immigrants have so little education and training, they are lucky to have the jobs
we offer them.”This sort of statement reflects a prejudice because the holder can
use the belief as justification for providing minimal wages to the workers.
3.Avalue-expressivefunction occurs when people maintain a prejudice in the belief
that their attitude(s) represents the highest moral values of the culture. This usu-
ally revolves around the values associated with religion, government, and politics.
Someone who believes that his or her religion is the only true faith and denigrates
other beliefs is being prejudicial against people who hold different religious convic-
tions. Political commentators on television often display a prejudice toward one
political party or another.
4.Using theknowledge function, people can categorize, organize, and construct their
perceptions of other people in a matter they consider rational—even if that per-
ception is woefully incorrect. This makes dealing with the world much simpler
because people can be viewed as a homogeneous group rather than individually.
This results in an abundance of labels. People are considered not as individuals
with a diversity of characteristics but rather as“Arabs,”“Jews,”“gays,”“feminists,”
or some other label, which denies the person’s unique characteristics.Causes of Prejudice
There are no simple explanations for the origins of prejudice, and in most instances,
the causes are multiple. Experts have isolated a few of the basic motivations behind
prejudice, and we will look at three in order to better understand how they can be a
major deterrent to successful intercultural interaction:
1.Societal sources: A considerable degree of prejudice is built into the major organizations
and institutions of a society. These organizations produce norms, regulations, and rules
that enable the dominant group to maintain power over subordinate groups. In so
doing, they give rise to societal prejudice. The period of racial segregation in the United
States and the era of apartheid rule in South Africa are classic examples of how the
social structure can be used to establish, enforce, and sustain prejudice.
2.Maintaining social identity: The important role that identity plays in connecting
people to their culture was discussed in Chapter 7. Identity is a very personal and
emotional link because it creates the bond that binds people and culture. Any-
thing that poses a potential threat to that connection, such as out-group members,
can become a target of prejudice. For example, some members of the dominant
U.S. culture view increased immigration as a threat to contemporary social values
and the traditional way of life. This attitude produces a prejudice against immi-
grants, especially those who are illegal.
3.Scapegoating: Scapegoating is a process where a particular group of people, usually a
minority, is singled out to bear the blame for certain events or circumstances, such
as economic or social ills, that adversely affect the dominant group. Scapegoating
uses arguments and justifications based on fear and imagined threats posed by an
out-group. These assumed, unsubstantiated threats can be political, economic, or
social concerns considered threatening to the in-group’s well-being.^31 Throughout
history, black people, Jews, immigrants, gays, and other minority groups have been
used as scapegoats in order for the dominant group to escape responsibility.Prejudice 393Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).