become prejudices only if they are not reversible when exposed to new knowledge. A prejudice, unlike a simple misconception, is actively resistant to all evidence that would unseat it. Emotion tends to elevate when a prejudice is threatened with contradiction. Thus, the difference between ordinary prejudgments and prejudice is that one can discuss and rectify a prejudgment without emotional resistance.8
Central to this process of prejudgment is the nature of categorization.
The Nature of Categorization
Categorization is a human imperative because it makes daily activities more efficient and helpful for ordinary living. For example, categorizing types of cups can distinguish between a juice glass and a coffee mug, and such categorization can help one navigate a morning routine. A basic definition of a category is “an accessible cluster of associated ideas which as a whole has the property of guiding daily adjustments.”9 Thus, categorization is not necessarily negative or irrational, and there is valuable use in a “differentiated category,” which has allowance for variation and subdivision rather than an irrational overgeneralization.10
An important part of the categorization process, which is often then associated with prejudice, is how people come to see difference. “Difference” is often assigned by society rather than inherent, and there is a process of coming to see certain groups of people as distinguishable from one another. First, there needs to be some easily identifiable feature to which “difference” is attached. This marker of difference then becomes easily identifiable by prejudiced people. For example, in the case of race, skin color is marked as different. Yet skin color itself is not the reason for the prejudice but instead is the aid for determining the target of the prejudice.11 Difference serves as a “condensing rod” for grouping people together and perpetually seeing them unfavorably.12
The use of particular terms and labels is also significant in the categorization process. Prejudiced labels are embedded with negative emotion, such as the difference between calling a teacher a “schoolteacher” versus the prejudiced label of “school marm,” which imagines teachers as single women who are too strict and proper.13 Labels also serve to create cohesion between a category and a symbol. This cohesion is clearly seen with the range of labels used to symbolize racial groups, particularly those often assigned to Black communities, such as “thugs” or “ghetto.” The cohesion between a category and a symbol can become so strong that the label can act independently to represent a racial group; in the example of “ghetto,” the word can be used without context to provoke negative images of Black communities. These racialized terms are intended to reference only one aspect assigned to a group, thereby distracting attention from any concrete reality or evidence that would serve to the contrary.14
Categorization is sometimes reduced to or mistaken as the same process as stereotyping. A stereotype is not a category but an idea that accompanies categorization and prevents differentiated thinking; a stereotype is “an exaggerated belief associated with a category,” and “its function is to justify (rationalize) our conduct in relation to that category.”15 Examples of stereotypes are that all Latinxs are foreigners or that all Asians do well in school. Stereotypes are useful for prejudiced people, as they assign whole sets of beliefs to a group that justify their thoughts and behaviors toward that group.
In-Groups and Out-Groups
A critical component of prejudice is the solidification of one’s in-group and the creation of out-groups. A group is “any cluster of people who can use the term ‘we’ with the same significance.”16 An in-group is the group of one’s primary membership and belonging, and an out-group consists of those who do not belong to the in-group. Membership in an in-group is based on the needs of the individuals in the group, and it is possible to have concentric in-groups, such as family, neighborhood, city, state, and nation. In this sense, belonging to a nation does not negate a simultaneous membership in one’s family. A particular type of in-group is a reference group, or the group that one “refers to” in guiding personal behavior and aspirations.
In the case of race and prejudice, in-groups and out-groups serve as organizing tools. It is assumed that all the individual members of a group have the characteristics of that group—for instance, beliefs that all Blacks are prone to violence or that all Jewish people are penny-pinching. Such beliefs about out-groups may be rooted in a “kernel of truth,” in that some individuals may have these traits, but prejudice is feelings of difference about a whole group, even when these feelings are imaginary.17 As Allport states, “there is probably not a single instance where every member of a group has all the characteristics ascribed to his group, nor is there a single characteristic that is typical of every single member of one group and of no other group.”18 Moreover, no person knows every member of a group, so “any negative judgment of these groups as a whole is, strictly speaking, an instance of thinking ill without sufficient warrant.”19 In other words, beliefs about individuals because of their group membership result in prejudice based on irrational bias rather than rational, logical thought.
A group can also assert itself as the primary group. Whites proclaim themselves as the dominant reference group for all races and thereby assume that people of color should aspire to White norms. When Whites perceive themselves to be threatened by people of color, the White in-group becomes heavily solidified, and Whites construct people of color as inferior. If the needs of Whites become strongly aggressive, their definition of themselves is formed in relation to the hatred of out-groups—that is, people of color.
Why Prejudice Exists and Persists
Allport examines two overarching explanations for the existence of prejudice. The structural view looks to social factors because prejudice is most often rooted in the needs and habits of groups. The psychological view looks to individual behavior and personal development. Allport strongly states that it is a “both/and” situation, wherein prejudice is a problem of the structure and of the individual.
Structural Explanations
Structural reasons for prejudice are related to group dynamics and interactions. When groups face social pressures, prejudice is more likely. Allport outlines nine general contexts when groups are more likely to develop prejudice: (1) Significant diversity among groups (physically or culturally) can lead to an emphasis on group difference, which can then lead to the formation of strong in-groups and therefore strong out-groups. Examples of physical prejudice are often connected to race or ethnicity, whereas cultural prejudice is frequently rooted in religious differences. (2) When vertical mobility is permitted, tension and strain often develop as some groups do much better than others. For example, when some are very wealthy and others are low-income with access to few resources, animosity grows. (3) When rapid social change is in progress, there can be conflict about the direction of society and disagreement over group rights, as was seen with the advance of industrialization and women’s rights in the labor force. (4) A demographic increase in the size of a minority group can lead to the majority group’s feeling threatened. This situation commonly occurs with immigration, such as Northern African immigrants in France or Mexican immigrants in the United States. (5) The existence of direct group competition can cultivate a group desire to do better than another group. For instance, animosity can grow when groups compete for entry-level jobs or housing in dense cities. (6) When exploitation is sustaining one group’s interests, there is an inducement to support prejudice against the exploited group. This situation often exists in capitalist societies, where wealthy barons seek to use and control low-income laborers; for example, U.S. railroad tycoons exploited prejudice against Irish and Chinese workers when they used them to build the railroad. (7) When a society’s customs are more favorable
