Stereotyping, discrimination, and applied social psychology intertwine in a complex dance of societal perceptions and behaviors. Stereotyping, the cognitive shortcut that paints individuals with broad brushstrokes based on their group affiliations, often sets the stage for discrimination—the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Applied social psychology steps in as the mediator, applying scientific methods to understand and address these social issues. It’s a field that not only dissects the anatomy of attitudes and biases but also prescribes interventions to mitigate their adverse effects (Eberhardt, 1993).
The journey into this realm begins with the acknowledgment of stereotypes as the mind’s attempt to categorize the social world. While this process can be benign, it often morphs into a breeding ground for prejudice. Prejudice, a prejudgment about a person based on their group membership, can lead to discrimination, where actions are taken against a group based on negative stereotypes. This cascade from thought to action has far-reaching implications, influencing everything from employment opportunities to social interactions.
This is what has led us to the palpable tension, the corrupted heartbeat of this current nation which seems enveloped by stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. It stems from centuries of an “us vs. them” mentality, segregation, and hate-filled discrimination directed towards anyone not white to feel superior, or elite. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Black Lives Matter movement, and the attempt once again, to control women’s civil liberties, the ever-present tensions between race and gender have become confounded by political powers that be, toying with what should be our human rights. Leaving many adrift, angry, and confused as to how in the year 2024 we are still, as a nation, creating victims of a divide. However, despite the seemingly insurmountable length of time, this idiocy has endured, it can be altered, it can be fixed, and it begins with empathy.
I am reminded of when I learned of and understood discrimination before I had ever even heard the word. My best friend and I, unbeknownst to us, were of different skin colors, “My brother says we can’t be friends anymore because you’re white,” she told me one day. I recall thinking this was far beyond sticks and stones, that did not apply here, I was devastated. This was my introduction to discrimination and it occurred when I was six years old. My best friend’s older brother had likely experienced discrimination in many forms, and many times over by now, so, because I was white and they were not, our separating as friends was an inevitable outcome to be addressed immediately. Melannie went on to explain that we would still secretly remain friends, but that according to him, I was never really able to be trusted or truly be her friend. Although we remained friends for years after, I still describe this moment as a feeling of being crushed, and utterly bewildered. This experience stuck with me, it burned into my soul, it lives in me still at this moment, and every facet of what I stand for stems from this tender moment of my youth. So, when posed with the opportunity to write about discrimination and stereotyping, it was no question that this assignment I would tackle with glee.
As a teenager in the early ‘90s, I recall the beating of Rodney King, now we speak the name George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and so many others. Whether it’s a machine gun in school shootings, or police brutality our world as we know it is looking grim, to say the least (Mears et al., 2017). This is what makes the story of the “Blue-eyed, Brown-eyed Experiment” still very relevant today.
In the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, Jane Elliott, a third-grade teacher from Iowa, sought to impart a profound lesson that really ought to be blasted across the national news stations right now (Psychology & Nelson, 2024). Ms. Elliot, feeling disturbed by the overtly racist undertones in the media coverage had resolved to prevent such biases from taking root in her students. She devised an innovative exercise, segregating her class based on eye color, assigning superiority to blue-eyed students, and granting them privileges while encouraging them to belittle their brown-eyed peers. The exercise yielded startling results: friendships were cast aside as discrimination took hold over trivial, fabricated differences. Remarkably, this bias even influenced academic performance, with blue-eyed children excelling and brown-eyed children’s results declining, demonstrating a significant variance solely attributed to eye color. By reversing the roles the following day, Elliott exposed the arbitrary nature of such discrimination and fostered empathy and understanding among the students by having them walk in each other’s shoes. This experiment underscored the ease with which prejudice can be instilled and its tangible effects on behavior and performance. It offers a stark warning against the perils of baseless stereotypes and the importance of cultivating a society that values equality and compassion.
Ms. Elliott’s exercise had a profound impact on education and society. It became a pivotal moment in diversity training, highlighting the capricious and constructed nature of prejudice. The experiment was groundbreaking in its simplicity and effectiveness, showing that even superficial differences could lead to significant disparities in treatment and self-perception. This exercise showed us just how deeply embedded our discrimination was, but most importantly demonstrated that the true nature of human beings is love, not hate. The “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise remains a significant tool in the ongoing effort to address and dismantle systemic prejudice, serving as another reminder of the power of societal constructs and the importance of critical self-reflection in the pursuit of equality.
References
Eberhardt, J. (1993, May). Where the invisible meets the obvious: The effects of stereotyping biases on the fundamental attribution error – ProQuest. Www.proquest.com; ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/docview/304044865?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Dissertations%20&%20Theses
Keith, P. C. (2023, July 28). Why does Boston continue to have a racist reputation? GBH; Local News WGBH. https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2023-07-28/why-does-boston-continue-to-have-a-racist-reputation
Mears, D. P., Craig, M. O., Stewart, E. A., & Warren, P. Y. (2017, November). Thinking fast, not slow: How cognitive biases may contribute to racial disparities in the use of force in police-citizen encounters☆. Science Direct; Journal of Criminal Justice. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235217303173#s0035
Psychology, D., & Nelson, A. (2024, March). https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2313584/modules/items/40248716. Login.microsoftonline.com; Penn State. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2313584/modules/items/40248716
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