“They Can Fight Their Own Fights”

Prejudice, Permissiveness, and Discrimination against Minorities

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e39507.en

Keywords:

Prejudice, Discrimination, Permissiveness, Collusion

Abstract

The tendency to be permissive in face of a discriminatory situation is called collusion. The present study aimed to define and characterize collusion, and identify the variables connected to it, considering the perspective of different identity groups. Participants were 31 individuals divided in seven focus groups. The analysis indicated four categories connected to collusion: a) Close Relations: valuable interactions through which individuals learn behavioral patterns that lead to permissiveness; b) Group Identity: social identities, and intergroup relations patterns; c) Situation: characteristics of the situation in which discrimination is observed; and d) Cost-Effective Balance: perception the individuals have regarding the impact of their actions on the context and the cost attached to it.

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Author Biographies

Laura Novaes Andrade, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brasil

Laura N. Andrade has a degree in Psychology from University of Brasília (2015), and a Master of Science degree in Social and Work Psychology from the same University (2018). In her thesis, she focused on the meaning of retirement for active workers in Brazil, developing and testing the Meaning of Retirement Scale. In 2022, she finished her PhD in Social Psychology at University of Brasília investigating collusion in prejudice.
Nowadays, she is an active researcher affiliated with the Cross-Cultural Psychology Lab and the Center for Evaluation and Social Technology Research at the University of Brasilia, and works as researcher and professor in Social, I/O and Cross-cultural psychology. Her main areas of interest include cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, with emphasis on discrimination and prejudice based on race, gender, and sexual orientation, and cultural diversity.

Cláudio Vaz Torres, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brasil

Cláudio Vaz Torres has a degree in Psychology from University of Brasília (1988), M.Sc. in Psychology from University of Brasília (1991) and Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology (1999). Has developed sabbatical projects in Marketing at Griffith University, Australia (2004), in Cross-cultural Research at the University of Sussex, England (2009), and in Cross-cultural Psychology and Human Values at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (2013), and at the University of Haifa, Israel (2018). He is a member of the International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology since 1999, where he also serves as the Regional Representative for South America. Since 1992 is a Professor at the University of Brasilia, acting on the following subjects: cross-cultural psychology, basic human values, cultural values, political psychology, consumer behavior, cultural diversity and inclusion.

Saba Safdar, Universidade de Guelph, Ontário, Canadá

Saba Safdar is a Full Professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Canada and Director of Centre for Cross-Cultural Research (https://cccr.uoguelph.ca/). Safdar’s first line of research is the examination of the psychosocial adaptation of immigrants in their country of settlement. In addition, she has examined experiences, barriers, and values of minorities and members of ethnic groups including Muslims in Canada and outside. Her most recent co-edited book is Wiser world with multiculturalism: Proceedings from the 24th Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (2020).

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Published

2023-09-11

How to Cite

Novaes Andrade, L., Vaz Torres, C., & Safdar, S. (2023). “They Can Fight Their Own Fights”: Prejudice, Permissiveness, and Discrimination against Minorities. Psicologia: Teoria E Pesquisa, 39. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e39507.en

Issue

Section

Estudos Empíricos