«PREJUDICE»

        When one is a very little being, the world out there is vast and incomprehensible. We have to have a way of reducing it so that it becomes less intimidating, or we would never be able to develop a sense of self and of our own efficacy. One of the ways we do this is by creating categories for our experiences and by doing this we can file away bits of information and generally simplify our worlds. The mistake we make though is in seeing this simplified “world according to me” as if it were the “one true world”.

Our simplified filing system creates stereotypes and labels. If the “I” saw the enormous number of “others” who were more intelligent, more beautiful, more interesting and more competent than self, it would panic and disintegrate, so it tends rather to see “self’ in terms of its own strengths. Our immediate circle of family, friends and our societal group allow us to maintain and support the perception of self-importance vital to our self-image, and they become the “in-group”. Those who do not share our colour, creed or convictions then form the “out-group”. They lack differentiation in our perception and they become grey, uniform and homogenous. This “out-group homogeneity” allows us quite simply to dismiss the thoughts and feelings of entire races or groups of people.

Stereotyping is a clever and necessary part of human growth. It gives us the illusion of power and control in the developing years so that a sense of our own purpose and relevance in the world comes into being. Without this sense of self and self-worth we would be passive and disengaged from life. However, as we mature we need to challenge this stereotyping constantly or we reach the point where we become trapped in a narrow world of prejudice and being judgemental. Then we stop growing and remain in the frozen wastes of an ego-constructed world, which is destructive and has no bearing on reality.

Mind Matters is a regular Times column by Pamela Glyn, a Howick-based psychologist. Tel/Fax: 535-2224. Email: glynpsy@pl.net Web site: www.glyn-psychology.co.nz