Allport explained hatred through insecurity, social learning, and cognitive-economy exclusionism

Evidence

Closing the chapter, Allport asks a deeply philosophical question: since people need and want to love and be loved, why do they so often end up hating? He gives three answers to this riddle. First, because of the many frustrations of life, Allport noted that people seek “an island of security” (1954/1979, p. 365) by psychologically excluding most others, defining them as outgroups. Second, children brought up in rejecting homes, or learning prejudices directly from their parents, will naturally develop negative outlooks on other people or groups. Finally, Allport held that there is “a kind of economy in adopting an exclusionist approach” (1954/1979, p. 365) to other people. For example, if one thinks of all members of a particular group as inferior and unworthy, there is no need to bother to distinguish among them, or to decide how to act toward any individual group member. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2247

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distills Allport’s three-answer framework for why people hate — the categorical-economy point directly seeds later stereotype/categorization research.