Isolated subgroups sustain prejudicial norms that mainstream culture rejects

Evidence

One implication of dynamic social-impact theory for conformity and prejudice is that different groups in a society will have different patterns of prejudices. It would be a mistake to suggest that, for example, US culture has a strong norm against having prejudices based on race and religion. Some groups in the US have powerful norms suppressing these kinds of prejudices, and others do not (Ezekiel, 1996). Different social groups, living in different places, will have a stable set of prejudices and beliefs (that may conflict with the dominant social view in society), and people in contact with a subgroup will conform to the norms close around them, rather than the general norms that describe American values. Thus, for example, extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan or other white-pride groups, Black separatist groups, and secessionist movements persist in the US, despite their deviation from the culture-at-large. Different subgroups have their own prejudices, and people who are part of the local culture will share the local culture’s values. By limiting their contact with the rest of the culture, the prejudices of extremist groups can persist and even flourish (Myers & Bishop, 1970). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1911 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Tolerating subcultures would expose mainstream norms as arbitrary — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 411; Third-party punishment can stabilize any cultural trait within a group — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 117; Local subgroup norms, not national culture, sustain prejudice in the US — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1911 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Local subgroup norms, not national culture, sustain prejudice in the US #corroborates (0.95) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1911