Reply To: Prejudice and Discrimination

[Anonymous]

There are many things that can happen in such situation. We probably experience cognitive dissonance, when our cognitive schemas don’t fit with what we experience, and it isn’t a pleasant thing to feel. So we may rush to our defense mechanisms and we may rationalize what we see – we may say it’s just an exception or the conditions are different than usual. We can also try to escape the situation so we can get at ease again – out of sight, out of mind. On the other hand, we may try to change our beliefs, modify our schemas. But that’s a tough task in my opinion because when we believe in something our whole life, we identify with is so much it becomes a part of our identity and we can’t simply get rid of something that shapes us.