RACISM, PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION
Michael Billig (1988)
Summary:
A. INTRODUCTION
In Franz Kafka's novel "The Trial", the story is told of Joseph K., a young man who is arrested, tried and executed for a cri me that is
never specified. From the outset, their guilt is assumed, and every protest of innocence is interpreted as a presumption of guilt.
The inspector advises him not to proclaim his innocence so strongly, as this worsens his situation.
Towards the end, K. insists on his innocence to the prison chaplain, who tells him that all the guilty affirm the same thing. K. finds
himself caught in a situation where his protest of innocence condemns him further, and asks the chaplain if he is prejudi ced against
him as well. This "prejudice" refers to a previous trial, where everyone has already decided their guilt without evidence. Previous
judgments are immovable because there is no clear evidence to refute. The chaplain explains that justice is built little by little in
the verdict, always pointing out K.'s guilt.
In social psychology, prejudice is a negative attitude toward individuals or groups. In "The Trial", the characters judge K. without
explaining the reasons for his previous trials. Numerous critics interpret this story as a parable of anti-Semitism, where K.
represents the Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, accused and presumed guilty without the possibility of rational defense.
Discrimination is the behavior resulting from these prejudices, and in the novel, K. is the victim not only of hostile attitu des, but
also of their execution, the logical conclusion of the prejudice he suffers.
There is no automatic link between prejudice and discrimination. When psychosociologists began to systematically study
prejudices, it was observed that attitudes and behavior have complex relationships. Just because a person expresses negative
prejudices toward a group does not necessarily mean that he or she behaves in a hostile manner toward every member of that
group. In other words, prejudice does not always lead to discrimination.
A classic study illustrating this was conducted by LaPiere in 1934. LaPiere and his Chinese companions traveled through the United
States and, despite the prejudices expressed in surveys against the Chinese, found kindness and courtesy in almost every hotel
and restaurant they visited. LaPiere then sent questionnaires to these establishments, asking if they would accept Chinese
customers, and more than 90% answered no. This discrepancy between the prejudice expressed and the absence of effective
discrimination led LaPiere to question the direct relationship between attitudes and behaviors.
In addition, in some situations, discrimination can occur without personal bias. In Kafka's novel "The Castle," the main character,
K., is treated as an outsider by the villagers, not because of personal prejudices, but because of pressure from the castle' s authority.
These examples show that there is no simple relationship between prejudice as an attitude and discrimination as a behavior.
Sometimes, discrimination may be motivated by a desire to avoid direct confrontation or by adaptation to social norms that regard
discrimination as normal. It is therefore important to examine both the personal characteristics of those who are prejudiced an d
the social situations in which discrimination occurs.
B. ETHNOCENTRISM AND AUTHORITARIANISM
Within the psychosociological study of prejudices, the publication in 1950 of "The Authoritarian Personality", written by Ado rno,
Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson and Sanford, marks an important milestone. Although based on research in the United States, this
work was influenced by European theoretical currents. It represented a serious attempt to conduct empirical research that wou ld
add a psychological perspective, drawing from Freud's theories, to Marx's analysis of society. The authors considered this
theoretical alliance to be crucial to understanding the growth and development of prejudiced thinking in contemporary society.
This study grew out of the work of the Institute for Social Research, formed by socialist thinkers from pre-war Germany such as
Adorno, Horkheimer, and Fromm. Witnesses to the rise of Nazism, they concluded that the conventional Marxist interpretation o f
society was not sufficient to understand these events. According to Marx, economic factors determine the way people think, but
the reality of interwar Germany showed that the economic crisis and mass unemployment led to the rise of right-wing extremist
ideas. Many people were attracted to irrational ideas such as the cult of a strong leader and a belief in racial superiority, rather
than adopting revolutionary ideas.
The Institute for Social Research found the purely economic explanations of this mass irrationalism unsatisfactory and turned its
attention to Freud's psychoanalytic theories. According to Freud, individuals have hidden and unconscious motives for acting as
1
Made by MatyBuda
, they do. In Germany, the Institute began preliminary research into the psychological motives behind fascism and anti-Semitism,
but had to flee to the United States after Hitler came to power. After the war, they resumed this work under Horkheimer's direction,
leading to the creation of "The Authoritarian Personality".
This research combined modern questionnaire construction methods of North American psychologists with the theoretical
analyses of their European colleagues. Thus, it resulted in a more empirical study with a more explicit social analysis than most
studies of American attitudes of the time. In their introduction, the authors stressed that economic motives do not always play the
dominant role attributed to them. Economic studies did not explain how fascism attracted the support of the masses, since fas cism
cannot demonstrate economic improvements for the majority. They proposed that fascism resorts to irrational elements of
personality that generate prejudices.
The study of fascism was closely related to the problem of prejudice, suggesting that the psychology of fascism is identical to that
of racial prejudice. This hypothesis, with important consequences for psychological theory and political action, had to be carefully
examined in the light of the evidence gathered by Adorno and his colleagues, and subsequently by other researchers.
The overall goal of the study was to examine the different types of attitudes or ideologies adopted by Americans, especially to see
if people with prejudices against specific minority groups also had other types of particular ideas and personality traits. The study
focused on expressed attitudes, without assessing discriminatory behavior against members of minority groups.
It was decided to study a large number of people from mostly diverse backgrounds, including students of both sexes, workers
(often contacted through trade unions), middle class, churchmen, war veterans, and even a small sample of prisoners and patients
in psychiatric hospitals. In total, more than 2,000 questionnaires were distributed in California, aimed at white and non -Jewish
people, to study prejudice against Jews and blacks.
The study began by developing a scale to assess attitudes toward Jews, known as the Anti-Semitism Scale. This scale contained
several statements expressing prejudiced attitudes toward Jews, asking respondents to indicate their degree of agreement or
disagreement on a six-point scale. The questions that best distinguished anti-Semitic from non-anti-Semitic responses were
retained.
Then, they explored whether prejudice against Jews was related to prejudice against other groups, applying a similar procedure to
assess attitudes toward blacks. The results indicated that those at the top of the anti-Semitism scale also tended to have prejudiced
attitudes against blacks. The study went on to assess attitudes toward other ethnic groups and foreigners, finding that these
different types of prejudices appeared to be related to each other.
This finding led to the proposal that prejudice could be considered a general mood, rather than being specifically related to
attitudes towards certain ethnic groups. The term "ethnocentrism" was used to describe this general disposition, defining it as a
tendency to be ethnically centered, rigidly accepting those who are culturally similar, and rejecting those who are different. The
scale of ethnocentrism included phrases such as: "Certain religious sects that refuse to salute the flag should be forced to comply
with this patriotic act."
They sought to see if these ethnocentric attitudes could be related to other aspects of fascism, developing a scale to assess virtual
fascism. This scale, F, distinguished democratic attitudes from anti-democratic ones. Examples of anti-democratic phrases included:
"Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues that should be instilled in children."
The study concluded that there was an attitude "syndrome," arguing that psychological factors linked the various elements of the
syndrome, linking racism, anti-Semitism, and virtual fascism, and connecting ethnocentrism to a specific way of seeing the world
and to an underlying personality type.
C. PERSONALITY AND THE SEARCH FOR A SCAPEGOAT
To complete the survey with questionnaires carried out by the authors of "The Authoritarian Personality", a series of intervi ews
were carried out with selected interlocutors. A total of 150 people were chosen from among those who had obtained a very high
or very low number of points in the answers to the questionnaire that evaluated prejudices. These people were interviewed by
psychologists specialized in the psychoanalytic technique of the interview. This part of the study did not consider the large number
of respondents who had given answers in the middle of the scale, as the authors argued that understanding anti-democratic
tendencies involved identifying the factors that most clearly distinguished one extreme from the other.
The selected people were invited to answer a wide range of questions during an almost familiar conversation, allowing the
interviewer to get a detailed idea of the type of life and personality of the interlocutor. Topics of conversation included p rofession,
income, personal ambitions, attitude towards politics, as well as more personal questions related to childhood, feelings towards
parents, dreams and sexual attitude.
2
Made by MatyBuda
Michael Billig (1988)
Summary:
A. INTRODUCTION
In Franz Kafka's novel "The Trial", the story is told of Joseph K., a young man who is arrested, tried and executed for a cri me that is
never specified. From the outset, their guilt is assumed, and every protest of innocence is interpreted as a presumption of guilt.
The inspector advises him not to proclaim his innocence so strongly, as this worsens his situation.
Towards the end, K. insists on his innocence to the prison chaplain, who tells him that all the guilty affirm the same thing. K. finds
himself caught in a situation where his protest of innocence condemns him further, and asks the chaplain if he is prejudi ced against
him as well. This "prejudice" refers to a previous trial, where everyone has already decided their guilt without evidence. Previous
judgments are immovable because there is no clear evidence to refute. The chaplain explains that justice is built little by little in
the verdict, always pointing out K.'s guilt.
In social psychology, prejudice is a negative attitude toward individuals or groups. In "The Trial", the characters judge K. without
explaining the reasons for his previous trials. Numerous critics interpret this story as a parable of anti-Semitism, where K.
represents the Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, accused and presumed guilty without the possibility of rational defense.
Discrimination is the behavior resulting from these prejudices, and in the novel, K. is the victim not only of hostile attitu des, but
also of their execution, the logical conclusion of the prejudice he suffers.
There is no automatic link between prejudice and discrimination. When psychosociologists began to systematically study
prejudices, it was observed that attitudes and behavior have complex relationships. Just because a person expresses negative
prejudices toward a group does not necessarily mean that he or she behaves in a hostile manner toward every member of that
group. In other words, prejudice does not always lead to discrimination.
A classic study illustrating this was conducted by LaPiere in 1934. LaPiere and his Chinese companions traveled through the United
States and, despite the prejudices expressed in surveys against the Chinese, found kindness and courtesy in almost every hotel
and restaurant they visited. LaPiere then sent questionnaires to these establishments, asking if they would accept Chinese
customers, and more than 90% answered no. This discrepancy between the prejudice expressed and the absence of effective
discrimination led LaPiere to question the direct relationship between attitudes and behaviors.
In addition, in some situations, discrimination can occur without personal bias. In Kafka's novel "The Castle," the main character,
K., is treated as an outsider by the villagers, not because of personal prejudices, but because of pressure from the castle' s authority.
These examples show that there is no simple relationship between prejudice as an attitude and discrimination as a behavior.
Sometimes, discrimination may be motivated by a desire to avoid direct confrontation or by adaptation to social norms that regard
discrimination as normal. It is therefore important to examine both the personal characteristics of those who are prejudiced an d
the social situations in which discrimination occurs.
B. ETHNOCENTRISM AND AUTHORITARIANISM
Within the psychosociological study of prejudices, the publication in 1950 of "The Authoritarian Personality", written by Ado rno,
Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson and Sanford, marks an important milestone. Although based on research in the United States, this
work was influenced by European theoretical currents. It represented a serious attempt to conduct empirical research that wou ld
add a psychological perspective, drawing from Freud's theories, to Marx's analysis of society. The authors considered this
theoretical alliance to be crucial to understanding the growth and development of prejudiced thinking in contemporary society.
This study grew out of the work of the Institute for Social Research, formed by socialist thinkers from pre-war Germany such as
Adorno, Horkheimer, and Fromm. Witnesses to the rise of Nazism, they concluded that the conventional Marxist interpretation o f
society was not sufficient to understand these events. According to Marx, economic factors determine the way people think, but
the reality of interwar Germany showed that the economic crisis and mass unemployment led to the rise of right-wing extremist
ideas. Many people were attracted to irrational ideas such as the cult of a strong leader and a belief in racial superiority, rather
than adopting revolutionary ideas.
The Institute for Social Research found the purely economic explanations of this mass irrationalism unsatisfactory and turned its
attention to Freud's psychoanalytic theories. According to Freud, individuals have hidden and unconscious motives for acting as
1
Made by MatyBuda
, they do. In Germany, the Institute began preliminary research into the psychological motives behind fascism and anti-Semitism,
but had to flee to the United States after Hitler came to power. After the war, they resumed this work under Horkheimer's direction,
leading to the creation of "The Authoritarian Personality".
This research combined modern questionnaire construction methods of North American psychologists with the theoretical
analyses of their European colleagues. Thus, it resulted in a more empirical study with a more explicit social analysis than most
studies of American attitudes of the time. In their introduction, the authors stressed that economic motives do not always play the
dominant role attributed to them. Economic studies did not explain how fascism attracted the support of the masses, since fas cism
cannot demonstrate economic improvements for the majority. They proposed that fascism resorts to irrational elements of
personality that generate prejudices.
The study of fascism was closely related to the problem of prejudice, suggesting that the psychology of fascism is identical to that
of racial prejudice. This hypothesis, with important consequences for psychological theory and political action, had to be carefully
examined in the light of the evidence gathered by Adorno and his colleagues, and subsequently by other researchers.
The overall goal of the study was to examine the different types of attitudes or ideologies adopted by Americans, especially to see
if people with prejudices against specific minority groups also had other types of particular ideas and personality traits. The study
focused on expressed attitudes, without assessing discriminatory behavior against members of minority groups.
It was decided to study a large number of people from mostly diverse backgrounds, including students of both sexes, workers
(often contacted through trade unions), middle class, churchmen, war veterans, and even a small sample of prisoners and patients
in psychiatric hospitals. In total, more than 2,000 questionnaires were distributed in California, aimed at white and non -Jewish
people, to study prejudice against Jews and blacks.
The study began by developing a scale to assess attitudes toward Jews, known as the Anti-Semitism Scale. This scale contained
several statements expressing prejudiced attitudes toward Jews, asking respondents to indicate their degree of agreement or
disagreement on a six-point scale. The questions that best distinguished anti-Semitic from non-anti-Semitic responses were
retained.
Then, they explored whether prejudice against Jews was related to prejudice against other groups, applying a similar procedure to
assess attitudes toward blacks. The results indicated that those at the top of the anti-Semitism scale also tended to have prejudiced
attitudes against blacks. The study went on to assess attitudes toward other ethnic groups and foreigners, finding that these
different types of prejudices appeared to be related to each other.
This finding led to the proposal that prejudice could be considered a general mood, rather than being specifically related to
attitudes towards certain ethnic groups. The term "ethnocentrism" was used to describe this general disposition, defining it as a
tendency to be ethnically centered, rigidly accepting those who are culturally similar, and rejecting those who are different. The
scale of ethnocentrism included phrases such as: "Certain religious sects that refuse to salute the flag should be forced to comply
with this patriotic act."
They sought to see if these ethnocentric attitudes could be related to other aspects of fascism, developing a scale to assess virtual
fascism. This scale, F, distinguished democratic attitudes from anti-democratic ones. Examples of anti-democratic phrases included:
"Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues that should be instilled in children."
The study concluded that there was an attitude "syndrome," arguing that psychological factors linked the various elements of the
syndrome, linking racism, anti-Semitism, and virtual fascism, and connecting ethnocentrism to a specific way of seeing the world
and to an underlying personality type.
C. PERSONALITY AND THE SEARCH FOR A SCAPEGOAT
To complete the survey with questionnaires carried out by the authors of "The Authoritarian Personality", a series of intervi ews
were carried out with selected interlocutors. A total of 150 people were chosen from among those who had obtained a very high
or very low number of points in the answers to the questionnaire that evaluated prejudices. These people were interviewed by
psychologists specialized in the psychoanalytic technique of the interview. This part of the study did not consider the large number
of respondents who had given answers in the middle of the scale, as the authors argued that understanding anti-democratic
tendencies involved identifying the factors that most clearly distinguished one extreme from the other.
The selected people were invited to answer a wide range of questions during an almost familiar conversation, allowing the
interviewer to get a detailed idea of the type of life and personality of the interlocutor. Topics of conversation included p rofession,
income, personal ambitions, attitude towards politics, as well as more personal questions related to childhood, feelings towards
parents, dreams and sexual attitude.
2
Made by MatyBuda
