Situational norms outweigh personality traits in shaping prejudice in conformist cultures

Evidence

Adorno et al .’s general claim was that it is possible to measure prejudice by describing the ‘authoritarian’ personality without reference to any specifi c ethnic group. Yet, research by Diab ( 1959 ) has demonstrated that authoritarianism may predict prejudice towards some groups but not others. In his study, authoritarianism predicted prejudice towards Jews, but not towards other groups. Research conducted by Pettigrew ( 1958 ) in South Africa and the Southern United States has offered evidence that in some cultures the pressure to conform to racist views is so powerful that it has a signifi cant effect on personal beliefs. In cultures where prejudiced attitudes are generally tolerated and where (prejudiced) group norms hold strong sway, even if not endorsed by all, personality characteristics have a much less prominent infl uence on the creation and the perpetuation of prejudiced attitudes. Situational norms, intergroup contact and relations with others were proved to have a more critical infl uence than personality dispositions (e.g. Minard, 1952 ; Siegel and Siegel, 1957 ). — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 288

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Milgrom’s work on how social norms and reputation substitute for individual character in sustaining cooperative behavior in trade institutions.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice: Society,…, 288

Related

• Prejudice is explained by societal characteristics, not only individual traits (similarity 0.80)
• Regional differences in racial attitudes exceed what personality can explain (similarity 0.79)
• Social norms shift prejudice only from groups people belong to or aspire to (similarity 0.78)
• Conformity to prejudice norms requires group membership relevance (similarity 0.78)