Factors effecting prejudice

• Situational


  • Features of physical and social environment
  • Can affect prejudice
• Social norms


  Beliefs and behaviours seen as socially acceptable
• Situational evidence


  • Sherif - creating competition between rattlers and eagles for scarce resources -> caused prejudice
• Situational critical evidence


  • Adorno - those with authoritarian personality are more likely to be hostile to people not in their group
• Personality


  Set of traits which remain stable over time
• Authoritarian personality


  • Intolerant / hostile, more discriminatory, strict upbringing
• Right wing personality


  • Hostility due to uncertainty, fear threatening situations, prejudice to certain groups
• Social dominance personality


  • Hierarchy, prejudice to lower status
• Personality supporting evidence


  • Adorno - those with authoritarian personality more likely to be hostile to those not in their group
• Personality critical evidence


  • Minard - relationship between black and white minors in America -> friendly underground, racist above ground
• Culture


  Shared ideas and beliefs between a group in society
• Ethnocentric bias


  • Own culture superior
• Individualistic culture


  • Promoting individuals to be respectful, lower prejudice, conflict may occur in-group
• Collectivist culture


  • Inter-group conflict, emphasised well-being and social harmony
• Multicultural culture


  • Not considered superior, promotes diversity
• Cultural supporting evidence


  • Guimond - countries which promote multiculturalism have lower levels of prejudice -> Canada lowest, Germany highest
• Cultural critical evidence


  • Adorno - those with authoritarian personality more likely to be hostile to those not in their group