Prejudice targets cope either by externalizing or internalizing blame

Evidence

Allport proposed two basic modes of psychic self-protection. In the first, which he labeled extropunitive, the targets place blame for their degraded and threatened existence on external sources (e.g., Whites in general, bigots, systemic discrimination). In the second, which he labeled intropunitive, targets take responsibility for their plight, either by feeling that somehow they deserve it (i.e., false consciousness; Jost & Banaji, 1994) or that, whether deserved or not, they must take responsibility for self-protection. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1048 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Furthermore, because of his limited view of prejudice as antipathy, Allport also missed the full impact on victims of prejudice (Major & Vick, Jones, Jost & Hamilton). He noted that targets of prejudice often internalized hostile orientations: “His natural self-love may, under the persistent blows of contempt, turn his spirit to cringing and self-hate” (p. 143). To his credit, he rejected the contemporaneous view that self-hatred was inevitable and, instead, identified diverse responses to victimization, including self-directed (intropunitive) responses, such as denial of group membership, and other-directed (extropunitive) reactions, such as aggression. Nonetheless, he did not integrate these responses into a coherent framework or anticipate the possibility that they reflect different stages of identity development ( Jones). He also did not link them to general processes (such as coping with stress; Major & Vick). Finally, he did not consider how the conflict between targets’ own and society’s evaluations of their group might lead them to have different conscious and nonconscious responses to prejudice ( Jost & Hamilton). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 141 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Prejudiced targets cope via assimilation, resistance, or pluralism — Jeff Greenberg and Spee Kosloff, Terror Management Theory: Implications…, 75; Clients internalize expected bias, foreclosing direct engagement with the actual cause. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 848; Internalizing personal blame or fatalism both block clients’ growth and mobility. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 1132 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Victims of discrimination adapt through either externalization or internalization of blame #corroborates (0.95) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1048
• Prejudice targets show diverse intropunitive and extropunitive coping responses #corroborates (0.92) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 141