination as defined in Merriam Webster is
a, prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or
treatment.
Through the efforts of Social
Psychologists, we have found the determinants
on why prejudice exists. And by knowing these
factors, we have ways to lessen, or if not,
eliminate prejudice through education of the
masses.
This booklet aims to help the reader have
a better understanding of prejudice; its history,
issues and solutions to decrease negative
perception and discrimination in society.
 According to David Myers, prejudice is,
A preconceived negative judgment of a group
and its individual members. It is often a
generalized negative perception of a certain
group in a society.
Prejudice a preconceived
Prejudice is an
attitude, and it opinion that is not based on
highly influences reason or actual experience.
an individuals
interaction with certain groups of people. When
people have prejudicial thoughts and attitudes,
they most often think that anyone who fits the
description of a certain type of group is the same
as the rest. People who are prejudiced tend to
generalize.
One example of such generalizations
would be the ideation that drug addicts are all
the same, they
Stereotype ideas that people
are evil people
have about what someone or that has no
something is like. capability to
change for the
better. Most of prejudiced notions are the result
of stereotype. Stereotype is a preconceived
notion, especially about a group of people.
Human beings cannot avoid stereotyping as
categorizing is a normal human thinking
process. Gordon Allport said, The human mind
must think with the aid of categories Once
formed, categories are the basis for normal
prejudgment. We can't possibly avoid this
process. Orderly living depends upon it.
As a result of these categorizations,
prejudice comes in different forms. Racism,
sexism, homophobia, classism, and nationalism
to name a few. These types of prejudice can
cause many kinds of unfavorable actions and
behaviors towards a person or a group of
people.

If prejudice exists, it can cause serious

negative consequences such as displacement
of people, eugenics, genocide, hate crimes,
stigma, and discrimination.

Displaced persons. People forced to leave

their homes, and move to a safer place. In war
torn places, people flee from danger and to
escape persecution.

Eugenics. A set of beliefs and

practices that aims at improving the
genetic quality of the human
population.
 Genocide. A deliberate destruction of a
political or cultural human group. Native
Americans were mass murdered during
the colonialization of America. Bounties
were put on their heads.

Hate Crime. A violent attack against

a person or group because of their
race, ethnicity, religion, or gender.
The KKK has been responsible for
lynching of numerous African-
Americans.

Stigma. A feeling of shame or of lesser social value than others.

This is due to categorization of people that results in labelling.
People who fit a criteria become victims of prejudiced people or
ostracize themselves for being part of a certain group.
 Discrimination. Treating some people differently than
others or favoring one social group over another based on
prejudices.

Racism. It is defined as the belief that

physical characteristics determine cultural traits,
and that racial characteristics make some
groups superior. During the 1950s to the 1960s,
Black Americans struggled for racial equality,
they were thought of being inferior to White
Americans and are uncivilized compare to the
latter. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. the leader
of the Civil Rights
Movement marched
alongside 250,000
people, including
thousands of White
Americans, to
Lincoln Memorial
Park and delivered I have a dream his famous
speech. Protests continued and changes as
how Blacks were made. Racial and ethnic
discrimination is a result of racism. The Jim
Crow Laws were state and local laws enforcing
racial segregation in the Southern United
States.
 Another type of prejudice is, Sexism or
gender discrimination is prejudice or
discrimination based on a person's sex or
gender. Typically directed to women as they are
stereotyped as the weaker sex. Sex
discrimination may be direct or indirect. Direct
sex discrimination is when an employee is
treating unfavorably because of their sex.
Indirect sex discrimination can occur if
employers or managers
hold assumptions about
what sort of work
women and men are
capable, or not capable,
of doing. During the late
19th and early 20th
centuries, Suffragettes
advocated women's
right to vote in public
elections in Britain.
Notable figures during this protest were Annie
Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst. The tactics
that they used were violent and upon arrest they
went on hunger
strikes. In 1918, Suffragette is a woman
women in Britain that seeking the right to vote
are over 30 were through organized protest.
allowed to vote, and
in 1928, it was changed to women over 21.
 Negative
attitudes and
feelings toward
homosexuality
or people who
are identified or
perceived as
being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender
(LGBT) is called homophobia. People who
think being homosexuality is an illness or a
mental disease are homophobic. Homophobia
generates sexual orientation discrimination,
and/or hate towards the LGBT community. In
2016, the Orlando nightclub shooting
happened. It was regarded both as a terrorist
attack and a hate crime against the LGBT
community. Aside from bullying and physical
attacks, there is a high suicide rate amongst
LGBT youth.
Classism is prejudice or discrimination
on the basis of social class. It includes individual
attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies, and
practices that are set
up to benefit the
upper class at the
expense of the lower
class. The belief of
the upper-class that
poor people are just lazy can be classified as
classism. During the Spanish occupation of the
Philippines, the Insulares, or the Spaniards born
in the Philippines started the first Filipino
Nationalism movement. While being Spanish
blood they were
considered inferior by the
Peninsulares, or the pure
Spaniards born in Spain.
They advocated for
economy, education, and
secularization of churches.
Ilustrados, the educated
class of the Philippines of
the 19th century, continued
the movement, but instead of advocating for
independency from Spain they opted for legal
equality with the Peninsulares. Luis Rodrguez
Varela, called El Conde Filipino, a creole and
ilustrado as well as Jos Rizal, Marcelo H. del
Pilar and Mariano Ponce, members of the
Ilistrados as well, were prominent figures of
Filipino Nationalism.
When people
sees an older person
and thinks of them as
citizens "unable to pull their own weight" that's
called ageism. Ageism is stereotyping and
discriminating against individuals or groups on
the basis of their age. Being rejected because a
person is deemed too old for employment is age
discrimination.
 Social scientists have also identified
some common social factors that may
contribute to the presence of prejudice and
discrimination:

Socialization. Many prejudices seem to be passed

along from parents to children. The mediaincluding
television, movies, and advertisingalso perpetuate
demeaning images and stereotypes about assorted
groups, such as ethnic minorities, women, gays and
lesbians, the disabled, and the elderly.

Conforming behaviors. Prejudices may bring

support from significant others, so rejecting
prejudices may lead to losing social support. The
pressures to conform to the views of families, friends,
and associates can be formidable.

Conflict theory. Under conflict theory, in order to

hold onto their distinctive social status, power, and
possessions, privileged groups are invested in
seeing that no competition for resources arises from
minority groups. The powerful may even be ready
to resort to extreme acts of violence against others
to protect their interests. As a result, members of
underprivileged groups may retaliate with violence
in an attempt to improve their circumstances.
Group closure is the process whereby groups keep
clear boundaries between themselves and others.
Refusing to marry outside an ethnic group is an
example of how group closure is accomplished.

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to evaluate others'

cultures by one's own cultural norms and values. It
also includes a suspicion of outsiders. Most cultures
have their ethnocentric tendencies, which usually
involve stereotypical thinking.

Economic benefits. Social studies have confirmed

that prejudice especially rises when groups are in
direct competition for jobs. This may help to explain
why prejudice increases dramatically during times of
economic and social stress.

Authoritarian personality. In response to early

socialization, some people are especially prone to
stereotypical thinking and projection based on
unconscious fears. People with an authoritarian
personality rigidly conform, submit without question
to their superiors, reject those they consider to be
inferiors, and express intolerant sexual and religious
opinions. The authoritarian personality may have its
roots in parents who are unloving and aloof
disciplinarians. The child then learns to control his
or her anxieties via rigid attitudes.
Selfesteem hypothesis. When people have
an appropriate education and higher self
esteem, their prejudices will go away. According
to Abraham Maslow, self-esteem is a persons
own feelings of
worth and
confidence.
The more the
person fulfills
his or her
needs for achievements, competence and
respect, the more he or she will have healthy
social interactions.
Contact
hypothesis.
States that
the best
answer to
prejudice is to
bring together
members of
different groups
so they can learn to appreciate their common
experiences and backgrounds. This brings
people together, promotes both sensitivity and
awareness of another groups culture.
Cooperation
hypothesis.
Holds that
conflicting
groups need
to cooperate
by laying aside their individual interests and
learning to work together for shared goals.
Legal hypothesis. States prejudice can be
eliminated by enforcing laws against
discriminative
behavior.
Sen. Bam
Aquino filed
the Senate
Bill No. 2122
or the Anti-
Discrimination Act of 2014, which seeks to
combat discrimination of any forms.
Cooperative learning. Learning that involves
collaborative interactions between students,
while surely of positive value to students
Cooperation is usually too limited and too brief
to surmount all the influences in a person's life.

These theories are not 100% sure to eliminate the

threat of prejudice, and/or, cannot assure reduction of
hostility between conflicting groups. However, they
are used to start a better social relationship with one
another.
 Complete the crossword puzzle below:

Across
1. A belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic and
cultural group.
Down
1. It is a kind of prejudice that is due to difference in ethnic
background.
2. A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified
and often offensive, that is used to describe or
distinguish a group.
3. A violent attack on a person or people that are from a
specific group
4. A kind of personality that makes a person rigid to
conform.
5. It is the extermination of a group.
6. An unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its
members.
 Complete the sentences.
1. ___________ is thoughts about a specific
group while ___________ is acting on those
thoughts.
2. Caleb and his family are from Syria, they are
now living in a refugee camp in Germany.
They are __________.
3. People who are ________ believe that
homosexuality is an illness.
4. The __________ theory says, more the
person fulfills his or her needs for
achievements, competence and respect, the
more he or she will have healthy social
interactions.
5. During the Nazi regime, they sterilized 400,000
people against their will and 70,000 were
euthanized. Respectively, these are examples
_________ and ________.
DAVID G. MYERS (2009). SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY 10 TH EDITION. NEW
YORK, USA: MCGRAW -HILL.
CHARLES CARVER AND MICHAEL
SCHEIER (2011).PERSPECTIVES ON
PERSONALITY (7 TH INTERNATIONAL
EDITION). NEW JERSEY, USA:
PRENTICE HALL.
RODRIGO DELA PAZ T OMAS, MARIVIC
SANCHEZ, ET AL (2013). BASICS OF
PSYCHOLOGY. MALABON , PH: MUTYA
PUBLISHING HOUSE.
UNITED TO END GENOCIDE. ATROCITIES
AGAINST NATIVE A MERICANS.
http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-
genocides/native-americans/
TRICIA CUBILLAS (2016). ANTI-
DISCRIMINATION ACT STILL PENDING ,
LGBT CIRCLE CLINGS TO HOPE.
https://trishlapuz.wordpress.com/20
16/01/30/anti-discrimination-act-
still-pending-lgbt-circle-clings-to-
hope/
KIRBY ARAULLO (2011). THE
ILUSTRADOS .
http://kirbyaraullo.tumblr.com/post/4
049745466/the-ilustrados-or-the-
filipino-educated-class