Whether stereotypes cause or rationalize prejudice is still unresolved after fifty years of study

Evidence

The apparent inconsistencies in Allport’s thinking, however, stem in part from the complexity of the phenomenon. A prominent example concerns the role of stereotyping in prejudice. Early on in The Nature of Prejudice, in chapter 2, he implicated stereotypic thinking as a foundation for prejudice. He observed, “The category saturates all that it contains with the same ideational and emotional flavor” (1954/1979, p. 21). Later, in chapter 12, he wrote that stereotypes are “primarily rationalizers. They adapt to the prevailing temper of prejudice or the needs of the situation. While it does no harm (and may do some good) to combat them … it must not be thought that this attack alone will eradicate the roots of prejudice” (p. 204). Allport explicitly addressed the apparent contradiction in these statements, embracing stereotypes as both causes and consequences of prejudice: “The stereotype acts as both a justificatory device for categorical acceptance or rejection of a group, and as a screening or selective device to maintain simplicity in perception and thinking” (p. 192). Fifty years later, after thousands of studies on stereotyping, the extent to which stereotypes are cause or consequence of prejudice remains a subject of lively debate. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 101

Early on in The Nature of Prejudice, in chapter 2, he implicated stereotypic thinking as a foundation for prejudice. He observed, “The category saturates all that it contains with the same ideational and emotional flavor” (1954/1979, p. 21). Later, in chapter 12, he wrote that stereotypes are “primarily rationalizers. They adapt to the prevailing temper of prejudice or the needs of the situation. While it does no harm (and may do some good) to combat them … it must not be thought that this attack alone will eradicate the roots of prejudice” (p. 204). Allport explicitly addressed the apparent contradiction in these statements, embracing stereotypes as both causes and consequences of prejudice: “The stereotype acts as both a justificatory device for categorical acceptance or rejection of a group, and as a screening or selective device to maintain simplicity in perception and thinking” (p. 192). Fifty years later, after thousands of studies on stereotyping, the extent to which stereotypes are cause or consequence of prejudice remains a subject of lively debate. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 101

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what do contemporary dual-process models say about cause versus consequence of stereotypes — has either side gained ground?
• XREF: The stereotype-as-justification vs. stereotype-as-perceptual-shorthand tension parallels the signal/ground distinction in soundscape theory and how categories filter experience. — connects to: the MOC “The Wound of the Label: When Knowing Someone Becomes a Way of Erasing Them”
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 101