Prejudice Unlearned Summer is a time of relaxation for students across the country but, over those balmy summer months, researchers says that students forget approximately two months worth of information, or twenty-two percent, from the school year ("College and University Blog"). Though teachers may be disappointed at this statistic, could they be disheartened if they forgot, or "unlearned" other things- talking back? Being aggressive in class? Or perhaps, even prejudice against one another and the community at large? In modern day, many social scientists have grappled with the notion of having certain thoughts being unlearned, which could potentially revolutionize our society in a tremendous way; but, social scientists that believe that prejudice can be unlearned would have to intervene in an individual's life in a major way before that can happen.

Julian Rotter developed a social learning theory, outlining...

The dominating perspective that Rotter developed was founded in the empirical law of effect, which asserts that individuals are "motivated to seek out positive stimulation or reinforcement and to avoid unpleasant stimulation" (Mearns). To that end, the "personality represents an interaction of the individual with his or her environment" so to understand someone's personality then the environment that the individual is in coupled with their life history of learning would produce the individual's personality. If this is the manner in which individual's learn, then it is absolutely critical that social scientists alter the foundational elements of learning through their learning intervention to eliminate the things that cause certain personality traits, like that of prejudice.
Social scientists have the opportunity to have individuals to unlearn beliefs. If people seek positive…