Flexible prejudice mechanisms are not easily manipulated despite being changeable.

Evidence

To be sure, intergroup prejudice is a relentlessly persistent phenomenon that has transcended time and geography, so to suggest that its underlying mechanisms are flexible certainly does not mean that they are easily manipulated to reduce the expression of racist and xenophobia attitudes, emotions, and behaviors. However, understanding these mechanisms is a necessary, albeit certainly not sufficient, first step in the right direction. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1276

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: the ‘flexible but not manipulable’ tension — why understanding evolved prejudice mechanisms does not translate into easy reduction of racism and xenophobia.