Modern Prejudice in Everyday Interactions

Abstract

Social status diversifies experiences. From personal achievements to interpersonal interactions, the disparity is often forged by individuals either deliberately or indeliberately. Regardless of the purpose, such actions entail stereotypes, ultimately reinforcing discrimination. This research aims at exploring a potential route through which status privilege socially pervades and solidifies: the perceptions of and consequent reactions to different occupations. Undergraduate students in South Korea participated in the study. First, participants read three chronologically invented scripts, conceiving of themselves as interacting with fictitious characters with either an upper- or a lower-status occupation. Next, they imagined their tentative attitudes as well as expectations of each character. Analyses revealed that participants reacted more favorably to the upper-status characters in the two of the three interactions. Furthermore, these characters were expected to be significantly more competent and intelligent than those with a lower-status occupation. Together, the findings spotlight one type of modern prejudice that may influence not only everyday communications but important decision-making processes.