Social Psychology

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Name Institution Affiliation Course Date of Submission Abstract This report is majorly about discrimination, stereotyping, and the act of prejudice. It features the acts of discrimination that are present in the society at large. The relevance of discrimination and stereotyping on today`s society is also talked about. The discrimination acts are then compared to the film "Twelve Angry Men", which is looks at the dilemma that jurists face when making a final decision. It also includes the ways of solving and avoiding discrimination. The report features my personal opinions on discrimination at the conclusion stage. Introduction Discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping have been in existence for many years and hence it is not a new thing to the society and they have been used interchangeably over the years. However, there exist considerable differences between the three. Stereotypes are seen as the mechanism of attitudes with respect to a particular social group. Prejudice on the other hand is deemed as the emotions towards a particular grouping. Discrimination is the actual measures that are taken toward the perceived group (Baron, 2012). Whereas the behavior is sometimes seen as rightful and defensible by the perpetrators, it is evident that it is disadvantageous and ultimately illegitimate to others. It is my concern to protect the interests of other people in the society in order to discourage prejudice and discriminatory behavior. This is due to the negative impacts and consequences it has to our society in general. The presence of prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping is evident in today`s society and is therefore relevant. The basis for this acts are many. They can be due to age, marital status, religion, gender, language, sexual orientation, occupation and many others (Miller, 2011). For example, there exists sexual discrimination and superficial ideas on same sex marriages all round the globe. The presence of gay and lesbian relationships has stirred a major ideological conflict between different people in the society. Those who support same sex marriages recognize it as a rightful course of whereas those against it argue that it is distorts the traditions and beliefs of the society. Moreover, there exists discrimination based on gender aspect in the society which has effect on a majority of people particularly in the places of work. Majority of the women are less presented hence making it only to the middle positions at their workplace. It is only a few who make it to the top management positions in their companies and corporations hence creating a gender barrier at work. For example, in the United States, only a small percentage of women are at the top management of the fortune 500 companies. Moreover, most of the political offices are male dominated. Contravention of these stereotypic hopes leads to the insecurity of the male gender at the work place. Female appointments to the high position are only considered when situations and situations have been ruined by the male leaders. The management therefore appoints female executives to clean up the mess of the previous male executives. Most of all, the inequality that run across the societies are considered differently by different people. Perceptions on the justifiability of the prejudice and discrimination practices and the progress in reducing this act vary. It depends on whether it is from the perpetrator or from the victim`s point of view (Baron, 2012). For the example, there exist different views on the discrimination present in the employment wages in the United States (Miller, 2011). White Americans who are the perpetrators consider a significant improvement in the reduction of the discrimination levels in the employment sector whereas the black Americans who are the victims still complain of the high discrimination levels in the hiring of Americans plus the wage and salary gaps that exists. Those who complain of discriminatory practices are always rebuked and their complaints are never addressed unless it is proved to unreasonable doubt that the there really exists an act of discrimination (Goessi, 2008). Their concerns may also be addressed if the solutions will also impact positively in the whole group but not on an individual. On the other hand, anybody can be a victim of stereotyping either knowingly or unknowingly. For example, one may concur with a widely held stereo...