Introduction to the Current Event
For a long time, society has faced numerous problems that have gained great publicity and attention. However, the most severe and permanent problem that still causes concern is the movement for the rights of the black population. A particular impetus for this issue was given by the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained strong public attention after the murder of an innocent African American in 2020.
This event left a remarkable imprint on me and intrigued me in a meaningful way. Its study is of particular value for determining its nature, causes, public reaction, and what can be done to handle it. Theories and concepts such as “person perception,” “racism,” “stereotypes,” “social schemas,” “observational learning,” and “culture-personality research” will assist in conducting this analysis.
The Death of George Floyd: A Catalyst for Global Outrage
First of all, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the event that gave a new wave of attention to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. On May 25, the police received a report that a black man was trying to pay with a fake bill in a store (“How George Floyd died,” 2022). Representatives of law enforcement detained the suspect upon arrival at the scene. In this case, the testimony differs: some witnesses claim that the arrest occurred calmly, but there is also evidence of Floyd’s resistance.
As a result, a policeman, Derek Chauvin, knocked Floyd to the ground and put his knee to his throat. For more than seven minutes, the policeman held the suspect in such a position when he begged to remove his knee because he was having difficulty breathing. As a result, George Floyd died on the spot from strangulation, and his guilt was not proven.
The most important aspect of this incident was that what was happening was recorded on camera. The person who made the recording thereby allowed many individuals to observe the rigidity of the policeman in relation to a black man in real-time. Further, the murder of George Floyd gained a lot of media publicity and motivated a large number of rallies and demonstrations within the Black Lives Matter movement. It is worth noting that it has been around for quite a long time, but 2020 has become a particularly significant and critical year.
Silverstein (2021) pointed out that “crossing continents and cultures, Black activists saw Floyd’s death as a symbol of the intolerance and injustice they face at home” (para. 2). Thus, this event attracted public attention around the world, and for me made an essential contribution to understanding the depth of racism and prejudice in the modern world. This issue also strongly resonated with me since I have been trained in a respectful and kind attitude towards people of any race and culture since childhood.
Applying Social Psychology to Understand Racism
When analyzing the events of 2020 and the spread of the Black Lives Matter movement worldwide, the application of various theories, concepts, and research is of particular importance. Among the most useful in this work are person perception, racism, stereotypes, social schemas, observational learning, and culture–personality research. These aspects will provide an opportunity to study the roots of the causes of the emergence of movements for the rights of blacks as representatives of minority groups and how society influences this. In addition, it will provide awareness of what measures can be taken to limit the problem of racism and prejudice in modern society.
Person perception is the first approach that is valuable in studying the topic under discussion. Like all subsequent ones, this concept is part of social psychology, which aims to study the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people who are formed under the influence of society. Therefore, perception becomes one of the critical aspects of this approach since it consists of forming impressions of others (Weiten & McCann, 2016).
A large number of factors influence this process. The effects of physical appearance on how individuals perceive each other are especially important. Regarding the event under study, perception plays a critical role since there is often an idea that African Americans are prone to criminal activity, cruelty, and rebellion (Chavez & Rocheleau, 2020). Thus, the police officer who arrested Floyd made a similar conclusion based on the prisoner’s appearance, without substantial evidence of his guilt.
The next concept contributes to a better understanding of the causes of social schemas. This concept consists of forming cognitive structures that help individuals organize information about the world, including categories of social events and people. The study of this concept makes sense because “people routinely place one another in categories, and these categories influence the process of person perception” (Weiten & McCann, 2016, p. 477).
Thus, the occurrence of the George Floyd event and other cases of disrespectful and cruel treatment of African Americans can be attributed to this phenomenon. Individuals grow up in a society where people of color fall into the category of minorities and have less access to such valuable areas as health, education, economics, and politics. Due to these limitations, they cannot become full-fledged members of society, which results in their perception of deviant, dysfunctional people who cannot be trusted.
Stereotypes and Historical Prejudice
The categorization of the black population also occurs due to the strong influence of such a phenomenon as stereotyping. It consists in adhering to the point of view that the primary influence on the characteristics of individuals is their membership in a particular group. This concept, like social schemas, contributes to the strengthening of bias and prejudice in society, which is clearly seen in the case of George Floyd.
Research stated that “people not only see what they expect to see but also tend to overestimate how often they see it” (Weiten & McCann, 2016, p. 478). The long history of slavery in the United States of America has had a severe impact on this case. It helped to consolidate the negative attitude towards African Americans, who for a long time were not treated as people with their rights and needs. This behavior is the result of a modern situation in which black communities are oppressed and deprived of access to resources and necessary services.
Stereotypes manifest themselves even in the most insignificant things, such as music or movies, when it is believed that African Americans only like R&B and portray them as bad gang members in movies. When faced with a colored and a white candidate, companies will prefer the second because of skin color, even if the first candidate is significantly better. These examples of the treatment of black people in modern society cause the occurrence of such situations that occurred with Floyd. The Black Lives Matter movement, in turn, aims to fight stereotypes that are fixed in people and provide equal rights to everyone, regardless of skin color (Campbell, 2021). It focuses on transforming social attitudes and expanding educational initiatives and awareness to create a secure future for members of minority groups.
Observational Learning and the Roots of Racism
The study of the observational learning theory is valuable in understanding the causes of the event under discussion and how it can be limited. This approach consists of the fact that in individuals, the learning process occurs through observation of others, in other words, models. (Weiten & McCann, 2016). Hence, all the problems people experience and observe in modern society directly result from their behavior.
In particular, the observational learning approach is valuable when considering ways to change the situation in relation to racism and prejudice. Studies show that children are very impressible and remember the information and knowledge received from models well. Therefore, if in the family of individuals, one of the parents manifests racist worldviews, then children in the future will consider this the norm and do the same. This has never happened in my family; as a child, I observed a manifestation of respect for all people, regardless of race, faith, or views. That is why the events of 2020 have become especially impressive for me and have left a significant contribution.
To strengthen the opinion about the importance of observational learning, the contribution of culture–personality research can be indicated.It is the finding of scientific evidence that society and its culture have a significant impact on the formation of a person’s personality (Weiten & McCann, 2016). For example, individualism is particularly pronounced in the United States, which consists of a preference for personal values over group values. This trend is reflected in the fact that too little attention is paid to the struggle to balance the rights of minority groups with all others since individuals care more about their well-being.
Addressing Racism Through Education and Reform
Based on the information I received during the course, I can conclude that there are measures that could alter the course of the event and change the impact of the event on other people and me. One of them is the revision of the entire social order and culture, which, despite its rapid and progressive development, still has problems like racism and prejudice. Concepts such as culture-personality research, observational learning, stereotyping, person perception, and social schemas indicate that all behaviors that are shown now come from past and incorrect attitudes. Thus, people need to pay attention to spreading awareness about the problems of racial minorities, the perniciousness of racism, and the introduction of educational initiatives. Perhaps these measures can contribute to the cessation of such events as those that occurred with George Floyd.
Public Indifference
An important aspect to which I have not found an answer when studying theories and concepts is the indifference of individuals. So, while Floyd was kneeled to the ground by a policeman, people around did not attempt to intervene. The same thing often happens with similar events; many individuals prefer to stay away and express their opinions only when the problem has at least a slightly visible solution.
One of my hypothetical assumptions may be that these individuals are afraid of losing their sense of belonging in the society in which they exist. This is due to the fear of expressing the opposite opinion since many people in Floyd’s situation, despite his innocence, still talked about the opposite. Despite this, I still have difficulty accurately determining what may be the cause of individuals’ indifference to such serious events and the problem.
References
Campbell, A. (2021). What is Black Lives Matter and what are the aims?BBC. Web.
Chavez, J. M., & Rocheleau, G. C. (2020). Formal labeling, deviant peers, and race/ethnicity: An examination of racial and ethnic differences in the process of secondary deviance. Race and Justice, 10(1), 62-86. Web.
How George Floyd died, and what happened next. (2022). The New York Times. Web.
Silverstein, J. (2021). The global impact of George Floyd: How Black Lives Matter protests shaped movements around the world. CBS News. Web.
Weiten, W. & McCann, D. (2016). Psychology: Themes and variations. Cengage Learning.