Allport catalogued specific psychological defenses for resolving egalitarian-racist conflict.

Evidence

How do Americans resolve this conflict? Allport’s answer stressed that it can be handled through various defense or conflict-resolution mechanisms (see Esses, Jackson, Dovidio, & Hodson, ch. 14 this volume). These include repression and denial (“I have no prejudice; we have no problem”); defensive rationalization, in which selective perception biases evidence in favor of prejudice while “bifurcation” allows for exceptions; and compromises that allow for the coexistence of charity and prejudice, and for gradualism as a political strategy. Optimally, inner conflict would be resolved through true consistency and integration in personality, wherein genuine enemies are recognized, while racial bogeymen, traditional scapegoats, and designated villains are dispensed with. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2162