How can situations of prejudice be prevented

Surprisingly, the researchers found that the more egalitarian the White partners were, the less their Black partners liked them!

This and other research suggests that people who value egalitarianism, in an effort to communicate their fair-mindedness and not trip up, spend so much mental energy monitoring their behavior that they then have less mental resources for the actual interaction at hand.

People often interpret this finding as evidence that people, deep down, really are prejudiced. But I hasten to point out the other side of that coin: When people were not under cognitive load, the ratings of the Black and White child were the same. This type of neuroscience finding is often misinterpreted to suggest that our prejudices being hard-wired. If brain regions light up when we look at pictures of the Other, then we must be born racist. But a fantastic essay in the book by Kareem Johnson speaks volumes about the plasticity of our biology.

Johnson describes a study he conducted in which he showed participants faces of Black and White people; later he showed these participants some of the same faces, mixed in with new ones, and asked the participants to recall whether they had seen each face or not.

However, Johnson had some of the participants watch a short video clip that made them feel happy before seeing the second round of faces. The result? The own-race bias disappeared, and people were no worse at recalling White versus Black faces. In a separate study, psychologist Tiffany Ito found that when she induced participants simply to smile while looking at a set of Black and White faces Ito had them hold a pencil in their mouth to simulate the experience of smiling—try it!

My wife and son are hooked—nay, positively addicted—to the video game Plants versus Zombies. My heart melts when they play together: The way she scaffolds the game for him, helps him with strategy, and speaks to him like an equal mind and partner in the game is beautiful to watch. And herein lies a secret to intergroup relations. Everyone felt like a New Yorker. People opened doors for each other, ceded disputed taxis, and smiled at each other on the streets with zero regard to background. It happens at sporting events, too: People are united by a shared identity and the other differences melt away.

The upshot here? All you need is a little compassion and flexibility of thought. The boys were grouped into the Scouts and the Eagles, and from the previous item on this list, you can guess what this categorization did for intergroup relations. When Sharif put the boys in direct competition with one another e. Ah, boys. Of course. Here is a bit of extra motivation: While you may adopt such a resolution to increase your own well-being, chances are that outgroup members may indirectly benefit from your regimen as well.

This is nice, except that one unintended consequence is that those who do not share these particular values are more likely to be the targets of our prejudice. In other words, those who challenge our cultural worldview become a threat to our continued immortality, and we grow intolerant of them. Our research pinpoints that we can successfully intervene in schools to help minimise prejudice between groups of children.

School charters emphasising equality and inclusion that are endorsed by teachers and make clear there will be genuine consequences for those who flaunt the rules, should be encouraged.

But it is vital to recognise that school rules alone are not enough to change attitudes. Teachers and children must work together to develop a harmonious multicultural environment in British schools.

Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Racism Bullying Prejudice Racism in schools Bullying in schools.

Common sense and empathy will be your most important assets. And humour, of course. If you do end up in a debate, questions may sometimes be more effective than facts, figures, and arguments. A good way to avoid endless 'tis-'tisn't arguments is to continue asking questions.

They will help you to show that some statements are actually incorrect or illogical. Asking questions can result in the other person wondering whether they were really right after all. Perhaps not straight away. Sometimes it only works in the longer term. These three simple steps can help yourself and others become less prejudiced. Prejudice and stereotypes Everyone is prejudiced. How does prejudice come about?