Prejudice and Discrimination - Annotated Bibliography Example

Prejudice and Discrimination Introduction Prejudice can be defined as the holding of a derogatory social attitude or cognitive belief, the expression or display of hostile, negative and discriminatory behaviour towards a member of a group due to their affiliation or membership to that group (Hogg and Vaughan, 2011). Prejudice and discrimination has no historical or cultural boundary. It can also not be said to be an exclusive phenomena of a certain category of people; but is experienced by all whether they are heterosexual, middle aged, Black or male. Human beings have the capability of competently making any social group a target of prejudice. However there are certain groups of people are often the victims of prejudice mainly because they occupy low power positions in society. Most of these targeted groups are based on sex, race, ethnicity, gender, age and physical and mental health. Sex, race and age are the three commonly used bases of prejudice and discrimination. According to Hogg & Vaughan (2011), discrimination of people based on race or ethnicity can be attributed to some of the most horrific acts in history. While sexism is mostly associated and restricted to a handful of developing countries, genocide is universal. In recent times, genocide has been perpetrated in Iraq, Bosnia, Germany and Rwanda. This paper will analyse, review and critique four articles on prejudice and discrimination with the aim of providing a critical thinking on the subject. Since most research has focused on prejudice and discrimination based on sex, race/ethnicity, and disability, the review shall similarly be based focus on articles and reports on these topics. Article Review Dual Pathways to a better America: Preventing Discrimination & Promoting Diversity – Melba J. T. Vasquez (2011). In this article, Vasquez (2011) argues that almost everyone has ever been treated in an unfair manner at some point in life. However, many people experience prejudice and marginalisation simply because of their age, ethnic, class, racial, sexual identity, disability and gender. The most difficult thing for anyone to do is to acknowledge that he/she has been a victim, and/or more so a perpetrator of prejudice and discrimination. The article notes that a person can indeed experience a stereotypical or prejudiced thought without any deliberate intent. Often, the feeling of guilt of compunctions always accompanies such thoughts. Today, it’s been proved through research that noticing differences on how ‘high in prejudice’, or how ‘low in prejudice’ people are not considered prejudice until judgement is associated with these differences (Vasquez, 2011). According to the article, most of the judgement on these differences has a negative bias and this is what leads to discrimination. Based on this, some people even have a form undisclosed prejudice which manifests itself to individuals who consider themselves as non-prejudiced, but often possess conflicting and unconscious negative feelings towards a certain group of people. This according to the article is called aversive racism. Vasquez (2011) admits that the expanding diversity being experienced in America has become a fact of life that no one can assume or ignore. But the bone of contention is how to teach everyone to be kind, compassionate and acknowledge that differences exist without showing any negative attitude. Vassquez suggests that a dual strategy of preventing discrimination while nurturing and maximising the benefits of diversity is the best way to reduce and prevent prejudice and discrimination. One of the strengths of this article is Vasquez’s emphasis on the importance of maximising on the benefits of America’s diversity for the sake of maintaining the country’s relevance in global economy. The author points out that when biases are allowed to exist at the highest level in institutions, they project and spread the effects of personal prejudices into society. However, this article falls short in suggesting tangible and clear cut measures to be taken to encourage inclusion and diversity. The article only talks of re-examining ways in which differences have been created, stereotypes perpetuated, access denied and exclusion justified as the ways of promoting inclusion and diversity. The article, which is Vasquez’s report on a psychology research on ways of preventing discrimination, should have also gone further to detail historical gaps in economic, educational, social and legal outcomes of that have existed in the country. Experience of discrimination among people using mental health services in England, 2008 – 2011 - Corker et al (2012). This article by Corker et al. is a research report on the experiences of the people using mental health services in England between 2008 and 2011. Specifically, the research by Corker et al is aimed at determining whether the Time to Change (TTC) programme target of 5% in discrimination between 2008 and 2011 was achieved. The research indeed suggests that the level of discrimination against those using mental health services is high. The article also states that the reporting of the experiences of those under mental health care in England is rare. The article states that according to the research results, 91% of participants reported one or more experiences of discrimination in 2008 while 88% of the participants experienced discrimination in 2011. The article further notes that stigma and discrimination are two factors that have significantly compounded the difficulties the people with mental health problems face. There is an outcry by Corker et al that as per 2012, there had been no evaluation at a national level of the interventions that are being taken to reduce discriminatory behaviour on people receiving mental health services. Even though the proportion of people under mental health care in England who experienced no discrimination had increased over the Time to Change by 2.8%, Corker et al report that this was less than the recommended target of 5%. This means that overall median discrimination levels and rating were declining. This is one of the strengths of the report. However, it is not easy to directly associate the decline in discrimination levels of people receiving mental health services in England to the TTC programme since there is only one baseline point which is of 2008. It’s therefore difficult to ascertain or know how discrimination experienced by these people was fairing before 2008. The research also ought to have delineated the different types of discrimination and the extent to which they vary. Corker et al could also have detailed the various sources of discrimination. People receiving mental health services can be patronised, treated like children or even shunned; the research could have tried to shed light on these forms of discrimination. The research also fell short in investigating the effects of the discrimination of those under mental care. Different people are affected by the discrimination in different ways; there are those who will not feel the effects of the discrimination since they have more access to leisure activities. Rethinking racial stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Keith B. Maddox (2006). Maddox starts by explaining that racial categorisation is reflected by the process by which people are placed in distinct groups as per variations in facial and body phenotypic physical features such as skin colour, hair colour and texture, eye shape, etc. On racial discrimination, stereotyping and discrimination, the article suggests that these are reflected through the human tendencies to value certain types of phenotypic features in a different manner as compared to others. In most societies, prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping in both their overt and subtle forms have been exhibited among people of different racial backgrounds. However, a common feature in most societies is where people with phenotypic features attributed with Whites are advantageously compared to people with characters associated with other racial classification. The article manages to clearly explain that based on the overlooking of Whites, there emerges another racial discrimination feature that occurs both within and between different racial categories. This racial bias suggests that when people possess features associated with the Whites, they are likely to enjoy an advantageous status over other even without being categorised as White. Maddox explains that such racial biases mostly occur within racial categories. These racial biases, as the article notes, have consequences paralleling the ‘traditional’ racial bias that is familiar to most observers. One thing that the article fails to demystify is why most attention is placed on perceptions of Black Americans for instance, by Blacks and Whites as a condition of a single feature which is the skin tone. In other words, why is there more focus on this form of discrimination than the racial bias existing within a racial category and yet they have similar and parallel consequences? There is no mention of why earlier social psychological theories have failed to consider phenotypic differentiation within a racial category even though the author of the article identifies it. Phenotypic differentiation within a race is indeed a crucial factor in determining treatment, judgement and the representation of others. The article also has a bias of just pointing out that we should rethink on racial discrimination and does not point out the factors that are making more people to affiliate themselves with certain races when it’s evidently difficult to categorise them in those desired races. Maddox ought to have given researchers more information on why it is necessary to give greater consideration on racial bias within racial categories. Racial Identity Matters: The relationship between Racial Discrimination and Psychological Functioning in African American Adolescents – Robert Sellers et al (2006). Unlike all the above reviews, this focuses on an article on the impact of racial discrimination on the psychological functioning of African American adolescents. The reason why it’s unique that the other reviews above is that this article reports on a research zeroed in on a specific group of people. Using a risk and resilience approach as the conceptual framework, Sellers et al (2006) investigates whether the frequency of Africa American adolescents’ perceived experiences with racial discrimination is a determining risk factor for low levels of psychological functioning. The article also focuses on the study area of whether racial identity attitudes serve as resilient buffers against the impact of racial discrimination on psychological functioning. What we know today about the impact of racial discrimination on psychological functioning is based on research on adults. Rarely do we see research on the impacts of the same on adolescent or teenagers. The article reports that experiencing racial discrimination is common especially in the Black populations. Sellers et al (2006) points out that in a large scale National survey of people aged between 25-74 years, nearly 49% of Black respondents reported experiencing one major racist event in their lifetime. Based on the study the article finds that African American adolescents are not strangers to racial discrimination. The frequency of experiences of discrimination in the daily lives of African American adolescents did not differ by gender. The article notes that the most frequent occurrences of discrimination are the ones that involved others perceiving these adolescents as a threat or incompetent. Such occurrences are like being treated as if one was stupid, being talked down to, among many others (Sellers et al., 2006). The article points out that the study revealed a relationship between experiencing racial discrimination and psychological functioning. Furthermore, the findings of the study managed to show that experiencing racial discrimination is not only associated with negative psychological outcomes, but it is also associated certain positive psychological outcomes such as the well-being of a person. The only weakness that can be attributed to this article is whether the methodology of the study could manage to ascertain whether the respondents were giving educated guesses on the frequency of their racial discrimination experiences or not. The article also does not mention whether the socioeconomic status of respondents was assessed and what positive or negative implications they could have heard on the psychological functioning of African American adolescents. Reference List Corker et al., April, 2012. Experience of discrimination among people using mental health services in England, 2008 – 2011. The British journal of Psychiatry. Pp 58 – 64. Available at from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/202/s55/s58.full.pdf+html Hogg M. A. & Vaughan G. M., 2011. Social Psychology. 6th Ed. Pp 355 – 386. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/94490118/Hogg-M-A-Vaughan-G-M-2011-Social-Psychology Maddox K. B., April, 2006. Rethinking racial stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. American Psychological Association. Available at http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2006/04/maddox.aspx Sellers R.M. et al., 2006. Racial Identity Matters: The relationship between Racial Discrimination and Psychological Functioning in African American Adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16(2), 187 – 216. Available at http://sitemaker.umich.edu/aaril/files/racialidentitymatters.pdf Vasquez M.J.T., 2011. Dual Pathways to a better America: Preventing Discrimination & Promoting Diversity. American Psychology Association. Available at http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/promoting-diversity.aspx?item=1 Part II Video Reflection Introduction Mississippi Burning is a dramatisation of the murders of three civil rights activists by the Ku Klux Klan in 1964. The film which was directed by Alan Parker was released in 1988. In 1964 when three civil rights activists went missing, the FBI was notified. The FBI deputes Agents Anderson and Alan Ward are sent to investigate the whereabouts of the missing persons only to find that the Jessup County sheriff office is linked to the Ku Klux Klan who are responsible for the murder of the three activists. The two agents receive a lot of hostility in their investigations to the extent that more agents are brought in to deal with especially non-cooperative county police officers and locals. This creates a media frenzy that makes Maoyor Tilman to proclaim openly that the Mississippi Jessup County community is an Anglo Saxon democracy that has a success story in segregation. The two agents unfortunately allow differences in the style of investigation to crop up and compromise the whole process. The Ku Klux Klan who are being aided by the police continue to target African Americans by attacking them, brutally torturing them and torching their houses. This instils fear in the whole community with both lack and white folks refusing to come forward with any information. The conflicting FBI agents decide to change tactic with Ward adopting Anderson’s style of investigation. Luckily, the two manage to get information from the Deputy’s wife about the whereabouts of the missing activists. This information leads them to recovering the three bodies and the men involved are arrested and charged for violating civil rights. Behaviour of characters in the film Throughout the film, majority of the southerners who are Caucasian are depicted as racists whose main aim is to ensure their dominance over the African Americans. In one of the scenes in the film, Mayor Tilman tells Agent Anderson that the fact of the matter is that J County has two cultures: a white culture and a coloured culture. He further emphasises to the agent that that is the way things have been in the county and that’s the way they shall always be. Agent Anderson responds by saying that the rest of America does not see things the way the mayor does. However, Sherriff Ray interjects by telling the agent that this is Mississippi and not the rest of America. The sheriff’s tone in the excerpt shows the mentality that is prevalent among the white people in the South. His suggestion is that Mississippi has to remain defiantly untouched by the liberalism and racial tolerance that characterises the rest of America. He at the same time generalises the situation in Mississippi as the prevailing situation in the entire South. As per Anderson’s comment, we get to know that the situation in the rest of America is quite different from the situation in the South. The above excerpt from the film shows how racism can be deeply entrenched in the governance structure of a society. In other words, racism as depicted in the film has been institutionalised in the governance system and organisation of the Jessup County community. Such institutionalisation of racism can lead to the collective failure of a government to provide appropriate and services to its people on the basis of sculture, colour, or ethnic origin. Institutionalised racism mostly manifests itself through the behaviour, attitude and processes that amount to discrimination. From the film, such discrimination is perpetrated through unwitting ignorance, prejudice, and thoughtlessness of the mayor and the sheriff in the above excerpt. There is racial bias and discrimination by the sheriff to the two agents. The sheriff and the two FBI agents are White and as a matter of fact, one of the agents is a southern native. Whereas more focus on the effects of racism is on the traditional form of racial discrimination, there is little focus on racial bias that exists within a racial category. As stated in the text above, this racial bias has similar and parallel consequences to ordinary racism. When the deputy sheriff realizes that his wife has given information to the two agents about the whereabouts of the bodies of the three activists, the deputy sheriff assaults her to the extent that she is hospitalised. This is an example from the film of how racial bias within a racial category can have catastrophic consequences just as racial discrimination has against a person with a different physical phenotype. The mayor, the sheriff and his deputies treat the two agents with utmost disgust and hatred yet they are of the same race. This is evident in the film when Agent Anderson visits a local social club that is a Ku Klux Klan hangout. When Anderson tries to start a conversation about his days as a sheriff in Thornton Mississippi, Deputy Sheriff Pell interjects by telling him that the group of men in the club are so much interested in Anderson’s good old Mississippi stories. The deputy sheriff further tells Anderson that he is no longer from the South and should leave Mississippi and go back to the North with the message that the South wont be changed even a bit. The excerpt also shows how America was deeply divided especially on the issue of race. Whereas most parts in the North had heeded to liberalisation of society, the situation in the South had note even woken up to the fact that slavery had been abolished many years ago. In a conversation between Agent Anderson and Mrs Pell who is the wife of the deputy sheriff, Mrs Pell warns the agent that it’s not good for him to be in Mississippi. The agent, amazed asks why only to be told that the situation in Mississippi is quite ugly. Mrs Pell continues to tell the agent that he has no idea of how it is like to live in through what is happening especially in the county. She admits to the agent that even though everyone sees the Whites as racists and bigots, hatred is not something that they are born with; it’s something that they is taught in school and everyone then has to grow believing that the Whites are superior. This is another depiction of how racism in the film has been institutionalised in the education system. South Africa is one society that had for many years entrenched and institutionalised racism. When racism is institutionalised, it becomes very pervasive and difficult to reduce and mitigate. In South Africa, laws could in the past be legislated that classified the people by race. When racism acquires a legal legitimacy, the looking down upon of races perceived as inferior can be catastrophic and deadly. Repealing laws that are considered as racist is one of the ways of dealing with institutionalised racism. People ac also move to court to contest racist policies adopted by institutions such as schools. Most of the times we may not want to ignore a racist comment or event for fear that we might be seen as agreeing to the comment or event. Whether racism is institutionalised or not, we should always speak up against racism whenever we hear a racist slur or joke. However, we should treat those who appear to have racist personalities or those who make racist comments in a fair manner so that the message that no one should be treated differently is upheld. How individuals behave in group situations is can be well sighted from the film. Form the film; the South is represented as a place of death and violence, hatred and intolerance, complicity and corruption. The whites who are Southerners are depicted as violently racist, ignorant and uneducated. The whites who are Northerners are seen to have respect for the rule of law, are moral and have an unequivocal stand for tolerance. African Americans are seen as passive victims who can only rely on federal assistance to salvage them from oppression. According to this depiction from the film, there is a clear distinction between ‘America’ as characterised by the two FBI agents and the ‘South’ as characterised by the mayor, the sheriff and his deputy. When individuals are acting on behalf of a group, more often than not, they will always act in the best interests of that group regardless of whether they are good or bad. When the two FBI agents arrive in Jessup County, they proceed to the sheriff’s office where they meet the deputy sheriff. Agent Ward introduces himself and his colleague to the deputy as FBI agents. The deputy sheriff responds with a smirk: ‘Federal Bureau of Integration?’ It is outright form the conduct and smirk of the deputy sheriff that the Jessup County community is a segregated community. His statement also endorses the fact that it’s only Northerners and ‘Americans’ who are mostly involved in integration processes. When Agent Anderson threatens the deputy, the sheriff emerges and asks the two FBI agents whether they have come to help the locals to solve the nigger problem in the South. Clearly, the conduct of the sheriff and his deputy portray their membership to the racist group in the South. The two agents on the other hand are representation of the Northern stand against segregation. From the last article in Part A of this report, racial identity maters. The deputy sheriff’s encounter with Agent Ward clearly shows that the deputy sheriff was really keen in knowing on which side the two agents stood; were they for segregation or were they for integration? The people of Jessup County are unappreciative and uncooperative to the investigations being conducted by the two FBI agents. Group situations demand that every person holding the views of a group regardless of whether it’s on a willing or coerced basis should always uphold the values and principles of that group. The Southerners know the FBI and other federal representatives are protagonists of integration. However, the situation in the South is different as phrased by the Mayor: ‘We got two cultures down here. White culture and coloured culture’. As stated in the last article review in Part A of the report, racial identity matters. People in a group that is known for racial discrimination often align themselves through their words or actions to the principles and values of the group. This is because such people would want to be glorified by the group for acting in its best interest and not vilified and scorned for not representing the group. The deputy sheriff assaults her wife for spreading word to the investigators about the location of the three bodies of the slain activists. This shows how an individual can react whenever his group is endangered. Lessons learnt As started earlier, racism knows no cultural or historical boundaries. In today’s society, diversity has become a fact of line that no one can ignore or assume. Racism destroys cohesion in the community thereby creating division in society. For many years, racism was the norm in the United States especially in the south. Successive governments had violated and ignored human and civil rights of black people. This disregard was demonstrated through laws, customs, racial caste systems that denied the dignity and respect for human life. White supremacy in the American south had extended for many centuries. Not even the abolition of slavery could have marked the end of racism in this part of the country. As can be depicted from the film, there were laws that specifically kept people of colour from exercising their rights as full citizens of the United States. Racial discrimination in was deeply entrenched in the governance system of most states and counties. When discrimination is institutionalised in such a manner, it bars the collective contribution of citizens in the society. Collective contribution of all citizens is a very important factor in determining development and success of the society. The bone of contention as far as racism is concerned is how to teach everyone to be kind, compassionate and acknowledge that differences exist without showing any negative attitude. In the review of the article on the effects of discrimination on diversity, its been suggested that a dual strategy of preventing discrimination while nurturing and maximising the benefits of diversity is the best way to reduce and prevent prejudice and discrimination. One of the strengths of this article by Vasquez is its emphasis on the importance of maximising on the benefits of America’s diversity for the sake of maintaining the country’s relevance in global economy. The author points out that when biases are allowed to operate at the macro level of institutions, they magnify and spread the effects of individual prejudices into society. APPENDICES Article I Article II Experiences of discrimination among people using mental health services in England 2008-2011 E. Corker, S. Hamilton, C. Henderson, C. Weeks, V. Pinfold, D. Rose, P. Williams, C. Flach, V. Gill, E. Lewis-Holmes and G. Thornicroft BJP 2013, 202:s58-s63. Access the most recent version at DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.112.112912 References Reprints/ This article cites 0 articles, 0 of which you can access for free at: http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/202/s55/s58#BIBL To obtain reprints or permission to reproduce material from this paper, please permissions write to permissions@rcpsych.ac.uk You can respond http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/eletter-submit/202/s55/s58 to this article at Downloaded from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/ on April 27, 2013 Published by The Royal College of Psychiatrists Article IV JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, 16(2), 187–216 Copyright r 2006, Society for Research on Adolescence Racial Identity Matters: The Relationship between Racial Discrimination and Psychological Functioning in African American Adolescents Robert M. Sellers University of Michigan Nikeea Copeland-Linder Johns Hopkins University Pamela P. Martin North Carolina State University R. L’Heureux Lewis University of Michigan Final Re Read More