Group political visibility depends on physical or institutional markers rather than abstract status

Evidence

All groups, including those that become important politically, vary in their visibility. Groups delimited by physical characteristics “in the skin” (racial groups) are highly visible, if specimens are present for inspection or if the individual has been informed in some rather vivid way of their existence. Similarly, groups that have buildings, meetings, and officers (church, congregation, and clergy for example) are more visible than groups, like social classes, that do not, although the salience of any “official” group qua group may vary widely according to the individual’s contact with its formal manifestations. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1926

Categorization

• SHARE: For a friend into political psychology: the visibility theory of why race outranks class in American politics.
• XREF: connects to: Descriptive representation instruments must vary with the group and electoral context — Philip Pettit, Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and…, 870; Recognition from peer groups converts a local fight into valued public citizenship — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 1475; Visual perception of a photo crowd can be distorted by political bias — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 109 (+1 more)