Well, there are stereotypes, prejudices, and biases. I would say that people tend to be biased towards people who are like themselves. A person may or may not have prejudices about people who are not like hirself.
Bias can go either toward or against things. Prejudice is almost always against something. Bias and prejudice, while they have similar roots, mean very different things. You can have a double-blind study to reduce bias in an experiment, but even the question that leads to the null hypothesis comes from bias. Bias you cannot completely get rid of, although you may mitigate it.
Prejudice is another thing altogether. Many people are prejudiced against garter snakes, because they were taught that all snakes are dangerous. When you explain to the person in question that garter snakes have neither poison nor constricting muscles, that may completely eliminate the prejudice.
The people who ask you for cigarettes are stereotyping you. Long hair (on men) in our society is seen as anti-establishment. Your long hair may often be seen as a signal (or a symbol) to others.
And O.J. as the default spouse killer? Why not any of the other huge contemporary cases (Peterson) we've had in the last decade? Or, the ultimate American criminal that caused uproar in this country, Lizzie Borden?
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-25 04:32 am (UTC)Bias can go either toward or against things. Prejudice is almost always against something. Bias and prejudice, while they have similar roots, mean very different things. You can have a double-blind study to reduce bias in an experiment, but even the question that leads to the null hypothesis comes from bias. Bias you cannot completely get rid of, although you may mitigate it.
Prejudice is another thing altogether. Many people are prejudiced against garter snakes, because they were taught that all snakes are dangerous. When you explain to the person in question that garter snakes have neither poison nor constricting muscles, that may completely eliminate the prejudice.
The people who ask you for cigarettes are stereotyping you. Long hair (on men) in our society is seen as anti-establishment. Your long hair may often be seen as a signal (or a symbol) to others.
And O.J. as the default spouse killer? Why not any of the other huge contemporary cases (Peterson) we've had in the last decade? Or, the ultimate American criminal that caused uproar in this country, Lizzie Borden?