Allport saw prejudice as normal cognitive byproduct, not instinctual destructiveness

Evidence

As the title of chapter 2 in The Nature of Prejudice, “The Normality of Prejudgment,” proclaims, Allport understood prejudice and discrimination as byproducts of cognitive mechanisms that are typically functional in everyday life (e.g., categorization). His insights led directly to the socialcognitive revolution that continues to make an enormous contribution to the study of prejudice. Still, he wrestled with psychodynamic themes that permeated the field in his day, including the notion that people are instinctually destructive. He was openly critical of the tautology of this approach, noting that “widespread conflict does not mean in itself that instinct underlies it” (p. 214). However, psychodynamics held a place of prominence in The Nature of Prejudice. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 143

Categorization

• XREF: Grounds the social-cognitive turn in prejudice research that underlies contact theory.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 143