Scapegoat stereotypes are rationalizations caused by aggression, not its cause

Evidence

Instead, aggression may be displaced onto a target that can be safely aggressed against without aversive consequences—a scape­ goat. Much as the child scolded by a parent may displace his or her frustration by kicking the family pet or pounding a younger sibling (because aggression against the powerful parent is deemed unwise), any weak or vulnerable group that happens to be close at hand will serve as a scapegoat. To justify this ag­ gression, undesirable traits are attributed to the target in a process Allport (1954) dubbed complementary projection. In this view, unfavorable stereotypes of a targeted group are rationalizations that are caused by, rather than cause, aggressive impulses toward the group. For the most part, these hypothesized processes take place without conscious awareness, that is, the individual has repressed any incipient awareness of hostility toward the true source of frus­ tration and does not realize that his or her rationalizations about the scape­ goat are merely a displacement (as conscious realization would defeat the whole purpose of such rationalizations). — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 742

Categorization

• XREF: Inverts the causal arrow Glick will defend for envied outgroups, where perceived competence generates threat and envy that then drive targeting. — connects to: Scapegoating ideology, not repressed psychic conflict, directly causes extreme group violence. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 731; Hostility toward a group comes first and negative stereotypes follow to justify it; Stereotypes can be after-the-fact rationalizations justifying pre-existing emotions

Broader Connections

• Hostility toward a group comes first and negative stereotypes follow to justify it #corroborates (0.95)
• Stereotypes can be after-the-fact rationalizations justifying pre-existing emotions #corroborates (0.95)