If you look at what prejudice means in a broad sense, it means treating other people unfairly and with bias. These are some kinds of generalisations, and biases don't always show up in how people act.
Discrimination is a lot like prejudice, but discrimination is when one group treats others poorly, while prejudice is when one person acts in a biassed way. A biassed belief like "fat people are less smart" is not true at all.
As such, these are attitudes that are mostly spoken, and because they don't always show up in actions, it would be wrong to say that they are not dangerous.
Over time, prejudices can grow and turn into actions like discrimination. It could be dangerous in this case, though.
Because biases come from a lot of different sources, most people don't even realise they have them. Different people may have different prejudices in different situations and under different conditions. This is because conditions play a big role in how biases form.
Psychoanalysts say that inhibitions cause a lot of different emotional tensions, especially when people are young. These emotional tensions can show up later on as biases. This might happen because of the limits that people set based on their surroundings and their daily lives.
When things were tough, Jews and African Americans were used as scapegoats. This is a very clear example of how prejudices can arise when people are feeling trapped. In this case, the economic barrier helps find the responsible and steer biases in the right direction.
Even though inhibitions can be harmful in many ways, it is normal for them to help people form prejudices. But is it also normal to show prejudices when inhibitions are present?
People who say it's not normal say that biases can only happen in people who have flawed personalities and weak characters. This idea, which isn't true, says that stereotypes happen because neurotic people are insecure and anxious.
At first glance, it may seem like neurotic disorders and extreme anxiety can lead to prejudices. In fact, prejudices are more likely to show up in situations like fear, anxiety, and insecurity.
Even though prejudices aren't just based on a person's thoughts and views, sociocultural factors play a big role in making them happen.
Many things in society, like the groups that live in the same areas, people's racial or ethnic backgrounds and how they see those backgrounds, as well as their different ways of thinking and living, play a big role in shaping their biases.
It is impossible to look at a person without also looking at the society and place where he lives. This means that it is also impossible to ignore how sociocultural factors affect biases.