The psychology of prejudice: Ingroup love or outgroup hate?

Allport (1954) recognized that attachment to one's ingroups does not necess arily require hostility toward outgroups. Yet the prevailing approach to th e study of ethnocentrism, ingroup bias, and prejudice presumes that ingroup love and outgroup hate are reciprocally related. Findings from both cross- cultural research and laboratory experiments support the alternative view t hat ingroup identification is independent of negative attitudes toward outg oups and that much ingroup bias and intergroup discrimination is motivated by preferential treatment of ingroup members rather than direct hostility t oward outgroup members. Thus to understand the roots of prejudice and discr imination requires first of all a better understanding of the functions tha t ingroup formation and identification serve for human beings. This article reviews research anal theory on the motivations for maintenance of ingroup boundaries and the implications of ingroup boundary protection for intergr oup relations, conflict, and conflict prevention.