consensus of the group. Groupthink can lead people to doing thing in a group setting they wouldn t do in private. It hinders the ability to have opposite trains of thought in a group setting, which can lead to a group making the wrong decision. Group polarization involves the strengthening of a group s attitude after a thorough discussion of the views among the group members. It happens in political conventions when a group strengthens its platform because the views have been discussed and agreed on by some of the members. Social facilitation involves a person doing better in a group setting than when doing a specific behavior by themselves. This is seen in sports and in the performing arts, when a person is more skilled when they have an audience. On the other hand, social loafing involves putting in less effort in a group than one would do alone. It happens when a person s individual performance can t be judged within the group. If the task is difficult or complex, the opposite occurs and people tend to be more motivated. Everyone works harder as a result.
DISCRIMINATION AND PREJUDICE Many wars and conflicts in the world come directly from prejudice and discrimination. These phenomena affect everyone, even in peacetime settings. Belonging to a group can lead to prejudice, which is a negative attitude toward someone because they are different or belong to a different group than you. It is common between different cultures. Prejudice often begins with stereotyping, or having a fixed belief about a person because of the group they belong in. It involves overgeneralizing information about a certain group. When prejudiced attitudes are acted upon, this leads to discrimination, which is having a negative action toward someone because of the group they belong to. Discrimination can happen to a certain gender, race, or age of persons in a group. The difference between prejudice and discrimination is that discrimination involves a behavior based on prejudice. Racism involves prejudice and discrimination based on race and prejudices toward them. Sexism is prejudice and discrimination against a certain gender, based primarily on stereotypes. Ageism involves judgment against someone
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