Perceived group competition can motivate prejudice and discrimination directly.

Evidence

Perceptions of group competition motivate actions to reduce competition. As shown in figure 14.1, attempts to eliminate group competition may take a variety of forms, reflecting various manifestations of prejudice and discrimination toward outgroups. We discuss three general strategies here, though others may certainly exist. The first two strategies correspond to the distinction between outgroup derogation and discrimination versus ingroup enhancement and preferential treatment (Brewer, 1999, 2001). First, a group may attempt to reduce the outgroup’s perceived competitiveness by expressing negative attitudes and attributions about the other group in order to establish the competitor’s lack of worth. This may include heightened endorsement of stereotypes about the outgroup used to justify the system as it currently exists ( Jost & Banaji, 1994). Attempts to eliminate the outgroup’s competitiveness may also entail overt discrimination and opposition to programs and policies that might change the status quo (Bobo, 1999; Jackson & Esses, 2000; Pratto & Lemieux, 2001). Second, a group may attempt to increase the ingroup’s competitiveness through the expression of ingroup-enhancing attitudes aimed at justifying the ingroup’s entitlement to the resources at stake, whether tangible resources or more symbolic moral certainty and social value ( Jost & Banaji, 1994). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1509

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Envied outgroups provoke prejudice precisely because competence implies control over competitive threat. — Susan T. Fiske et al., A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype…, 258