Perceiving group differences is not itself prejudice, only biased perception of them is

Evidence

Consistent with Allport’s views, Krech and Crutchfield (1948) argued that “The grouping of people in perception does not, in itself make for racial prejudice - it merely makes such beliefs and attitudes possible” (p. 506, emphasis in original). They noted that social grouping can just as easily lead to favorable attitudes toward a group and argued that it is the “nature of the cue that supports the grouping” that is critical to whether or not racial prejudice follows. It is not the cue “black skin” that leads to prejudice, but rather, Krech and Crutchfield argued, the supporting or correlated cues of poverty, lack of education, and low social status. What is important then is to eliminate these correlated cues: The significance of this formulation lies in the suggestion that in our attempt to control racial prejudice through changing the percepts involved, we are not necessarily forced to adopt a program that will eliminate all racial differences. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 836

While the results from these three studies are provocative, they probably do not permit conclusions that could be generalized to other target and subject groups. Perhaps these data suggest a general tendency to exaggerate actual group differences. And there is a suggestion of ingroup–outgroup differences in perceptions of stereotypicality. In sum, these studies suggest that the analysis of perceived group differences, and comparisons of those differences with alternative estimates of actual group differences, can yield fruitful insights into the biases encountered in intergroup perception. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 889

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the classic prejudice literature pattern — perceived group difference is necessary but not sufficient for prejudice; status cues like poverty and education are what actually drive it. — connects to: Visual perception of a photo crowd can be distorted by political bias — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 109
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 836; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 889