Prejudice

Synonyms

Bias; Bigotry; Discrimination; Partiality; Preconception; Predisposition; Prejudgment; Race; Racism

Definition

Prejudice refers to a preconceived judgment, opinion or attitude directed toward certain people based on their membership in a particular group. It is a set of attitudes, which supports, causes, or justifies discrimination. Prejudice is a tendency to over categorize.

Description

Prejudice is a preconceived attitude that has commonly been used in referring to judgments of one's race, but is also used when referring to sex, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. The most comprehensive and accepted definition of prejudice was introduced by Gordon Allport [1]. Mr. Allport defined prejudice as "aversive or hostile attitude toward a person who belongs to a group, simply because he belongs to that group, and is therefore presumed to have the objectionable qualities ascribed to that group."

Prejudice can be classified into three different categories: