Imagine living life being free to be who you are. Imagine easily having the freedom to be that which you are and to want to act the way in which you wish. Imagine just being you. These might sound like simple enough imaginations because these actions are acts, which we live out each day effortlessly. Simple enough for us but there are countless others who are faced with a difficulty in being who they are and having the free will to freely express who they are. Much of this difficulty is faced due to the actions of people who engage in prejudice acts and or discriminating behavior, which is often vile.
In an attempt to study how others influence us, social psychology tries to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by actual or implied presence of others. Such a presence can influence others into hatred of or the singling out of others. Others who they do not like for a certain reason be it ethnicity, gender, or religion. This negative attitude of being prejudice is likely to lead to a similar negativity by taking part in discriminating actions towards others. Both prejudice and discrimination have become "a disease that permeates society-. (Franzoi) There are many consequences that society in turn renders due to such acts of prejudice and discrimination. Society suffers from such prejudice and discriminating acts mostly because of stereotypical people who judge others unfairly. Many of these nave and ignorant thoughts and actions can be analyzed into why people think and feel this way.
In responding to social categories such as ethnicity, gender, and religion some people develop a negative feeling. This feeling might lead to a reaction that could include prejudice and discrimination. Both prejudice and discrimination are topics that are relevant to social psychology in that these people's actions can be explained and understood through social psychology.
