The harm that stereotypes do

I read about a test given by experimental psychologists to black students.  Half the students were simply given the test, and the other half were told, before taking the test, that white students on average did better on the best than black students.  The first group did noticeably better than the second group.  The same experiment was done with white students, except that the second group was told that Asians did better than whites.  The same disparity occurred.

This kind of stuff really matters.  There is such a thing as being a victim of prejudice by others, and there is such a thing as being prejudiced against yourself.  Arguably the second kind of prejudice will hold you back even more than the first, if you don’t know you have to fight against it.

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Tags: Keith Knight, Racial Prejudice, Self-Esteem, Stereotypes, Stereotypes in Mass Media, Stereotypes on TV, The K Chronicles