Merely categorizing people into us and them produces discrimination against them
Evidence
The differentiation between in-group and out-group, us and them, tends by itself to give rise to a favoring of the in-group and relative devaluation of the out-group and discrimination against its members (Brewer, 1978; Tajfel, 1982; Tajfel, Flament, Billig, & Bundy, 1971). Devaluation of individuals and groups, whatever its source, makes it easier to harm them (Bandura, Underwood, & Fromson, 1975; Duster, 1971). — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 88
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Merely categorizing people into us and them generates in-group favoritism and out-group devaluation; Identification with even meaningless categories can drive discrimination; Merely categorizing people into groups triggers biased evaluation, even on trivial features — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1375 (+7 more)
Broader Connections
- Mere minimal group categorization alone triggers discrimination against outgroups
#corroborates(0.98) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 430 - Mere categorization into a group triggers differentiation and discrimination
#corroborates(0.97) - Merely categorizing people into us and them generates in-group favoritism and out-group devaluation
#expands(0.92) - Merely categorizing people into groups triggers biased evaluation, even on trivial features
#expands(0.88) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1375 - Identification with even meaningless categories can drive discrimination
#exemplifies(0.85) - Merely labeling people with arbitrary categories enables essentialist explanations
#expands(0.78) - Conflicting group interests are neither sufficient nor necessary to produce intergroup discrimination
#qualifies(0.76) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2701 - Categorizing people into groups minimizes perceived within-group differences
#complicates(0.74) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 550 - Perceiving a group as an entity precedes stereotyping and discrimination against it
#qualifies(0.72) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 288 - In egalitarian societies discrimination becomes the only available means of distinction
#complicates(0.72) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 192