Racist, sexist, antisemitic or homophobic? Bigots gotta catch 'em all. Prejudices are becoming more intercorrelated, according to a study published in Social Pschological and Personality Science. The authors of The Evolving Nature of Generalized Prejudice Toward Marginalized Groups in the United States found that those holding negative attitudes to one marginalized group are "increasingly likely" to express prejudice toward other groups, too: "If one's uncle voices racist remarks but also gives off vibes that he might be sexist and homophobic, one's perception is likely accurate."
[Generalized prejudice] clearly changed in meaning over time, being correlated with political conservatism in the .40 range in 2004 and 2008 but in the .70 range by 2016 and 2020, despite GP not becoming more associated with other prejudice-relevant constructs (education, age, sex; Table 4). This high degree of association suggests that conservatism and GP are approaching statistical redundancy (Hodson, 2021a).
"Conservatism and Generalized Prejudice are approaching statistical redundancy" is quite a line. The prejudice grows in scope even as the specific targets of prejudice fluctuate with the times.
Although some readers will balk at the notion that conservatism risks becoming synonymous with GP on its current trajectory, it is worth remembering that we employed high-caliber, freely accessible, nationally representative data that used the same feeling thermometers and self-placement of ideology across studies. There is no trick or hidden nuance at play; rather, political ideology is becoming increasingly important to understanding specific prejudices and GP over time. Our analyses reveal that those on the political right (vs. left) are not only relatively more negative toward the social groups studied (our prime interest), but even in absolute terms score below the scale midpoint on average, expressing largely negative attitudes (except toward Black people; see Supplemental Table S8). In the United States at least, politically conservative (vs. liberal) attitudes are relatively more biased and predominantly marked by negativity. To be clear, those on the political right are not bad people, any more than men, the less educated, or older people (see Table 4) are "bad." Rather, scientists are tasked with understanding the predictors of phenomena; here conservatism has become increasingly predictive of GP, based on participants' own self-reports of their ideology and racial attitudes.
Funny that all the DEI stuff—black people and feminists, etc.—are above water in the study.
In terms of means, Americans were most favorable toward Black people and feminists, with these attitudes remaining positive (above scale mid-point) over time with some waxing and waning. Attitudes toward gay people were negative in 2004 but became increasingly more positive. Attitudes toward illegal immigrants were negative across timepoints but showed fluctuations.
The idea that these groups are uniquely unpopular is largely the result of America's pundits, journalists and other media people treading water all day in a gyre of online sewage, circling Trump like a slow drain. Their addiction to that environment, especially Twitter, encourages them to find their way to confirming that it reflects the reality beyond. But polarization and bigotry is the norm in those venues, with those people, and making them the center of the universe is a choice.
This correlated prejudice tendency has not only increased in strength but has coincided with the development of a more distinctly political nature than in the recent past. The shifting nature of GP, both in terms of its structure and its association with ideology, is in keeping with the more tribal and polarized nature of modern social life in the United States. As with other aspects of social life, prejudice appears to have become increasingly political, now more greatly shaping the ways that we observe differences between people.
Previously:
• Merriam-Webster's word of the year is 'polarization'
• Polarized political advertising led to shorter Thanksgivings in 2016
• Animated graph shows how USA has become more polarized in last 20 years
