Prejudice

From Wikiversity
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Completion status: this resource is ~25% complete.

Prejudice is a valenced (i.e., can be positive or negative) attitude that is unwarranted (Allport, 1954[1]). Although prejudice is often regarded as morally wrong, sorting members of a social group into a negative category may simply be part of a natural tendency towards social categorisation. (Augoustinos, 1994[2]).

Contact theory[edit | edit source]

Allport specified four conditions for optimal intergroup contact:

  1. equal group status within the situation,
  2. common goals,
  3. intergroup cooperation and
  4. authority support.

Intergroup contact theory suggests that quality contact (i.e., contact that facilitates effective interaction) can reduce negative attitudes by eliciting positive emotions (Pettigrew, 1998)[3].

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.
  2. Augoustinos, M., Ahrens, C., & Innes, J. M. (1994). Stereotypes and prejudice: The Australian experience. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33(1), 125-141.
  3. Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65-85.

See also[edit | edit source]

Search for Prejudice on Wikipedia.

External links[edit | edit source]