A prejudice is an opinion about someone or a group of people, often the result of generalizations, that are not based on facts.
Prejudices are a human tool for storing a large flow of information in packets in memory. It is impossible to process all information that comes to someone individually, which is why groups are often linked to one characteristic. However, being prejudiced can also have negative consequences. It is difficult to overcome these prejudices and can have negative consequences for the way someone interacts with people. When people are disadvantaged on the basis of these prejudices, there is discrimination.
Prejudices are persistent and once a particular group has been labeled it is difficult to change. A good way to counter this is knowledge. By getting to know people or a group of people better, it often becomes clear that the prejudices are based on incorrect assumptions and are therefore not true.
