Prejudice and Intergroup Relations 14 Thomas Kessler and Amélie Mummendey
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9781405124003_4_014.qxd 10/31/07 3:14 PM Page 290 Prejudice and Intergroup Relations 14 Thomas Kessler and Amélie Mummendey KEY CONCEPTS authoritarian personality category salience common ingroup identity contact hypothesis decategorization ethnocentrism ingroup favouritism intergroup anxiety intergroup behaviour minimal group paradigm mutual distinctiveness positive and negative interdependence positive distinctiveness prejudice reverse discrimination social categorization social discrimination social dominance orientation superordinate goals tokenism 9781405124003_4_014.qxd 10/31/07 3:14 PM Page 291 CHAPTER OUTLINE This chapter introduces prejudice and social discrimination together with explanations of their causes. After a brief discussion of prejudice at the level of the individual, the chapter focuses mainly on prejudice and social discrimination as intergroup phenomena. We present classic and con- temporary intergroup explanations of intergroup conflict such as realistic conflict theory and social identity theory. Furthermore, we introduce basic psychological processes such as social categorization, identification with a social group, group evaluation and group-based emotions, and consider the intergroup motivations regulating intergroup behaviour. The remainder of the chapter presents various approaches explaining when and how prejudice and intergroup conflict can be reduced. Introduction As in most parts of the modern world, social and economic change in Europe is currently charac- terized by an internationalization of all domains of life. Consequently, countries are forced to deal with a permanent and increasing flow of migration of people with different cultural, religious or ethnic backgrounds. We find ourselves confronted with people who appear to be different from us. Obviously, societal changes such as migration are not the only way in which different others are introduced into our social contexts. We are already used to differentiating between people on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or nationality. These ‘others’ enter into various areas of our lives. We have to deal with those who are dif- ferent from us. We form impressions and judgements about what sort of people they are, and we experience feelings and emotions towards them: ‘Catholics are bigots; Protestants are uptight.’ ‘Women are born to support and maintain the family, they’re not cut out for top management positions.’ ‘Men are not really competent to rear children.’ ‘Homosexuals should not be par- ents and cannot raise children in an appropriate way.’ ‘East Germans are always complaining; they are incompetent.’ ‘West Germans are arrogant and cold.’ ‘Muslims are conservative and sexist; they threaten the fundamental values of modern Europe.’ What information do we gain from this list of impressions and judgements? Firstly, in all examples, the content of judgement is connected with negative feelings. Secondly, our behaviour towards these groups of people tends to be in line with our judgements and emotions. Given the above statements, female applicants are unlikely to be shortlisted for senior managerial positions. Turkish families are also unlikely to be openly welcomed into new neighbourhoods. Thirdly, our judgements, emotions and behaviours obviously apply to both social groups as a whole and to individual members of the particular group. We approach these ‘others’ in a generalized way and neglect interindividual differences. 9781405124003_4_014.qxd 10/31/07 3:14 PM Page 292 292 CHAPTER 14 PREJUDICE AND INTERGROUP RELATIONS An integration of the individual aspects listed above leads us take the form of underprivilege, disadvantage, social exclusion, to a more comprehensive picture, and ultimately to the concepts maltreatment or even physical extermination (in its most extreme of prejudice and discrimination. Although both prejudice and forms, ‘ethnic cleansing’ and genocide). In everyday life, these discrimination can, in principle, occur in positive forms, the forms of overt and blatantly negative treatment are, however, less literature on intergroup relations (and hence this chapter) focuses frequent than more subtle forms such as tokenism or reverse on their negative forms. Pre- discrimination. judice can be defined as an anti- Tokenism involves con- prejudice a derogatory attitude or pathy, or a derogatory social ceding a minor favour to a tokenism conceding a minor favour to a antipathy towards particular social groups social minority in order to justify negative or their members attitude, towards particular minority in order to justify discrimination on a broader scale social groups or their mem- negative discrimination on a social discrimination negative, disadvantaging or derogatory behaviour bers, combined with the feel- broader scale. For example, towards a social group or its members ing and expression of negative employers hiring a woman or a black person on the basis of their affect. Social discrimination gender or race, and not their individual competence, can use this refers to the explicit display of ‘token minority’ to demonstrate that they do not discriminate negative or disadvantaging behaviour towards particular social against minorities, and that there is no need for more fundamental groups or their members (Allport, 1954b; Brown, 1995; Hewstone, changes in equal opportunity policy (see Pettigrew & Martin, 1987). Rubin & Willis, 2002). Sometimes, prejudiced individuals act against their prejudice The selection of social groups appearing in the statements and show reverse discrimination: they systematically evaluate above consists of groups who are often made a target of prejudice. or treat members of a target Groups defined in terms of religious beliefs, gender, sexual orien- group more favourably than reverse discrimination systematically tation and ethnicity prove to be chronic victims of prejudice. This non-members (e.g., Dutton & more positive evaluation or treatment may be due to the fact that these groups are all formed on the basis Lake, 1973). For those indi- of members of a target outgroup than of categories which are meaningful for defining the self and for dif- viduals engaging in reverse members of one’s own group, which can ferentiating between the self and others in many social contexts. discrimination, such subtle have negative effects on the self-esteem of members of the outgroup Prejudice is often expressed in various forms of discrimination forms of discrimination offer against the target group or any of its members. Discrimination can protection against public ac- cusations of bias in a society where prejudice may be deemed unacceptable. For the targets of reverse discrimination, however, it is not only extremely blatant forms of discrimination but also the more subtle forms that pose a problem. They may experience detrimental effects to their self-esteem and self-worth and inter- nalize negative evaluations and low expectations of their own competence, because they attribute positive feedback and success to their category membership rather than to their personal merits. SUMMARY Prejudice consists of a derogatory attitude towards social groups or their members. Social discrimination is the beha- vioural manifestation of prejudice ranging from explicit neg- Plate 14.1 Hiring a woman can be a way for an employer to ative treatment of others based on their group membership use a ‘token minority’ to demonstrate that he does not to tokenism and reverse discrimination. discriminate. 9781405124003_4_014.qxd 10/31/07 3:14 PM Page 293 EXPLANATIONS OF PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION 293 from a particular style of socialization in families, with authoritarian EXPLANATIONS OF repressive parents using extremely harsh punishments to discipline their children into strict conformity with conventional norms. PREJUDICE AND As a result the children are subject to conflicting tendencies of admiration and aggression towards their parents. The children do DISCRIMINATION not, however, dare to act upon their hostile impulses towards the parental authorities. Instead, the children’s negative feelings and aggressive tendencies are displaced and directed at ‘scapegoats’; Do personality factors contribute to prejudice and intergroup conflict? these are groups which deviate from prevalent societal conven- How does the relationship between ingroup and outgroup influence tions, for example social minorities, against whom derogation and attitudes and behaviours of group members? even aggression are socially sanctioned. What are the minimal conditions for intergroup conflict to develop? Based on these theoretical assumptions, Adorno and colleagues How do group members manage their social identity? developed a personality inventory to assess the various dimensions of the authoritarian personality. These dimensions included: The destructive consequences of extremely negative forms of pre- attitudes towards minorities (e.g., anti-Semitism); admiration for judice and discrimination such as devaluation, hostile aggression, authorities; political and economic conservatism; and a cognitive dehumanization and even genocide lead us to ask why people are style of thinking, whereby the world is simply divided into good prejudiced and how social discrimination can be explained. Whilst and bad. The central scale within this inventory is the well known prejudice and discrimination are widespread phenomena, not all Fascism scale (F-scale) measuring the potential for fascism and individuals express prejudiced views in the same way and to the distinguishing