Question

Describe how discrimination is perceived by the target. Explain how people’s self-esteem can be influenced by whether they believe a perceiver’s evaluation of them is influenced by their personal attributes such as race, gender, age, weight, height, or religious beliefs. Explain the concept of stereotype threat, including the reason it happens and its potential consequences.

Answer 1

Discrimination is perceived by the target as an insult for being born as one, something which they didn’t control or couldn’t control at any point in life.

The moment an individual starts to realize that he/she is being discriminated based on attributes such as race, gender, age, weight, height, etc., the overall confidence levels tends to decrease. More the discrimination higher will be rate of the individuals to find a way to remain unnoticed. They create a cover and slip under it so that they are left unnoticed or undisturbed by the people around them. These shall put them in a situation where they tend to question themselves and their actions, attitude, etc., which all lead to a decline in their self-esteem.

The stereotype type is a widely held opinion about something or somebody which is not true always. Similarly, a stereotype threat is something which shall attribute or label individuals before even allowing them to express themselves or before even knowing anything about them. Example, a stylish and easy going, casual black female from Trinidad and Tobago, attending weekend parties is always judged as a drug addict. Things like these hurt the individuals more and shall place concerns in their minds to always be careful in every environment they stay or move around.

The reason the stereotype threats happens is due to the mindsets of few individuals who are not willing to accept a new comer. Some people who are alarmed by the presence of new people tend to experience an insecurity – a false one, that motivates them to do an insult or crime against them. Another cause shall be attributed to the existence of people with sadist attitude and antisocial disorders. They tend to use the difference as one major excuse to let them commit an insult or a crime, only to make themselves feel satisfied and better without bothering about the consequences.

The potential consequence is delivering a bad experience to the individual on the receiving end. It would hurt them deeply and shall give them restlessness on and off the streets and during day and night. This shall also make them question themselves if they fit in the present environment. They might even think about moving out of the present environment and settling in a place where they are not seen as a different person. All these will take a toll on their mental health gradually. They shall suffer from anxiety or depression and this shall also lead to a deterioration in physical health.