Intellectual rejection of prejudice leaves emotional bias intact

Evidence

Allport recognized that high-minded national and Christian egalitarian precepts often conflict with the realities of life on the ground; that is, with the self-interests, jealousies, and conformity to conventional prejudices that drive discrimination in practice. As a result, the influence of the school may conflict with parental influence, and religious teachings may contradict established social hierarchies. Sometimes bias predominates, but, in Allport’s view, prejudice with compunction, in which positive attitudes alternate with negative attitudes, is far more common. This inconsistency is awkward to live with, because, as Allport (1954/1979) noted, even if it is “defeated intellectually, prejudice lingers emotionally” (p. 328). Allport further observed, “The average [White] American, therefore, experiences moral uneasiness and ‘a feeling of individual and collective guilt.’ He lives in a state of conflict” (p. 330). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2160 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Modern theories explain prejudice persistence by shifting its expression, not reducing it; Intellectual defeat of prejudice fails to extinguish its emotional residue — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2160; Emotions may predict prejudiced behavior better than cognitions do — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2030 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Intellectual defeat of prejudice fails to extinguish its emotional residue #corroborates (0.98) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2160
• Guilt from prejudice failures builds cues that later interrupt biased responding #complicates (0.72)