Blackwell Reference Online

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This can be defined as the holding of derogatory attitudes or beliefs, the expression of negative affect or the display of hostile or discriminatory behavior toward members of a group on account of their membership in that group. In this light sexism, racism, homophobia, and ageism can all be considered as special cases of prejudice. Moreover, this definition does not confine prejudice to a cognitive or attitudinal domain, but acknowledges that it affects emotions and behaviors as well.It is useful to conceive of prejudice as originating from three sources: sociopsychological motivations, cognitive processes, and sociocultural influences on individuals and their ingroups.Historically one of the first psychological explanations of prejudice was the frustration-aggression (F-A) theory. This proposed that prejudice was a form of aggression resulting from the frustrations endemic in social life. Because it was thought that the true sources of those frustrations were either not easily identifiable or were powerful agencies capable of punishing direct aggression (e.g., the parents, the State) it was hypothesized that the resulting aggression was often displaced on to substitute and weaker targets, e.g., minority groups or “outsiders.” For this reason the theory is often referred to as a “scapegoat” theory of prejudice. Much research has borne out the link between frustration and prejudice ... log in or subscribe to read full text