Psychology Prejudice/Stereotype

Psychology Prejudice/Stereotype Research Paper Student Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction In contemporary culture, certain groups face unfair stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination as a result of inaccurate perceptions about their identities. As a result of these generalizations, they face discrimination. Gamers are one example of such a group, and this research aims to look into the stereotypes, prejudices, and potential consequences that gamers confront. Gamers play video games, computer games, mobile games, and other digital games as a hobby or interest. Online gaming communities host players or gamers classified into casual and serious gamers. This paper sheds light on how unjustified prejudices against gamers can harm individuals within the gaming community and society's overall opinion of gamers. This entails comprehensively examining prevailing assumptions about gamers and conducting interviews. Discussion of Stereotypes/Prejudice/Discrimination: A Summary Understanding a few fundamental ideas about prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping is vital. Malavanti (n.d.) characterizes stereotypes as excessively generalized notions about the characteristics of individuals belonging to a particular group. Malavanti (n.d.) provides the information for this definition in Chapter 9 of her book. Stereotypes frequently distort reality and can lead to prejudice, an unfavorable appraisal, or an unfair attitude toward another person based only on the individual's membership in a specific social group. Prejudice can be described as a negative attitude or disposition toward another person. Prejudice can lead to discrimination, defined as the habit of treating others unfairly and unequally based on one's biased beliefs. Prejudice can occasionally lead to biased decisions in social contexts (Makwana et al., 2021). The textbook cites the fundamental attribution error as one of the causes of stereotyping. This misconception happens when one attributes another person's behavior to internal (dispositional) variables rather than considering exterior (situational) factors. Actor-observer bias is another aspect that contributes to stereotypes. This prejudice arises when one attributes their behavior to internal variables while attributing others' behavior to external factors (Cusimano & Goodwin, 2020). The just-world assumption encourages people to make dispositional attributions or the assumption that people get what they deserve while ignoring the influence of environmental events. According to Malavanti (n.d.), once created, stereotypes resist change and can influence individual behaviors through self-fulfilling prophecies and stereotype threats. Common Stereotypes Toward Gamers Numerous stereotypes exist about individuals who partake in gaming. Through an analysis of popular portrayals of gamers in media and conducting interviews, several common stereotypes emerged: * There is a widespread belief that gamers are socially incompetent and isolated due to their focus on gaming. * Gamers are lazy and unproductive. This is related to the above stereotype, as some might see gamers as lazy individuals who waste their time playing games rather than being productive. * Gamers are immature or childish. Some might understand gaming as an immature hobby that adults should outgrow, associating gamers with childishness. * Gamers are losers and unsuccessful. Notably, male gamers are stereotyped as social outcasts, losers, or undesired based on their hobby. * Gamers are violent and aggressive. High-profile acts of violence have led to associations between gaming and real-world aggression, according to some. * Male vs. female gamers. Female gamers often report facing prejudice and unwanted attention, with their gender sometimes doubted. The interview questions in the appendix aimed to collect d...