• Prejudice - As Allport (1954) puts it, it's an antipathy or intense dislike that's based on incorrect and rigid generalizations. It's an emotional response that can be expressed or kept inwards, and it can be towards a group or an individual because they belong to a particular group.

  • Real-world example: Disliking someone just because they are from a different country, even if you know nothing about them personally.

• Stereotypes - Lippmann sees these as quick mental images we have of certain social groups, which are often wrong, rigid, and overgeneralized. Cognitive psychologists suggest that stereotypes help us process information swiftly by relying on our past encounters with similar individuals. Hilton and von Hippel (1996) refer to stereotypes as schemas that help us understand others.

  • Real-world example: Believing that all elderly people are slow and forgetful - this is an overgeneralization and might not be true for every elderly individual.

• Discrimination - It's more than just a negative perception or attitude. Discrimination involves actions, and these actions often involve treating individuals unjustly based on their group membership (e.g., gender, race, religion). Jones (1972) describes discrimination as actions aimed at preserving the characteristics and privileged status of one's own group at the expense of another.

  • Real-world example: Refusing to hire someone because of their race, even if they are qualified for the job.

Different theories and research, including social cognitive theory, social identity theory, and the concepts of fundamental and ultimate attribution errors, help us understand the formation of prejudice and stereotypes.

Claude Steele's research on stereotype threat shows how prejudice can affect academic performance.

• Real-world example: A girl believing she might perform poorly in a math test because she's internalized the stereotype that girls are not good at math.