Additionally, “Not in My Backyard” or NIMBY groups often are effective at limiting developments that could be viewed as reducing one’s property value. Consider how a community might increase solidarity by refusing to allow outsiders access. For example, gated communities or neighborhoods with covenants might include no-rent clauses, which can have a de facto (in fact) discriminatory effect although they are not du jure (by law) discriminatory. Today, we can look at how people explain or justify racial inequalities in the criminal justice system (“Black and Brown men commit more crimes”) or racially segregated neighborhoods (“people choose where they live”) or shooting of unarmed people of color (“they appeared threatening” or “I was protecting myself or my neighborhood”).Īnother way to apply the functionalist perspective to racism is to discuss the way racism can contribute positively to the functioning of society by strengthening bonds between in-group s members (dominant group) through the ostracism of out-group members (minority group members). Consider the ways in which slave owners justified slavery in the antebellum South, by suggesting Black people were fundamentally inferior to whites, that they preferred slavery to freedom, that many were “like family,” and/or that the Bible justified slavery. Nash (1964) focused his argument on the way racism is functional for the dominant group for example, suggesting that racism morally justifies a racially unequal society. How can racism and discrimination contribute positively to society? A functionalist might look at “functions” and “dysfunctions” caused by racial inequality. In the view of functionalism, racial and ethnic inequalities must have served an important function in order to exist as long as they have. ![]() Sociological Theories of Prejudice Functionalism Therefore, we divide the world into “them” and “us” or in-groups and out-groups with heightened prejudicial attitudes toward the out-groups. He says that we tend to increase our self-image by enhancing the status of the group to which we belong. Psychologist Gordon Allport developed the contact hypothesis or intergroup contact theory in the 1950s, which posits if two groups with equal status and common goals come together, with cooperation, structural supports (i.e., existing laws or customs), and interpersonal communication, they can reduce stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination.Īccording to Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory (1979), people examine their own identity in light of perceived group membership. Adorno said this led to increased levels of prejudice and the likelihood for these people to feel more connected to what he called the “F-scale,” (a pre-fascist personality), or to right-wing ideologies. In his book, The Authoritarian Personality (1950), Theodor Adorno concluded that excessively strict authoritarian parenting caused children to feel immense anger towards their parents, but instead of confronting their parents, they idolized authority figures. Some of these were psychological theories, which focused on how an individual may come to develop, or not develop, prejudices. Scholars in the 1950s produced a number of theories addressing racial, ethnic, and nationalist prejudices in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Explain and differentiate between theories of prejudice. ![]() ![]()
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