The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary Edition [Unabridged] [Paperback]

Gordon W. Allport (Author), Kenneth Clark (Introduction), Thomas Pettigrew (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201001799 | ISBN-13: 978-0201001792 | Publication Date: January 22, 1979 | Edition: Unabridged

With profound insight into the complexities of the human experience, Harvard psychologist Gordon Allport organized a mass of research to produce a landmark study on the roots and nature of prejudice. First published in 1954, The Nature of Prejudice remains the standard work on discrimination. Now this classic study is offered in a special unabridged edition with a new introduction by Kenneth Clark of Columbia University and a new preface by Thomas Pettigrew of Harvard University.Allport’s comprehensive and penetrating work examines all aspects of this age-old problem: its roots in individual and social psychology, its varieties of expression, its impact on the individuals and communities. He explores all kinds of prejudice-racial, religious, ethnic, economic and sexual-and offers suggestions for reducing the devastating effects of discrimination.The additional material by Clark and Pettigrew updates the social-psychological research in prejudice and attests to the enduring values of Allport’s original theories and insights.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gordon W. Allport was born in 1897 in Montezuma, Indiana. He received his A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University, did postgraduate work abroad, and returned to Harvard in 1930, where he served as professor of psychology until his death in 1967. During his lifetime, Allport served as president of both the American and Eastern Psychological Associations, director of the National Opinion Research Center, and editor of the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. His other books included The Psychology of Rumor, The Individual and His Religion, Personality, and Becoming.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; Unabridged edition (January 22, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201001799
• ISBN-13: 978-0201001792
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Law > Constitutional Law > Discrimination

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspired classic used by Malcom X and Dr. King!, February 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary Edition (Paperback)

If you have truely studied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X then you have probably seen pictures of this book next to them on their desks. Don't think for one minute that you understand prejudice without reading this book first. It explains why prejudice occurs and how it is part of our basic makeup. Mr. Allport also explains how to change these perceptions that generate the discrimination. For any Civil Rights Advocate this is a must read. It puts you inside the mind of those who practice bigotry and discrimination. If you cannot understand them then how can you defeat them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a forgotten classic that spurred the civil rights movement, April 13, 2010

By 

Nazani (MidAtlantic) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Nature of Prejudice (Hardcover)

When I page through this book I'm astounded that it was written in 1954. This is truly a ground-breaking work in both psychology and sociology. 537 pages, well indexed, with references. Some of the many topics covered include:
attitudes and beliefs
acting out prejudice
the separation of human groups
personal values as categories
sex as an in-group
social distance
verbal rejection
riots and lynching
the essential role of rumor
the neurosis of extreme conformity
social regulation of aggression
cultural devices to ensure loyalty
scapegoats for special occasions
the demagogue as a person
- and so on- it's a chilling but necessary read, and there is great satisfaction in owning the first edition of such and important work.

18 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, April 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary Edition (Paperback)

Allport's The Nature of Prejudice is written in a very comprehensive manner that allows you to reflect upon your own experience in prejudices both internal and external. This book is a classic and sheds light on inter-cultural and intra-cultural understanding in the years to come.