Allport’s book organized the scholarly study of prejudice for 50 years

Evidence

Allport’s ideas foreshadowed many of the “new” developments in the field, and his book has provided a scholarly foundation for generations of students, teachers, and scholars in this area. In the 25th anniversary edition of the book (1954/1979), Kenneth Clark wrote in the preface, “As is generally recognized, The Nature of Prejudice is a classic. Its table of contents establishes the parameters for a scholarly social science approach to the discussion and understanding of this complex human problem” (p. ix). In the introduction to the same volume, Thomas Pettigrew concurred, “The table of contents … has in fact organized the scholarly study of the important concept of prejudice. The Nature of Prejudice delineated the area of study, set up its basic categories and problems, and cast it in a broad, eclectic framework that remains today” (p. xiii). As you will see from the chapters in this volume, The Nature of Prejudice remains a classic at its 50th anniversary, and Allport’s ideas have influenced scholars in the field as much over the past 25 years as they did in the book’s first 25 years. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 88

We concur with Pettigrew (1999), who noted that the book was “balanced, ahead of its time, and elegantly written. It has organized the study of prejudice over the past half century” (p. 415). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 156

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on how a single foundational text can define a research field’s categories for decades — echoes frameworks like Kuhn’s paradigm-setting works.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 88; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 156