Contradictory cultural norms force individuals into conflicting prejudiced and egalitarian stances.

Evidence

Allport (1954/1979) wrote, “Anti-attitudes alternate with pro-attitudes. Often the see-saw and zig-zag are almost painful to follow … such inconsistency is bewildering … it must be awkward to live with” (pp. 326–7). Because people are forced to follow a contradictory set of internalized rules about how to think, feel, and behave, it can be difficult for people to know what to do. Conformity to social norms about treatment of ethnic groups leads to prejudice in some cases but antiprejudice in others. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1904

Categorization

• APHORISMS: Allport’s observation that living with contradictory internalized rules is ‘awkward to live with’ has life-wisdom resonance.
• XREF: connects to: Affirmative culture’s ideals are ambiguous, serving either satisfaction or dissent — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 907; The anti-Semite’s conflict mirrors a clash between prejudiced and democratic norms — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1792; Personal and political framing both shrink problems but operate in opposite directions. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 1266 (+2 more)