Allport's Scale
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Allport's Scale is a measure of the manifestation of prejudice in a society. It is also referred to as Allport's Scale of Prejudice and Discrimination or Allport's Scale of Prejudice. It was devised by psychologist Gordon Allport in 1954[1].
[edit] The scale
Allport’s Scale of Prejudice goes from 1 – 5.
Scale 1, Antilocution
- Antilocution means a majority group freely make jokes about a minority group. Speech is in terms of negative stereotypes and negative images. This is also called hate speech [2]. It is commonly seen as harmless by the majority. Antilocution itself may not be harmful, but it sets the stage for more severe outlets for prejudice.
Scale 2 Avoidance
- People in a minority group are actively avoided by members of the majority group. No direct harm may be intended, but harm is done through isolation.
Scale 3 Discrimination
- Minority group is discriminated against by denying them opportunities and services and so putting prejudice into action. Behaviours have the specific goal of harming the minority group by preventing them from achieving goals, getting education or jobs, etc. The majority group is actively trying to harm the minority. (e.g. Jim Crow laws)
Scale 4 Physical Attack
- The majority group vandalise minority group things, they burn property and carry out violent attacks on individuals or groups. Physical harm is done to members of the minority group. Examples are lynchings of blacks, pogroms against Jews in Europe, tarring and feathering Mormons in 1800s and British Loyalists in the 1700s.
Scale 5 Extermination
- The majority group seeks extermination of the minority group. They attempt to eliminate the entire group of people (e.g., Indian Wars to remove Native Americans, Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Germany, The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire and the Rwandan Genocide).
[edit] References
- ^ Allport,Gordon (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0201001799.
- ^ Mullen,, B.; Leader, T. (2005). "Linguistic factors: Antilocution, ethnophaulisms, ethnonyms, and other varieties of hate speech.". in Dovidio, J.F., ed.. On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years After Allport.. Wiley/Blackwell. pp. pp. 192-208.. ISBN 978-1405127516. http://kar.kent.ac.uk/4398/.
- Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
- Challenging Homophobia The scale used in education against homophobia in California.
