Prejudice May Stem From Low Self-Esteem

Psych Central:

By Rick Nauert, Ph.D.
PsychCentral

Scientists believe a coping strategy for people with low self-esteem is to degrade other people, which improves how such people see themselves.

Read the whole story: Psych Central

Comments

[springsm]

07:38 PM on 02/26/2011

good grief, another study  I knew this at age 6 and that was so many years ago I can't remember.  Look at the bullies and cowards in this society today...and then take another look.  You can name some of these folks.

[Clare53]

03:39 PM on 02/25/2011

Duh, ya think?

[DennyCrane]

12:41 PM on 02/25/2011

People also criticize those who are more like them, but they don't want to admit it. Hence the reason Republicans hate gay people. A lot of them are gay themselves.

[axt113]

12:54 AM on 02/25/2011

Well Duh

[Red Molly]

11:23 PM on 02/24/2011

I believe it is low self-esteem, and an inability to feel empathy and compassion for others.
And also, especially in teens & adults, there seems to be a lot of old, unresolved anger, that the bully dumps on the people he/she is attacking.

[mmm pecan pie]

10:19 PM on 02/24/2011

Have you ever wondered why some very poor uneducated white people are the most blatantly racist? All they have in life is to say they are better than someone else by luck of skin color. Someone HAS to be lower for them to be better than.... Sad, but true.
Bullies are the same. Someone has to be lower, for them to be better than. They force people to be lower. . .A kid whose parents beats them at home, will be the one who beats other kids on the playground. This isn't exactly rocket science.

[bdoz58]

08:00 PM on 02/24/2011

I think that low self esteem is only part of the picture. In order to be mean to others or have a prejudice, you have to look down upon others. There is a lot of anger and arrogance in these individuals. I know a few individuals who have low self eseem but I would not consider them mean.

[inthedesert]

06:47 PM on 02/24/2011

Strangely enough, people with low esteem are the most self-absorbed people out there. I guess they just feel so darn bad about themselves that everything has to revolve around them every waking hour. I find this quite odd.

[Vanessa Belle]

04:59 PM on 02/24/2011

You guys have two different headings for this article, the first which reads "Ever Blame Meaness on Low Self Esteem" and then you have "Prejudice May Stem From Low Self Esteem".

Mean people, of course they have self esteem issues amongst a whole slew of other issues.

Prejudice is taught in the home by parents. Parents teach their children who to hate and discriminate against. I have no tolerance for prejudice and yet I see comments posted on this site continually that are full of prejudice.

The comments that pass moderation are sometimes unbelievable. And this is why I spend less and less time on this site.

[gypsie3]

07:25 PM on 04/04/2011

There are a lot of reasons someone is a bully. Ask the one being bullied if he or she cares what the reasons are.I'm against fighting, but if the one being bullied constantly, would just smack the bully in the mouth, ONE TIME., I'll bet it would end it. The bully would be surprised by it because they wouldn't expect it. You don't have time to analyze the bully, just do it.,,,,,,,a lot of people agree but won't admit it.

[Sunshine1970]

02:20 PM on 02/24/2011

Wow. That explains the teabaggers out there...

[springsm]

07:38 PM on 02/26/2011

They consider themselves "victims" and are kept there by those that the baggers love to follow.

[french queen13]

02:06 PM on 02/24/2011

This is news?

[springsm]

07:38 PM on 02/26/2011

That is my thought too.

[ajm8127]

02:00 PM on 02/24/2011

You can't like others if you don't like yourself.