People can hold prejudiced beliefs they are unaware of having

Evidence

In contrast, research since the publication of The Nature of Prejudice has recognized that people may not only be unaware of the source of their prejudice (Sears) but also may not be conscious that they have prejudiced beliefs and feelings that influence their behavior in significant ways (Fiske, Gaertner & Dovidio, Rudman). Allport did not anticipate nor prepare the field for the significant impact of research on implicit social cognition that has occurred over the past decade for understanding prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 148 (#expands, via linked claim)

Recent research on implicit social cognition also suggests that Whites may be truly unaware of their biased racial feelings, which may be inconsistent with their sincere, conscious, and publicly expressed beliefs. The distinction in cognitive psychology between largely conscious, voluntary, deliberate “controlled processing” and largely nonconscious, involuntary, “automatic processing” has been extended to explicit prejudice, measured with traditional direct questions, and implicit prejudice, measured indirectly (e.g., using response latency measures; see chapters by Fiske and by Rudman, chs. 3 and 7 this volume). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2170 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: People follow adaptive taboos without any shared causal understanding of why — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 332; People often lack conscious access to having prejudiced beliefs at all; Prejudice can operate implicitly, without perceivers’ intent or awareness. (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• People can hold prejudices without any conscious awareness of them #expands (0.98) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 148
• People can be sincerely unaware of their own biased feelings #exemplifies (0.92) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2170