Prejudice
An evaluative bias toward people on the basis of group membership.
Definition
Prejudice is an evaluative attitude or feeling directed toward people because of their membership in a social group.
How to understand it
Introductory psychology often emphasizes negative evaluations while distinguishing them from stereotyped beliefs and discriminatory actions. These are connected aspects of intergroup bias, not a guaranteed sequence. A person may have an evaluative bias without expressing it in every encounter, and behavior can also be constrained by rules or expectations.
To examine prejudice carefully, separate an evaluation of a particular act from a judgment based on group membership. Ask what the evaluation refers to and what evidence supports that interpretation. A single interaction may be ambiguous, so an analyst should avoid claiming certain knowledge of another person’s private feelings.
Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Fiske, Prejudice, Discrimination, and Stereotyping, n.d.)
Unease before an encounter
Teaching scenario
Imagine a club member who feels immediate dislike when hearing that a visitor belongs to a rival student organization. They have never met the visitor and know nothing about their conduct. The visitor’s affiliation, rather than individual behavior, is the basis of the negative evaluation in this scenario. The member nevertheless welcomes the visitor politely because the meeting has clear hosting expectations. This illustrates why the attitude and the action should be examined separately. It does not imply that polite behavior proves prejudice absent or that rivalry always produces prejudice.
Constructed for learning. This scenario is not a report of an empirical finding or a diagnosis.
Common confusion: Discrimination
Prejudice concerns evaluation or feeling; discrimination concerns unequal treatment linked to group membership. Neither can be read directly from the other.
Compare prejudice and discrimination
Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Fiske, Prejudice, Discrimination, and Stereotyping, n.d.)
Limits of the concept
- The belief–evaluation–action distinction is a useful framework, not a complete theory.
- Private attitudes cannot be established with certainty from one ambiguous encounter.
Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Fiske, Prejudice, Discrimination, and Stereotyping, n.d.)
Textbook connection
Direct coveragePsychology 2e: 12.5 Prejudice and Discrimination
The subsection explicitly discusses this concept.
Supplementary concepts may extend beyond this section. The source notes below identify the evidence for those details.
Related concepts
Check understanding · Inspect how psychological evidence is built
Sources and inspection notes
Checked October 21, 2026. An inspection date is not a source publication date. Definitions and scenarios on this page are original teaching explanations.
- Fiske, prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping. (n.d.). https://nobaproject.com/modules/prejudice-discrimination-and-stereotypingExpert-authored academic teaching module
Introduction and conceptual distinctions checked; categories used as an introductory analytic framework. Inspected on 21 October 2026.
- Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/12-5-prejudice-and-discriminationCourse textbook subsection
Title, URL, and relevant subsection text inspected on 21 October 2026. Used for concept checking and course navigation; no textbook exercises or illustrations reproduced.