Prejudice, tolerance, and attitudes toward ethnic groups

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual and empirical examination of the term "prejudice." Beginning with a discussion of the cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions of an inter-ethnic attitude, it is argued that the conceptual distinctions among the three attitudinal components are sufficient to question the utility of the blanket description "prejudiced." This is followed by an exploratory analysis of data on the affective and conative dimensions of attitude toward blacks from a national public opinion survey. Scales tapping affective feelings and two different types of action orientation toward blacks are successfully isolated. Relationships among the scales are moderate and are influenced by variables tapping regional norms and attitudinal intensity. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the term "tolerance" as it has developed in political sociology (that is, as a specific attitude structure whereby competing groups maintain a positive action orientation toward one another in spite of openly conflicting values or interests) and suggests the application of this concept to the study of inter-ethnic attitudes. Empirical analysis of the structure of inter-ethnic attitudes, including "tolerant" attitude structures, would facilitate an integration of the theoretical and policy concerns of the ethnic attitudes lttitudes literature with those of political sociology.