Discrimination has a separate history and cause from prejudiced attitudes.

Evidence

Rose (1956) argued that we shouldn’t assume that prejudice underlies discrimination because “patterns of intergroup relations (including mainly discrimination and segregation) are quite distinct from attitudes of prejudice in that each has a separate and distinct history, cause, and process of change” (p. 173). … Allport (1962) took issue with these and similar assertions that social structure was more important than individual prejudice. He argued that societal factors are “distal causal factors” in intergroup behavior, whereas individual personality is always the “proximal causal factor.” Allport suggested an important link between the two, however: conformity to group norms. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3320

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the distal versus proximal causal factor distinction in intergroup relations.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what evidence supports Rose’s claim that discrimination and prejudice have independent histories and causes?