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 and obedience to authority.

Gordon Allport's 1954 work The Nature of Prejudice defined prejudice as a 'feeling, favorable or unfavorable, toward a person or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual experience.' He argued prejudice is a natural human process stemming from categorical thinking and proposed the contact hypothesis, which posits that intergroup contact under certain conditions can reduce prejudice. In the 1970s, research shifted to emphasize ingroup favoritism, with Marilyn Brewer suggesting prejudice may develop because positive emotions are reserved for the ingroup 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.

Contemporary theories include the out-group homogeneity effect, the justification-suppression model, realistic conflict theory, and integrated threat theory (ITT). ITT, developed by Walter G Stephan, posits that prejudice arises from perceived threats: realistic threats, symbolic threats, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes. The Implicit Association Test (IAT), developed by the American Psychological Association, measures hidden negative attitudes; in 2023 alone, over 40 million IATs were completed on the Project Implicit website, making it the most comprehensive scale for assessing hidden biases.

Reader's Guide

Prejudice remains a central concept in psychology and social sciences, with research evolving from early racist frameworks to nuanced understandings of cognitive processes and intergroup dynamics. The shift from viewing prejudice as a natural response to racial hierarchy (1920s) to a pathological authoritarian trait (1930s–1940s) and then to a normal cognitive process (Allport, 1954) reflects changing societal values. Modern theories emphasize that prejudice often stems from ingroup favoritism rather than outgroup hostility, and that it can be measured implicitly through tools like the IAT.

The United Nations Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility has highlighted prejudice as a global security threat due to its role in scapegoating and inciting violence. The contact hypothesis and integrated threat theory offer frameworks for reducing prejudice, though the phenomenon remains resistant to rational influence. The historical trajectory shows that prejudice research has moved from justifying discrimination to understanding its mechanisms and developing interventions, though the concept's complexity—encompassing affective, cognitive, and behavioral components—continues to challenge scholars.