Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Racism, the act of discrimination based on racial or ethnic group, is deeply embedded in North American history, and continues to be one of the most prevalent forms of prejudice today. The present article explores the causes of racism through four social psychological perspectives: social cognitive theory, social identity theory, social representations theory, and discursive theory. While each perspective provides its unique explanations on the causal mechanisms of racism, it is concluded that no individual theory effectively captures the multi-faceted nature of racism. Therefore, a two-fold framework integrating aspects from all four theories is proposed. Disclaimer: The present paper discusses sensitive topics regarding racial inequalities, which some may find offensive and/or traumatizing. Please read at your own discretion.
Author: Connie Guang-Hwa Yang
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W3213636351