... The cognitive explanation for prejudice is based upon the way humans categorise information. Stereotypes are schemas that summarise data. Like schemas stereotypes influence memory. For example if you are told that someone is a librarian it may influence your recall of that person in the future. By grouping people we form impressions quickly and use past experience to provide explanations about individuals that we do not know. Stereotypes do help to assist our memory but they also cause us to over estimate differences between groups. When discussing prejudice it is important to identify the concept of 'in-groups' and 'out-groups.' An in-group is the group which people feel that they identify with and an out-group is the people who aren't in the in-group. Members of their own 'in-group' often believe that there is a greater similarity between members of the out-groups that there is of their group. This is known as the ...

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