prejudice

Definition of Prejudice

(noun) A favorable or unfavorable preconceived feeling or opinion formed without knowledge, reason, or thought that prevents objective consideration of an idea, individual, group, or thing (object).

Types of Prejudice

• ageism
• homophobia
• racism
• sexism
• sizism

Prejudice Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: prej·u·dice

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈprɛdʒədəs/
• British English – /ˈprɛdʒᵿdɪs/

Usage Notes

• Plural: prejudices
• Prejudice can be positive or negative but the term typically connotes negative feelings or opinions about an individual or group.
• Prejudice when contrasted to discrimination can be viewed as a theory of inequality (a cause) and discrimination as the practice (an effect) but a prejudiced individual does not necessarily discriminate.
• The term prejudice is typically used in the discussion of racial issues but is applicable to other issues such as gender, politics, and religion.
• Not to be confused with discrimination.
• A type of bias.

Related Quotations

• “Ageism, like other expressions of prejudice, may have some foundation in reality. Statistically speaking, old people are more likely than young people to be mentally and physically impaired. But we slip into ageism when we make unwarranted generalisations about an entire category of people, most of whom do not conform to the stereotypes” (Macionis and Plummer 2012:418).
• “In addition to prejudices, the dominant group also applies various actions against minority ethnic groups, including avoidance, denial, threat, or physical attack. At different times, all of these forms of coercion may be used, depending on how threatening the minority group is perceived to be. These actions are collectively called discrimination” (Marger 1985:45).
• “Many people use the terms prejudice, discrimination, and racism loosely, as if they were all the same thing. They are not. Typically, in common parlance, people also think of these terms as they apply to individuals, as if the major problems of race were the result of individual people’s bad will or biased ideas, thus ignoring the social structural and institutional aspects of race in America. Sociologists use more refined concepts to understand race and ethnic relations, distinguishing carefully between prejudice, discrimination, and racism” (Andersen and Taylor 2011:241).
• “Prejudiced attitudes should not be equated with discriminatory behavior. Although the two are generally related, they are not identical; either condition can be present without the other” (Schaefer 2013:234).
• “To enforce its power and sustain its privileges, the dominant ethnic group employs certain tools, which can be subsumed under the categories of prejudice and discrimination. Widely held beliefs and values regarding the character and capacities of particular groups are necessary to assure the long-range durability of ethnic inequality. These beliefs and values take the form of prejudices, that is, negative ideas expressing the superiority of the dominant group” (Marger 1985:45).

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Word origin of “prejudice” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Allport, Gordon W. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. 25th Anniversary ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
• Dovidio, John F., Peter Samuel Glick, and Laurie A. Rudman, eds. 2005. On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Kawakami, Kerry, Elizabeth Dunn, Francine Karmali, and John F. Dovidio. 2009. “Mispredicting Affective and Behavioral Responses to Racism.” Science 323(5911):276–78. doi:10.1126/science.1164951.
• Plous, Scott, ed. 2002. Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
• Stangor, Charles, ed. 2000. Stereotypes and Prejudice: Essential Readings. Philadelphia: Psychology.
• Whitley, Bernard E., and Mary E. Kite. 2016. The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge.

Related Terms

• affirmative action
• bias
• bigotry
• discrimination
• hate crime
• power
• racism
• scapegoat theory
• sexism
• stereotype
• white privilege

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References

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Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Marger, Martin. 1985. Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Cite the Definition of Prejudice

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “prejudice.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 2, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/prejudice/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

prejudice. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/prejudice/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “prejudice.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/prejudice/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“prejudice.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/prejudice/>.