LEGL 4500/6500 - Employment Law

Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander, Esq.

Terry College of Business

• About 85% of the American public reports that they are not racially prejudice.

• Some studies show that the chances of getting poor treatment from a person who reports to hold no racially prejudice beliefs are six times higher if a low level of indication of racial minority membership is available. The level of the indicator of racial minority membership needs to be low enough so it does not gain direct attention.

• Those who are measured as low in prejudice know the stereotypes of racism as well as those who are measured as high in prejudice.

• Those who are measured low in racial prejudices and then function with prejudiced behaviors experience discomfort with themselves and a higher level of self critical thinking.

• Behavior can come from learned, stereotyped responses that are learned by children before they develop the cognitive ability and flexibility to critically question or evaluate the validity of the stereotype.

• Behavior can come from more recently established non-prejudicial personal belief system which is in conflict with the early learned, stereotyped responses.

• While the "prejudicial response" takes little attention on the part of the person, the non-prejudiced response takes considerable effort.

B- Remember their resolution

C- Practice the new behaviors to work toward makingthem automatic

These changes take attention, time, and effort on the part of the person and to the extent that any of these are limited, the behavior is likely to be prejudicial and congruent with the early stereotypes.