Prejudice, Stereotypes, Out-Groups

Prejudice against those that are different is a common cause of evil acts.

Minimal Group Paradigm

One factor that influences the formation of stereotypes is the natural human tendency to form groups based on a common identity.  Authority figures can exploit this tendency by convincing people to view a certain group as inferior and undeserving of our compassion and empathy. This is most powerfully demonstrated through the “minimal group paradigm.”  In an experiment illustrating this paradigm, individuals who have just met and who have no real similarity are assigned group membership based only on a flip of a coin. Surprisingly, individuals then go on to rate fellow members of their “group” more favorably than members of the other group. Any visible feature can be used to create arbitrary groupings, like eye color, ear shape, tongues that curl or not, etc.

In-group/Out-group Biases

Group identity leads to division of one’s social world into “us” (in-group) and “them” (out-group).  Many unconsciously use group identity as a basis for evaluating others, even when this leads to forming incorrect conclusions.  People tend to rate members of the out-group as being more similar to each other than are members of the in-group, i.e. “They are all the same.”  We also tend to exaggerate the differences between the in-group and out-group, i.e.: “They are very different than us.” This tendency forms the basis of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.

Prejudice: the “Us vs. Them” Mentality

Educator Jane Elliott’s startling “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise shows just how easily we can form prejudices that significantly influence our behaviors. Elliott divided the students in her third grade school classroom according to the color of their eyes, identifying one group as the inferior minority and the other as the superior majority. The children quickly adopted this view of the other group and acted out accordingly with surprising degree of discrimination and hostility against their classmates. When grade school teacher Mrs. Elliott revealed her “mistake” the next day, that the other eye color was superior, instantly the tables were turned and the once underdogs assumed the dominance and prejudices of top dogs against those with the wrong eye color. Sadly the lesson learned was not compassion but of power and its abuse. This innovative exercise demonstrated how quickly, easily, and unconsciously people can form judgments and prejudices, and as a result, engage in discriminatory behaviors.