Prejudice stems from seeing the world as threatening and evil

Evidence

Thus, it was ego strength versus weakness, or a sense of inner security as opposed to insecurity and threat, that comprised the dispositional basis for acceptance of others and tolerance of uncertainty and diversity. This also formed the basis for profoundly different philosophies of life or social worldviews. Allport proposed that the prejudiced or authoritarian person typically saw the social world as a threatening place in which people were evil and dangerous. On the other hand, the tolerant personality had a trusting and affiliative view of the world, with a generally positive and optimistic view of others. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2432

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: The threatening-worldview claim maps onto later work on authoritarianism and perceived threat (Altemeyer, right-wing authoritarianism).

Related

• Allport grounded prejudice in dispositional threat perception rather than its situational activation (similarity 0.89)
• Prejudice functions psychologically as a response to ego weakness and inner threat (similarity 0.86)
• Contextual threat and competition alter prejudice by shifting worldviews. (similarity 0.84)
• Prejudice’s psychological harm is now seen as conditional rather than inevitable. (similarity 0.83)
• Situational threat raises authoritarianism while inequality raises social dominance (similarity 0.83)
• Modern prejudice research shows Allport was right that environment activates authoritarian fear (similarity 0.83)
• Prejudice persists because it serves psychological functions, not merely misperception (similarity 0.82)
• Authoritarian prejudice springs from ego weakness and unresolved inner conflict (similarity 0.81)
• Authoritarian threat perception is socially learned rather than rooted in weak ego (similarity 0.81)
• Prejudice stems from distinct threat and competition motives (similarity 0.81)
• Prejudice provides authoritarians a sanctioned outlet for aggression (similarity 0.81)
• Authoritarians are not personally maladjusted; their fear is learned belief (similarity 0.81)
• Prejudice arises from normal cognition, not abnormal pathology (similarity 0.81)
• Allport attributed prejudice to fear and anxiety while Adorno traced it to displaced aggression (similarity 0.81)
• Prejudice can serve unconscious self-esteem needs people rationalize away (similarity 0.80)