ABSTRACT
Prejudice is commonly defined as a negative attitude toward a social group or a person perceived to be a member of that group (Dovidio, Brigham, Johnson, & Gaertner, 1996). Like other attitudes, prejudice subjectively organizes people’s environment and orients them to objects and people within it. Prejudice also serves other functions, such as enhancing self-esteem (Fein & Spencer, 1997) and materially or symbolically maintaining or improving group status (Sherif & Sherif, 1969; Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Although prejudice can be expressed blatantly and translate directly into discrimination (Allport, 1954; Crandall & Eshleman, 2003), it is often expressed in subtle and indirect ways (Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986; Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). The main goal of this chapter is to examine the nature of contemporary prejudice, considering explicit and implicit expressions of these attitudes. In exploring the dynamics of explicit and implicit attitude measures, the primary focus will be on Whites’ prejudice toward Blacks.
