Prejudice and Outgroup Perception
1. Introductory comments
2. Historical evolution of the psychological understanding of prejudice
| Social and Historical Problem | Social Science Question | Image of Prejudice | Theoretical Orientation | Research Question |
| Prior to 1920s: White domination and colonial rule of "backward peoples" | Identifying the deficiencies of "backward peoples" | A natural response to "inferior peoples" | "Race theories" | Comparative studies of the abilities of different races |
| 1920s-1930s: The legitimacy of White domination challenged | Explaining the stigmatization of minorities | Irrational and unjustified | Prejudice as a social problem | Measurement and descriptive studies |
| 1930s-1940s: The ubiquity of White racism in the U.S. | Identifying universal processes underlying prejudice | Unconscious defense | Psychodynamic theory: defensive processes | Experimental |
| 1950s: Understanding Nazi racial ideology and the holocaust | Identifying the prejudice-prone personality | Expression of a pathological need | Individual differences | Correlational |
| 1960s: The problem of prejudice in the American South | How social norms determine prejudice | Social norm | Sociocultural: Social transmission of prejudice | Observational and correlational |
| 1970s: The persistence of racism and discrimination in the U.S. | How prejudice is rooted in social structure and intergroup relations | Expression of group interests | Sociocultural: Intergroup dynamics of prejudice | Sociological and historical research |
| 1980s-2000s: The inevitability and universality of prejudice and intergroup conflict | What universal psychological processes underlie intergroup conflict and prejudice | Outcome of social categorization | Cognitive perspective | Experimental |
3. Major theories
A. Authoritarian personality characteristics
B. Intergroup conflict
C. Social learning
D. Social categorization(1) The model assumes that all individuals have knowledge of stereotypes, even those of one's own groups.
(2) In what ways does the model proposed by Kunda and Spencer (2003) modify the social categorization process?
4. Glick and Fiske (2001) assert that the primary definition of prejudice as hate is too simplistic.
A. In their argument, what function is served by sexism (or any type of prejudice for that matter)?
B. How does the addition of the benevolent form of sexism broaden your understanding of prejudice?
C. How does the presence of benevolent sexism complicate efforts to reduce gender inequality?
D. Are there any problems with this conceptualization of prejudice?
5. Subtle prejudice can sometimes result in substantial effects: The case of
racial disparities in health outcomes.