Question

Which one of the following strategies is not effective in dealing with prejudice?

• A. Minimising opportunities for learning prejudices
• B. Encouraging the tendency towards self-fulfilling prophecy among the victims of prejudice
• C. Changing discriminatory attitudes
• D. De-emphasising a narrow social identity based on the ingroup

Hint:

For questions asking what is "NOT" effective, look for the option that either makes no sense or would actively make the problem worse. A self-fulfilling prophecy is always a negative cycle, so encouraging it would be the wrong approach.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify a strategy that would be ineffective, or even harmful, in reducing prejudice. A self-fulfilling prophecy in this context is a process where a victim of prejudice internalizes the negative stereotypes and starts to behave in ways that confirm those stereotypes, thereby "proving" the prejudice right in the eyes of the prejudiced person.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's analyze the effectiveness of each strategy: \begin{enumerate}
Minimising opportunities for learning prejudices: This is an effective prevention strategy, as prejudice is often learned through socialisation.
Encouraging the tendency towards self-fulfilling prophecy: This would be highly counterproductive. Encouraging victims to conform to negative stereotypes would strengthen and perpetuate the prejudice, not reduce it. This is clearly an ineffective and harmful strategy.
Changing discriminatory attitudes: This is a core goal of prejudice reduction efforts. It is an effective strategy.
De-emphasising a narrow social identity: This is an effective strategy. Encouraging people to see themselves as part of a larger, common group (e.g., "humanity" instead of just their own small ingroup) can reduce intergroup conflict and prejudice. \end{enumerate} Step 3: Final Answer:
The strategy that is not effective (and is, in fact, detrimental) is Encouraging the tendency towards self-fulfilling prophecy among the victims of prejudice.