What's the difference between prejudice and bias? with Kristin Pauker

Kristin Pauker:
"So prejudice is often the umbrella term that we use to describe, this is where it gets complicated. We use it to describe attitudes, behavior, and cognitions, so we use it as an umbrella term. The attitude part, so how I feel about a group, whether I have positivity or negativity towards a group, is called prejudice. And so often, when I'm using the term prejudice, I'm using it to describe an attitude, but the umbrella term also corresponds with behavior and cognitions as well.

When we talk about behavior, we're talking about typically discrimination. Am I treating one group differently based on social group membership? In this case, race. And then cognition would be my beliefs about a group. Do I have stereotypes, or what are my stereotypes and my associations about a particular racial group, for example? The umbrella term describes attitudes, behavior, and cognitions, which maps onto prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes. But when I'm talking about it here, I really am primarily talking about the attitudes, because that's the term we use for attitudes. It's a little confusing, I do admit.

Andrew Grant-Thomas:
No. It's all good. Thank you, Kristin. I appreciate that.

Kristin Pauker:
Then, bias was the other one, right?

Andrew Grant-Thomas:
Oh, yes. Sorry. Yes, please.

Kristin Pauker:
Sorry. Bias is a more general term, and it could mean how I feel about a group, that I feel more positive or negative. It could mean I simply show a preference. It's a little bit more of a neutral term, and it could describe differences in either directions. I could have a pro-bias towards my group, or I could have a pro-bias towards another group, where I explicitly favor a group that is not my own, so it's thought of as a slightly more neutral term than prejudice.

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