PREJUDICE

People often use jokes to test the boundaries of what is considered offensive. Under the guise of humor, the joke teller can attempt to minimize any offense taken by defending the humor as “just a joke.”

Clearly, an attempt to belittle or demean others as a form of humor is distasteful. And in every culture, one can encounter humor that, to be understood, relies on prejudice—whether that prejudice be about race, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, or nationality. What others might find funny, some find tasteless and indefensible. Simply because an offensive statement is clothed as a joke does not make the joke funny nor does it mean that the joke teller cannot be confronted by someone who finds the comment offensive or inappropriate. Even so, confronting someone about an inappropriate joke can present a social risk; the person being called out is likely to feel defensive and retaliate against whomever exposed them.

For this Discussion, you will draw on your own experience and social psychology theory to examine responses to prejudiced comments.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. 

WEEKLY RESOURCES

• Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (Eds.). (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
  
  • Chapter 13, “Prejudice: Causes, Consequences, and Cures” 
• Note: Viewing media and interactives embedded in the electronic version of this course text is not required for this course.
• Daalmans, S., Kleemans, M., & Sadza, A. (2017). Gender representation on gender-targeted television channels: A comparison of female- and male-targeted tv channels in the Netherlands. Sex RolesLinks to an external site., 77(5–6), 366–378. doi:10.1007/s11199-016-0727-6
• Jang, I. J., & Cordero-Pedrosa, C. (2016). To laugh or not to laugh at racist jokes. Peace ReviewLinks to an external site., 28(4), 474–481.doi:10.1080/10402659.2016.1237116
• Larsen, G. (2017). It’s a man’s world: Music groupies and the othering of women in the world of rock. OrganizationLinks to an external site., 24(3), 397–417. doi:10.1177/1350508416689095

TO PREPARE

• Review the Learning Resources for this week and think about how social psychology theory and research explains the responses that people have when they hear prejudiced comments.
• Recall a time when you have been present when someone made a racist comment or “joke,” and no one confronted the joke teller.

BY DAY 4

Post a time when you have been present when someone made a prejudiced “joke” or comment, and no one confronted the joke teller. Were you offended by the joke? How can a decision to stay mute be explained by social psychology theory? 

BY DAY 6

Respond to at least two colleagues’ posts and use social psychology theory to explain what would lead someone to confront the person who made the offensive comment or joke, when doing so may likely make them the target of the joke teller’s retaliation.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the social psychology theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or Internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your post and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.