Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination

Long after the end of the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, desegregation in the schools, the abolition of anti-Asian legislation and the Women's Movement, the pernicious effects of prejudice and discrimination in U.S. society are still evident. Despite efforts to eradicate the injustice against people based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or other elements, prejudice and discrimination remain. In most cases, the display is more covert than in years past. Today the United States is embroiled in battles regarding Gay rights. Bias and disparities in services, opportunities, and practices affect quality of life, health, and mental health for all peoples. In these volumes focused on the psychology at issue, experts from across the nation and in different fields examine the state of prejudice and discrimination in America today, and each offers practical direction that can be taken by individuals, communities, and officials to create a more just society.

Each chapter offers a toolbox of information on how to cope, how to keep oneself whole, how to seek validation of identity, how to raise children to dispel unfair images and perceptions, and how to work for societal change.