Research on scapegoating declined as psychodynamic theories fell out of favor

Evidence

Although he invoked “normal” cognitive (e.g., categorization) and social (e.g., conformity) processes to explain why people differentiate between groups (see Fiske, ch. 3 this volume), Allport believed that only scapegoating, which he attributed to irrational and maladaptive ego-defense mechanisms, could account for the most extreme forms of prejudice, such as genocide. Although subsequent prejudice researchers took up the cognitive-social strand of Allport’s thought with zeal, research on scapegoating languished as psychodynamic views fell out of favor. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1559

Although he invoked “normal” cognitive (e.g., categorization) and social (e.g., conformity) processes to explain why people differentiate between groups (see Fiske, ch. 3 this volume), Allport believed that only scapegoating, which he attributed to irrational and maladaptive ego-defense mechanisms, could account for the most extreme forms of prejudice, such as genocide. Although subsequent prejudice researchers took up the cognitive-social strand of Allport’s thought with zeal, research on scapegoating languished as psychodynamic views fell out of favor. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1559

Although he invoked “normal” cognitive (e.g., categorization) and social (e.g., conformity) processes to explain why people differentiate between groups (see Fiske, ch. 3 this volume), Allport believed that only scapegoating, which he attributed to irrational and maladaptive ego-defense mechanisms, could account for the most extreme forms of prejudice, such as genocide. Although subsequent prejudice researchers took up the cognitive-social strand of Allport’s thought with zeal, research on scapegoating languished as psychodynamic views fell out of favor. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1559

Categorization

• QUESTION: What drove the decline of psychodynamic approaches in psychology generally, and did anything fill the explanatory gap for extreme prejudice?
• XREF: Connects to the broader trajectory in social psychology where cognitive models displaced psychoanalytic ones, analogous to how Milgrom’s reputation-game models displaced psychodynamic explanations of trade honesty.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1559; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1559