Chapter 12 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 375these norms are characterized by preferential treatment of the ingroup, most mem-
bers will conform, even in the absence of any bad feelings toward the outgroup
(e.g., witness the racial segregation of a typical public high school cafeteria). In
other words, discrimination can be accomplished, Greenwald and Pettigrew (2014)
argue, via a decidedly unremarkable process that involves little if any outright
hostility. For this reason, we must not only pass laws against hostile discrimination,
but also provide societal constraints against the many forms of subtle ingroup
favoritism that end up giving more advantages to the already-advantaged, and, over
time, generating discrimination against the disadvantaged.
As Pettigrew and colleagues (2011) point out, popular opinion on contact
between groups is quite split. Some believe that “good fences make good neighbors.”
That is, intergroup contact only causes conflict, so we’re best sticking to our own.
But decades of work on ingroup favoritism shows that doing so will only exacerbate
racial imbalances and discrimination, because when we’re only sticking to our own,
we’re likely to conform to the norms of our own, at the expense of others. Allport
believed that intergroup interaction is essential to reduce prejudice and conflict between
groups. Decades of research by his students have resolved this disagreement and shown
that Allport was right—the only way to decrease conflict and prejudice is to interact
with those we consider to be “different.”
Overall, Gordon Allport was an immensely insightful personality psychologist
whose ideas continue to inspire psychologists today. Although his ideas undoubtedly
continue to enrich research in personality psychology, his proposals about under-
standing prejudice and methods for reducing prejudice have quietly enriched the
lives of people who have, perhaps unknowingly, benefited from his deep commit-
ment to reducing prejudice in our society.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religious Orientation
Allport believed that a deep religious commitment was a mark of a mature indi-
vidual, but he also believed that not all churchgoers have a mature religious ori-
entation. Some, in fact, are highly prejudiced. Allport (1966) offered a possible
explanation for this frequently reported observation. He suggested that church and
prejudice offer the same safety, security, and status, at least for some people. These
people can feel both comfortable and self-righteous with their prejudicial attitudes
and their church attendance.
To understand the relationship between church attendance and prejudice,
Allport and J. Michael Ross (1967) developed the Religious Orientation Scale
(ROS), which is applicable only for churchgoers. The ROS consists of 20 items—11
Extrinsic and 9 Intrinsic. Examples of Extrinsic items are “The primary purpose of
prayer is to gain relief and protection”; “What religion offers me most is comfort
when sorrow and misfortune strike”; and “One reason for my being a church
member is that such membership helps to establish a person in the community.”
Examples of Intrinsic items include “My religious beliefs are what really lie behind
my whole approach to life” and “I try hard to carry my religion over into all my
other dealings in life” (p. 436). Allport and Ross assumed that people with an
extrinsic orientation have a utilitarian view of religion; that is, they see it as a
means to an end. Theirs is a self-serving religion of comfort and social convention.