The Nature of Prejudice

The Nature of Prejudice is a 1954 book by American psychologist Gordon Allport, considered to be a seminal work in social psychology on the topic of prejudice.

The book was already called as a classic a decade after its initial publication, in 1965.[1] Irwin Katz, writing in Political Psychology in 1991 on the topic of "classics in political psychology", called the book a landmark and "one of the most influential and often-cited publications in the entire field of intergroup relations".[2] Thomas F. Pettigrew and Kerstin Hammann in 2016 described the book as "probably the most read volume in the history of social psychology", noting it has received numerous translations, and that it the book remains influential in modern study of prejudice.[3] In a volume published roughly on the fiftieth anniversary of the book's original debut, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport (2008), the volume's authors referred to Allport's book as "the fundamental work for social psychology of prejudice" and the most widely cited work on the subject, still used in teaching and quoted in modern research.[4]

Describing the book significance, Katz noted that it "defined the field of intergroup relations for social psychologist as the study of prejudice and its effects on group interactions".[2] He noted, however, that Allport's assumption that prejudice causes discrimination has still to be proven beyond doubt;[2] through other scholars also stressed that many of other assumptions Allport expressed in the book have become accepted since the book publication.[3][5] Pettigrew and Hammann selected, as the books most lasting contribution, the books success in redefining the relation between intergroup contact: while previously some scholars argued that contact between different groups leads to increased prejudice and conflict, Allport's argued to the contrary, a view that Pettigrew and Hammann describe as supported by "literally hundreds of studies from dozens of nations".[3] Another major influence of the book was the later formulation of the common ingroup identity theory.[3] They also credit Allport's ideas with influencing government policies, in United States and elsewhere, which have successfully reduced levels of prejudice.[3]

Another idea introduced in the book became known as the Allport's Scale, a measure of prejudice, starting from antilocution and ending up at genocidal extermination. In simpler terms, Allport argued that even simple prejudice, if left unchecked, can develop into an extreme form.[6]

In addition to being highly influential in the field of social psychology, the revised (and shortened) second edition of the book (The nature of prejudice: Abridged) in 1958 has also been a success on the mass market, being written in a relatively simple way that was accessible to general readership.[3] One of the reasons for its success was the boldness of its topic: while targeting white, Protestant, American readership, mostly male as well, it discussed numerous examples of anti-African-American, anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic and anti-female prejudices.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Gordon, Albert I. (1965). "Review of The Nature of Prejudice by Gordon W. Allport; The Religious Factor by Gerhard Lenski; Protestant, Catholic, Jew by Will Herberg; Religious Conflict in America by Earl Raab; American Race Relations Today by Earl Raab". American Jewish Historical Quarterly. 55 (1): 107–109.
  2. 1 2 3 Katz, Irwin (1991). "Gordon Allport's "The Nature of Prejudice"". Political Psychology. 12 (1): 125–157. doi:10.2307/3791349.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pettigrew, T. F., & Hammann, K. Gordon Willard. 2016. Allport: The nature of prejudice. In S. Salzborn (Ed.), Klassiker der Sozialwissenshaften [Classics of social science]. Pp. 174-178. Wiesbaden, Germany: Springer. [English version]
  4. ↑ John F. Dovidio; Peter Glick; Laurie A. Rudman (15 April 2008). On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport. John Wiley & Sons. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4051-5192-4.
  5. ↑ Dovidio, John F. (2001). "On the Nature of Contemporary Prejudice: The Third Wave". Journal of Social Issues. 57 (4): 829–849. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00244. ISSN 0022-4537.
  6. ↑ Caless, Bryn; Tong, Steve (18 January 2017). Leading Policing in Europe: An Empirical Study of Strategic Police Leadership. Policy Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-4473-1574-2.

Further reading

  • Cherry, Frances (2000-09-01). "The nature of The Nature of Prejudice". Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. 36 (4). doi:10.1002/1520-6696(200023)36:4%3C489::aid-jhbs13%3E3.0.co;2-n. ISSN 1520-6696.
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