Despite the constant claim by the world’s citizenry of their growth in the scale of nobility, very chilling pieces of evidence have emerged to futile these claims. In as much as we may deny these revelations, it is a fact that prejudice and discrimination still exist in the current civilization. For starters, prejudice can be adequately viewed as a culmination of ideals, attitudes and even opinions held by one group of individuals towards another which are irrational and baseless. Discrimination, on the other hand, refers to the actions or motives carried out or held by prejudiced individuals towards the so considered inferior groups which may be degrading in nature (devine, 1989). Constant negativity in prejudice can give rise to discrimination since one is more prone to act on their attitudes and even perceptions since the urge to do so is awakened every time they view other individuals as their inferiors and, hence, measures towards its reduction is of essence.
To kick-off this debate, it is imperative that we take note of the fact that prejudice and even discrimination have been with us since time in memorial and have continued to flourish as a result of several social, political and even economic factors; this will, hence, enable us to evaluate weather these societal ills can be reduced or not. Various forms of media including the television, movies, and even advertising also perpetuate demeaning images and stereotypes about assorted groups, ethnic minorities, women and even the gay community (David M. Amodio, 2002). This inculcates a culture of prejudice in children who are not given proper guidance and may eventually advance to discrimination if not arrested at an appropriate stage and, hence, also reveals the importance of parental advice to children since lack of the same could be disastrous (Crowne, 1989).
The urge that drives someone from a privileged group to hold onto their distinctive social status, power, and possessions with the intension of seeing to it that no competition for resources arises from potential minority groups may also give room for prejudice (Sherrif, 2001). Famed as the conflict theory, this situation to a large extent results in the springing up of these social ills since one group of individuals tends to believe that they are better than the others and that the others are not worthy of life in itself.
Ever since the recession came calling, discrimination has manifested itself quite elaborately especially where windows of opportunities in the economy are highly prejudiced to suite the needs of individuals who consider themselves more worthy than others. Social studies have confirmed that prejudice rises especially when groups are in direct competition for jobs (Greenwald, 1995). This fact, hence, explains why discrimination is always on the rise as the desire to seek financial stability sets in.
Stereotypes and personal beliefs also play an important role as far as dealing with persons or rather members of an ethnic group since without the consciousness of mind to apprehend these realities; these social ills would be elevated to a whole new level. P.G. Devine (1988) also attests to the fact that there exists strong evidence that stereotypes are well established in children’s memories before they develop cognitive abilities or the flexibility to question some of these stereotypes.
Several scholars have come up with theories which have shed more light on these ills, their manifestation and possible eradication so as to see to it that there exists a better society to live in (Billig, 1985). The Self-esteem hypothesis is one of the theories which tends to incline its basis of argument towards the fact that if people achieve a reasonable level of education then prejudice would automatically vanish. This theory is quite logical since the cardinal tenets of these social ills are basically non-informed and utterly obnoxious and, hence, education would help settle these scores amicably.
Another scholarly theory is the cooperation hypothesis which holds that groups with conflicting interests should put aside their individual differences and work together towards the realization of shared goals and ambitions. This theory, on the other hand, is not quite practical since it is not very easy to separate individuals from their personal ambitions, however, disenchanted they may be and, hence, is more theoretical than practical. This cooperation is usually too limited and too brief to surmount all the influences in a person’s life but is quite effective in ensuring that the desired values are instilled in the learners (blanchard, 1991).
Contact hypothesis is also another theory that seeks to eliminate these social ills by bringing together individuals from different backgrounds and social settings to enable them appreciate each other’s culture and practices and eventually view each other as equal beings, hence, eliminating any forces of superiority or inferiority which would have been at a play. Oskamp and Mahwah (2000) opined that for an individual to realize a diminishing level of prejudice and discrimination, an over-emphasis of change at the individual level is quite imperative.
The legal hypothesis as a theory has also distinguished itself as a success story for the lone fact that it has also played a major role in ensuring that these social ills are done away with since by making prejudice and even discrimination illegal, these pieces of legislation have also made it possible to realize a decrease in these acts because most people pride themselves of being law abiding and would wish to distance themselves from these acts (Brigham, 1972).
In conclusion, despite the fact that it may not be possible to realize a total depletion in the occurrences of these social ills since some of them may be hereditary while others are stereotypic in nature, what is worth noting is that if the theories elaborated in this paper are adhered to as required then, we may as well bid good bye to these social ills. The realization of the eradication of these ills, however, largely depends on individual efforts to shun economic standings and social status then acquaint themselves with good morals and the desire to cooperate.
References
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Devine, P.G.,Plant, E.A., & Amodio, D.M. (2002). The Regulation of Explicit and Implicit Race Bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: 835–848.
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