Which explanations of prejudice help us to understand the behaviour of the children in Jane Elliotts class? Discuss with reference to at least two explanations of prejudice

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Corina Lyle - T00417, Education route 2 – Psychology, 28/12/2008

‘Which explanations of prejudice help us to understand the behaviour of the children in Jane Elliott’s class? Discuss with reference to at least two explanations of prejudice’

Throughout the ages varying levels of prejudice and discrimination have been experienced and witnessed. This can occur for miscellaneous reasons, such as, a persons’ race, creed, disability or even their sexual preference. Difference of opinion is the main contributory factor and in worst case scenarios can lead to hostile acts including physical and verbal assault and violence.

To explain this behaviour in a psychological manner, two main approaches are recognised. They are the ‘dispositional’ and the ‘situational’. The first theory stems from Freud’s Psychodynamic approach and places focus on a prejudiced individual’s personality traits and how far these can be socially influenced during life, also known as personality conflict explanations. The latter, referred to as social conflict theory considers how far prejudice can spread and develop in social situations, particularly between groups who share a common interest.

On the Tuesday morning, following the day that race-activist Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, USA. One regular teacher named Jane Elliot, whom resided in Iowa and taught a third grade elementary class of twenty-eight pupils, decided the time had come to tackle the issue of racism in her own, unique manner. Despite her concern for threatening the harmony she had built up in class, she felt she had no other choice but to go ahead with a drastic action that would hopefully help towards preventing bigotry later developing in this young generation.

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Following news of the assassination, the children had run in to class with confused queries regarding the murder of Martin Luther King, whom they had previously named as their ‘hero of the month’.  They could not comprehend why someone would murder a ‘king’. Jane Elliott sat them down and asked what they knew about ‘Negroes’. Due to being from a small rural white Christian populated area and with little previous knowledge of black people, their responses were sure to be influenced by their relatives, friends, media and the education system. It was noted that the children regarded black people to ...

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