Analysis Of Societal Implications Of Prejudgement
Whether we believe it or not, judging others is something incredibly habitual. It is something that turns out to be unreasonable because we often ask others to stop judging “a book by its cover”; yet, we continue to judge and are judged constantly. These prejudgements based on superficial information can be either taken in a good or bad way but still leave an impact on the person judged and more so on society.
Firstly, prejudgement impacts how we look at the world as it narrows our thinking. It prevents us from experiencing new things as we use stereotypes to prejudge. Stereotypes impact the way we look at the world because they make us carry biases which contribute in decision making. For instance, with the airplane simulation activity, I chose to sit with the basketball player as I thought this would be someone I had things in common with. Due to stereotypes, I thought the basketball player would have been a part of the NBA, of African descent and most likely a male. However, it turned out that she was actually a differently abled Asian female. I did not expect this as I had already made a prejudgement based off of stereotypes and biases. Through this, we can see that often, people are misjudged and people who experience prejudgment are denied a chance to explain who they are and share their story.
In addition, when someone makes a judgement about another individual, both the victim and the one judging are heavily impacted. The victim is affected because they would feel that they do not have a place in society. It prevents a person from being able to experience and learn new things from other perspectives. It can divide a community and lead to harassment, abuse and violence. When people go into a situation prejudging, they limit their potential experience, because of this, the prejudiced person excludes themselves from opportunities to learn and grow. For instance, in society today, various studies have shown that based upon an individual's name, they can have a more likely chance of getting called in for an interview compared to others. For example, if applying for roles in acting, many directors often carry biases which cause them to pick almost entirely Caucasian casts. This can prevent members of minority groups to not want to take opportunities because they feel a divide through prejudgements and stereotypes. Not only is this harmful to their own growth, but it’s also damaging to the growth of society and culture.
Furthermore, prejudgement of other members in society also stops positive development. All great societal progressions are a product of cultural integrations in society. When prejudices are used, development is hindered because segregation is created in our minds. This blocks the ability to learn from other cultures and integrate it into our society.
In conclusion, there are many social effects of prejudice as the person targeted by prejudicial actions is not the only individual affected. Members of society whom are affected may hold feelings of anger which can result in a change of his/her normal activity. It also impacts future generations because opportunities which would allow for us positively develop and learn are blocked out. As seen through the plane simulation activity we did in class, we were able to see that everyone naturally prejudges due to societal norms and stereotypes.
