While prejudice is the unjustified negative attitude towards others based on social groupings, such as race and gender, discrimination is set of negative actions or behavior towards a group or a person based on their social class, race, and sex among other factors. Therefore, prejudice and discrimination can be explained using psychological and sociological theories. Psychologists usually explain these two vices to be as a result of an internal state, such as personality. On the other hand, sociologists believe that prejudice is not an internal state of a person, rather, it emanates from factors outside individuals. From these precincts, in my opinion, discrimination and prejudice can best be explained via both psychological and sociological theories as psychology can trigger them and they are aspects instilled within our thinking as we grow, which is coupled with our exposure to the societal interactions.
The main psychological theories include authoritarian personality, group norms, and child development theories. According to the authoritarian personality theory, as established by Theodor Adorno, parents who discipline their children too harshly, as well as being cold, bigoted, and aloof create children who have an authoritarian personality and are characterized by having an intolerance, insecurity, submissiveness and low tolerance. The advantage of the theory is that it shows that those with less education, older, and less intelligent are more prejudiced compared to individuals with high education. The disadvantage is that critics of the theory assert that no such personality trait has been proved. In contrast, the group norms theory of prejudice by Gordon Allport is advantageous as it can explain why in-group people adopt group norms as a price of belonging and develop hostilities towards members of an out-group. It can be used to link and understand negative contact between whites and Aboriginals. However, the disadvantage is that the theory cannot explain why some in-groups and out-groups have formed partnerships for security purposes. In contrast, the child development theory is based on the fact that children either form or reject racial prejudices by age five. It is advantageous as it can explain that prejudice is determined by the stage of development but disadvantageous as it cannot explain why children are resistant to change after five years old, hence difficult to explain why discrimination and prejudice exist.
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The main sociological theories discussed in this paper are the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interaction theories. The functionalist theory highlights that all societies are made up of different and necessary roles that need filling for it to function, but some roles are more important compared to others. Its advantages are that it can be used for minimizing conflict vial social control and how society develops to overcome economic changes. Its disadvantages include the fact that social stability is based on the false consciousness that is created by institutions, such as family, political, and education systems. In contrast, the social theory is advantageous in explaining and helping us understand social mechanics surrounding competing groups and how having lesser resources diminishes one’s influence to the society, which can create prejudice and discriminatory behavior. However, the theory is disadvantageous as it does not explain why people cooperate and work together even from different social classes among other aspects. On the other hand, symbolic interactionists articulate that the way people label others can create prejudice because of selective perception. Its advantages are that it provides insight into small-scale human interactions and recognizes the variable nature of reality perceptions, thereby promoting learning. However, its disadvantages include the fact that it cannot be applied to large social structures and neglects the emotional dimension required for human conduct, which can contribute to discrimination and prejudice.
In conclusion, from these explanations, prejudice and discriminative tendencies can be understood using psychological and sociological theories because psychology triggers the development of discrimination and prejudice, which are instilled in our thinking as we grow, as well as exposure to the society. For instance, our psychology can be detrimental to the two vices if our parents discipline us harshly and can be considered cold, bigoted, and aloof. We may also pick up these vices as a price of belonging and by the time we are aged five, we may pick or reject racial prejudices by age five. These are psychological causes. On the other hand, sociological causes that can lead to prejudice or discrimination include incorporation of different and necessary roles that need filling for it to function, social mechanics, and selective perception tendencies we develop as we socialize with others.
