Merton’s Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination
Chapter 10.2
Pages 238-240
Discrimination the denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership
Prejudice an unsupported generalization about a category of people; Refers to attitudes
According to Merton, individuals can combine discrimination and prejudice in four possible ways.
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Active bigot
Timid bigot
Fair weather liberal
All-weather liberal
Do the following:
A) What is the difference between discrimination and prejudice? Give an example to illustrate the
difference
B) Explain the difference between legal discrimination and institutionalized discrimination. Provide
an example for each that illustrates the difference between the two.
C) Define each of Merton’s Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination
D) For each category, provide a situation (either real or imagined) that illustrates the meaning of
the term.