Formation of Prejudice - Fundamental Errors in Thinking

Hey Everyone,

So I have been researching more on my Blog 2 topic (ecofeminism), and have come accross some particularly interesting contributions that this topic can make towards prejudice formation. First, stop and ask yourself, have you ever wondered why something is 'better' than something else? For example why 'up' is better than 'down', or why 'big' is better than 'small' ? These are examples of values placed on dualistic opposites and the creation of an 'order' or hierarchy.

So this thinking (known as value dualisms and hierarchical thinking) is the process we go through when we make judgements on things and people in the world around us. When applied to prejudice formation, this tendency to see the world in 'us' and 'them' categories implies the presence of a 'value' which is applied to each category. Values are then ordered in a hierachical fashion, and often we place ourselves as the benchmark for what is at the 'top' and best practice. By benchmarking all our judgements in relation to where we sit in this set hierarchy, we automatically create inequality in our formation of attitudes and fundamental beliefs.

Essentially by making this funamental error in our thinking, we often unknowingly set ourselves up for the formation of prejudice. Perhaps next time you assume something is 'better' than something else, you should stop and ask yourself how you arrived at this conclusion!

Food for thought!