Prejudice

Lore & Background

The word prejudice entered Middle English around 1300 from Old French préjudice, itself from Latin praeiūdicium (prae 'before' + iūdicium 'judgment'). The Latin term carried meanings of prior judgment, judicial examination before trial, or harm. Early psychological research in the 1920s attempted to prove white supremacy, with a 1925 review of 73 studies concluding 'the mental superiority of the white race.' This perspective shifted in the 1930s–1940s as theorists like Theodor Adorno viewed prejudice as pathological, linked to an authoritarian personality characterized by rigid thinking, obedience to authority, and black-and-white worldview.

Gordon Allport's 1954 work The Nature of Prejudice reframed prejudice as a natural human process of categorical thinking, essential for orderly living. He introduced the contact hypothesis, positing that intergroup contact under appropriate conditions can reduce prejudice. In the 1970s, research by Marilyn Brewer suggested prejudice often stems from ingroup favoritism rather than outgroup hatred. Thomas Pettigrew described the ultimate attribution error in 1979, where ingroup members attribute negative outgroup behavior to dispositional causes and positive outgroup behavior to situational factors. Young-Bruehl (1996) argued that different prejudices correspond to different character types, such as obsessional (anti-semitism), hysterical (racism), and narcissistic (sexism).

Reader's Guide

Prejudice remains a central concept in social psychology, with contemporary theories expanding understanding of its mechanisms. The out-group homogeneity effect shows that people perceive outgroup members as more similar than ingroup members. The justification-suppression model explains how individuals seek justifications for prejudice to maintain a positive self-concept. Realistic conflict theory demonstrates that competition for limited resources increases prejudice, as shown in the Robber's Cave experiment. Integrated threat theory identifies four types of threat—realistic, symbolic, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes—that drive prejudice. Social dominance theory further examines how societal hierarchies perpetuate prejudice.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT), developed by the American Psychological Association, measures hidden biases; in 2023 alone, over 40 million IATs were completed on Project Implicit, making it the most comprehensive scale for assessing hidden biases. The United Nations Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility has highlighted prejudice as a global security threat, as it can scapegoat populations and incite violence, endangering individuals, countries, and the international community. Prejudice's resistance to rational influence and its role in intergroup conflict underscore its enduring significance.

Did You Know?

• The word prejudice comes from Latin praeiūdicium, meaning prior judgment or harm.
• Gordon Allport defined prejudice as a 'feeling, favorable or unfavorable, toward a person or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual experience'.
• In 2023, over 40 million Implicit Association Tests were completed on the Project Implicit website.
• The United Nations Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility considers prejudice a global security threat.