Beyond Prejudice: Extending the Social Psychology of Conflict, Inequality and Social Change

The concept of prejudice has profoundly influenced how we have investigated, explained and tried to change intergroup relations of discrimination and inequality. But what has this concept contributed to our knowledge of relations between groups and what has it obscured or misrepresented? How has it expanded or narrowed the horizons of psychological inquiry? How effective or ineffective has it been in guiding our attempts to transform social relations and institutions? In this book, a team of internationally renowned psychologists re-evaluate the concept of prejudice, in an attempt to move beyond conventional approaches to the subject and to help the reader gain a clearer understanding of relations within and between groups. This fresh look at prejudice will appeal to scholars and students of social psychology, sociology, political science and peace studies.

Dr John Dixon is a professor of social psychology at the Open University, having lectured previously at Lancaster University, the University of Worcester and the University of Cape Town. He has published widely on the topics of prejudice, intergroup conflict and prejudice reduction and is the coauthor, with Kevin Durrheim, of Racial Encounter: The Social Psychology of Contact and Desegregation (2005). He is currently a coeditor, with Jolanda Jetten, of the British Journal of Social Psychology. Dr Mark Levine is a professor of social psychology at the University of Exeter. His research, which focuses on the relationship between social identity and pro-social behaviour, has appeared in a range of international journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, American Psychologist and Psychological Science.