9.2 Prejudice: Causes and Consequences
3 min read•august 9, 2024
Prejudice stems from various sources, including intergroup conflict and individual factors like authoritarian personalities. These biases manifest in behaviors favoring one's own group and derogating others, often leading to internalized negative stereotypes among targeted individuals.
The consequences of prejudice are far-reaching, perpetuating stereotypes and discrimination while reinforcing social inequalities. This creates psychological stress for targeted groups and hinders positive intergroup relations, impacting overall social cohesion and individual well-being.
Causes of Prejudice
Theories of Intergroup Conflict
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- posits competition for limited resources leads to prejudice between groups
- Occurs when groups perceive a threat to their interests or well-being
- Can arise from economic competition, political power struggles, or territorial disputes
- Robbers Cave Experiment demonstrated how artificially created competition led to hostility between groups of boys at a summer camp
- explains prejudice stems from individuals' need for positive self-esteem through group membership
- People categorize themselves and others into social groups
- Individuals strive to maintain a positive social identity by comparing their ingroup favorably to outgroups
- experiments showed even arbitrary group assignments can lead to
Individual Factors Contributing to Prejudice
- describes a set of traits associated with prejudiced attitudes
- Characterized by rigid thinking, obedience to authority, and intolerance of ambiguity
- Developed by and colleagues to understand the psychological basis of fascism and antisemitism
- Measured using the F-scale (Fascism scale) which assesses authoritarian tendencies
- involves feeling threatened or uncomfortable in interactions with outgroup members
- Can lead to avoidance of intergroup contact, reinforcing prejudiced attitudes
- Often stems from lack of positive intergroup experiences or exposure to negative stereotypes
- Reduced through positive intergroup contact and exposure to counter-stereotypical examples
- involves blaming an outgroup for one's own or society's problems
- Often targets vulnerable or marginalized groups
- Serves as a psychological defense mechanism to deflect blame and reduce feelings of helplessness
- Historical examples include antisemitism in Nazi Germany and xenophobia during economic downturns
Manifestations of Prejudice
Biased Intergroup Behavior
- Ingroup favoritism involves preferential treatment of one's own group members
- Manifests in resource allocation, social preferences, and evaluation of performance
- Can occur even in the absence of outgroup hostility
- Demonstrated in minimal group paradigm experiments where participants favored their assigned group without explicit competition
- encompasses negative attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors directed at members of other groups
- Can range from subtle to overt discrimination and violence
- Often based on stereotypes and overgeneralized negative attributes
- Includes verbal slurs, social exclusion, and discriminatory practices in various domains (employment, housing)
Internalization of Prejudice
- describes how targets of prejudice internalize negative stereotypes about their group
- Can lead to decreased self-esteem, performance anxiety, and self-limiting behaviors
- Occurs through repeated exposure to prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory experiences
- demonstrates how awareness of negative stereotypes can impair performance in stereotyped domains (women in math, African Americans in academics)
Consequences of Prejudice
Perpetuation of Stereotypes and Discrimination
- occurs when expectations about a group lead to behaviors that confirm those expectations
- Teachers' low expectations of minority students can lead to reduced academic support and poorer performance
- Employer biases in hiring can result in fewer opportunities for marginalized groups, reinforcing stereotypes about their capabilities
- Rosenthal and Jacobson's Pygmalion effect study showed how teacher expectations influenced student performance
- Prejudice reinforces existing social inequalities and creates barriers to equal opportunities
- Affects various life domains including education, employment, healthcare, and criminal justice
- Contributes to the persistence of socioeconomic disparities between groups
- perpetuates systemic biases (redlining in housing, school funding disparities)
Psychological and Social Impact
- Targets of prejudice experience increased stress, anxiety, and depression
- Chronic exposure to discrimination can lead to negative health outcomes (cardiovascular problems, substance abuse)
- Stereotype threat impairs cognitive performance and reduces academic and career aspirations
- Social isolation and reduced sense of belonging in various settings (workplace, educational institutions)
- Prejudice hinders intergroup relations and social cohesion
- Creates mistrust and tension between different social groups
- Reduces opportunities for positive intergroup contact and cooperation
- Can escalate into more severe forms of conflict and violence in extreme cases (hate crimes, ethnic conflicts)
Key Terms to Review (16)
Authoritarian personality: An authoritarian personality is a psychological construct that describes individuals who exhibit a high degree of submission to authority, aggression towards outgroups, and adherence to societal norms and conventions. This personality type is often linked to rigid thinking and a preference for hierarchical structures, which can contribute to the development and maintenance of prejudiced attitudes and behaviors.
Gordon Allport: Gordon Allport was a prominent American psychologist known for his work in personality psychology and his exploration of prejudice. He emphasized the importance of individual differences and the role of social factors in shaping attitudes, particularly in relation to prejudice, suggesting that prejudice stems from various sources including personal experiences, societal influences, and cognitive processes.
Henri Tajfel: Henri Tajfel was a Polish-born British social psychologist known for his pioneering work on social identity and intergroup relations. He introduced key concepts that help explain how individuals categorize themselves and others into groups, leading to various social phenomena such as prejudice, discrimination, and the formation of stereotypes. His research laid the groundwork for understanding how group membership influences behaviors and attitudes, highlighting the importance of social identity in shaping interpersonal dynamics.
Ingroup favoritism: Ingroup favoritism refers to the tendency for individuals to give preferential treatment, positive evaluations, and greater trust to members of their own social group compared to those from other groups. This bias often leads to enhanced cooperation, support, and empathy within the ingroup while promoting negative attitudes or discrimination against outgroup members. Such favoritism can influence social dynamics, interactions, and perceptions across various situations, including attribution processes, intergroup conflicts, and manifestations of prejudice.
Institutional Discrimination: Institutional discrimination refers to the unfair and unequal treatment of individuals or groups that is built into the policies, practices, and procedures of institutions, such as governments, schools, or businesses. This form of discrimination can perpetuate social inequalities by creating barriers for certain groups, often based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristics, and can lead to widespread societal consequences.
Intergroup Anxiety: Intergroup anxiety refers to the feelings of discomfort and apprehension that individuals experience when interacting with members of different social groups. This phenomenon is often rooted in the fear of negative evaluation or rejection, which can arise from preconceived notions about the other group. It plays a significant role in shaping interactions and can lead to avoidance behaviors, ultimately reinforcing stereotypes and prejudices.
Microaggressions: Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional, comments or behaviors that convey negative or derogatory messages toward marginalized groups. They can manifest in daily interactions and may seem harmless to those who deliver them, but they accumulate over time and contribute to a climate of prejudice and discrimination. Understanding microaggressions is crucial in recognizing how even well-meaning individuals can perpetuate bias and how these interactions affect the mental health and well-being of those on the receiving end.
Minimal Group Paradigm: The minimal group paradigm is a psychological concept that explores how individuals can show favoritism towards their own group, even when group distinctions are based on trivial or arbitrary criteria. This phenomenon illustrates how easily people can form in-groups and out-groups, leading to discrimination and bias without any significant basis for those divisions. It highlights the powerful role of social identity in shaping attitudes and behaviors, often manifesting in intergroup conflict and prejudice.
Outgroup Derogation: Outgroup derogation refers to the tendency to view and treat members of a group that one does not belong to, or an 'outgroup', in a negative or dismissive manner. This phenomenon often stems from an inherent bias that favors one's own group, leading to negative stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination against those perceived as outsiders. This behavior can escalate intergroup tensions and conflicts, significantly impacting social dynamics and contributing to broader societal issues such as prejudice.
Realistic Conflict Theory: Realistic conflict theory posits that intergroup conflict arises from competition over limited resources, leading to prejudice and discrimination between groups. This theory suggests that when groups perceive that their goals are incompatible, particularly in the context of economic resources or social status, tensions increase, fostering hostility and negative attitudes towards each other.
Scapegoating: Scapegoating is the practice of unfairly blaming an individual or group for problems or negative outcomes, often as a way to divert attention from the real causes. This psychological mechanism can serve to reinforce existing prejudices and allow individuals or societies to avoid facing their own shortcomings or failures. In many cases, scapegoating arises during times of social stress, where people seek an outlet for their frustrations and fears.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: A self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief or expectation that, whether correct or not, affects a person's behavior in such a way that it causes those expectations to come true. This phenomenon demonstrates how individuals' perceptions and beliefs can shape their reality, often leading them to act in ways that align with those beliefs, regardless of the objective truth. The concept highlights the importance of initial impressions and preconceived notions, which can perpetuate stereotypes and prejudice in social interactions.
Social Identity Theory: Social Identity Theory is a framework that explains how individuals derive a sense of self and identity from their group memberships, leading to in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination. This theory highlights the role of social categorization, social comparison, and group identity in shaping behavior and attitudes towards others.
Stereotype Embodiment: Stereotype embodiment refers to the phenomenon where individuals internalize societal stereotypes about their social group and allow these beliefs to influence their behaviors, attitudes, and self-perceptions. This process can lead to both positive and negative outcomes, as individuals may conform to or resist the stereotypes that are associated with their identity, impacting their mental and physical health.
Stereotype threat: Stereotype threat is the psychological phenomenon where individuals feel at risk of confirming negative stereotypes about their social group, which can adversely affect their performance and behavior. This concept highlights how the awareness of stereotypes can create anxiety and self-doubt, leading to a cycle that reinforces the very stereotypes being feared. It connects deeply to the formation of stereotypes, the causes and consequences of prejudice, and the mechanisms of discrimination.
Theodor Adorno: Theodor Adorno was a German philosopher, sociologist, and musicologist associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He explored how culture and society intersect with individual psychology, particularly examining how prejudice can be rooted in social structures and historical contexts. His work is critical for understanding the causes of prejudice and its consequences on both individuals and society at large.