Favorable group comparisons can increase rather than reduce expressed prejudice

Evidence

Allport proposed that upward social mobility is associated with greater tolerance, whereas downward social mobility generates prejudice. The former situation, he reasoned, provides a safe platform from which to extend benevolence, whereas the latter, more vulnerable position generates a focus on group interest and competition. Yet, a provocative line of recent research suggests that upward mobility may also be associated with prejudice. Guimond and colleagues (e.g., Guimond & Dambrun, 2002) found that relative gratification – a comparison that results in a favorable outcome – is associated with increases in expressed prejudice. They reason that people whose groups are overbenefited may generate justifications, including prejudiced beliefs that protect their advantage. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1516

Categorization

• XREF: Directly contradicts the core Allport claim being reassessed in the vault: that advantage/safety breeds tolerance — a contact-theory and status-security tension worth flagging against prior vault claims. — connects to: Positive social comparisons are just as harmful as negative ones — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1479
• QUESTION: Distinguish relative gratification (advantage-driven justification) from Allport’s safe-platform benevolence — when does advantage produce tolerance vs. ideological prejudice?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1516