ABSTRACT
Intergroup relations are the warp, or substructure, of the fabric of hierarchical societies. But the weft—stereotypes and prejudice—gives the fabric its color, texture, and feel, and so these are more often noticed than the substructure of intergroup relations. The warp and weft must be suited to each other, or the fabric does not hold. This chapter examines how stereotypes and prejudice are interwoven with intergroup relations in hierarchical societies. In general, processes give structural integrity to the fabric. Particular aspects of intergroup relations give rise to compatible stereotypes and prejudices (Cottrell & Neuberg, 2005). Stereotypes and prejudice stabilize social structure by encouraging group discrimination (e.g., Pratto, 1999). For this reason, to change either social structure or stereotypes and prejudice, one is likely to have to invoke change in the other. Conversely, change in either warp or weft of societies may be limited by the other. The close associations between stereotypes and prejudices and the social structures of societies have not been fully addressed in research. For example, few studies consider stereotypes and prejudice from the point of view of both targets and perpetrators, and there is considerable confusion about what aspects of intergroup relations (e.g., status, contact, power) matter for stereotypes and prejudices. Likewise, very little work has demonstrated experimentally how particular aspects of intergroup relations give rise to particular kinds of prejudice or stereotypes, and even less research has demonstrated the social or psychological processes about how stereotypes legitimize social structure or how prejudice leads people to behave in ways to change or reproduce social structure. For this reason, this chapter considers intergroup relations within societies as a context for understanding stereotypes and prejudice. The first section outlines the basic aspects of intergroup relations which may give rise to stereotypes and prejudice, and the second section details how the use of stereotypes and prejudice may perpetuate aspects of intergroup relations.
