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The Nature of Prejudice
Gordon Allport's 1954 study of prejudice, which publisher and catalog descriptions present as a wide survey of research on the roots and nature of racial, religious, ethnic, economic and sexual prejudice.
- Author and origin
- Gordon W. Allport (United States)Original language: English. First published in 1954. A Wellcome Collection copy records a joint release in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a text edition from Addison-Wesley and a trade edition from Beacon Press, reprinted in August 1954 and September 1955. Basic Books lists a 25th anniversary edition with a 1979 date.
- Genre and form
- Academic (Scholarly monograph)Foundational scholarly monographs, experimental treatises, and theoretical volumes written for researchers and students.
- Pairing and evidence
- Primary scholarshipA foundational academic book or treatise. Each profile states what was inspected and whether a research paper is paired.
- Sources inspected
- 2 text/abstract inspected, 1 metadata checked (of 3)2 with the primary text or archive/edition record checked, 0 with an indexed abstract read, 1 with bibliographic metadata checked, 0 not verified.
The work and edition history
The Nature of Prejudice first appeared in 1954 and went through reprints in the first two years. A 1979 25th anniversary edition is still in print, so a modern copy may carry added introductory material that the 1954 volume did not have. The Wellcome record shows that the first release was a joint one, not Addison-Wesley alone.
Psychological reading
The publisher describes a study of prejudice at individual and social levels, covering racial, religious, ethnic, economic, and sexual prejudice. Ask what separates a group generalization from prejudice and how a researcher could evaluate an attempt to reduce discrimination.
Why it earns inclusion
A scholarly reading about prejudice at individual and social levels. Compare its explanatory questions with a novel’s account of a specific injustice.
Academic pairing and claim scope
No journal article is paired. Linking the book to later research on reducing prejudice would require the book's own statement of its claims, and only publisher and catalog descriptions were available.
Limits and controversies
Based on publisher and catalog descriptions, not the 1954 text. The record does not reconstruct Allport’s contact conditions or treat the publisher’s praise as an independent assessment of the book.
Evidence behind the claims
Wellcome records a 1954 release with Addison-Wesley as the text edition and Beacon Press as the trade edition, with reprints in 1954 and 1955.
Basic Books describes a psychological study of discrimination, first published in 1954, addressing individual and social roots, forms, and effects of prejudice.
The Hachette Book Group description says the book covers racial, religious, ethnic, economic, and sexual prejudice and offers suggestions for reducing discrimination.
Authors and researchers
- Gordon W. Allport. Psychologist; author of The Nature of Prejudice.
In the Psy101 course
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 12.5: Prejudice and DiscriminationChapter 12, Social Psychology. Concept. Suggested conceptual background; a mention of this work in the section has not been verified.Connects to chapter coverage of prejudice and discrimination.
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 12.1: What Is Social Psychology?Chapter 12, Social Psychology. Historical context. Suggested conceptual background; a mention of this work in the section has not been verified.Places the book in the general study of how people think about and act toward others.
Educational reading guide only, not clinical diagnosis or treatment guidance. This course map indicates introductory curriculum relevance rather than clinical proof.See the full course map.
Sources and inspection
Of 3 cited sources, 2 had primary text or archive/edition records checked, 0 had an indexed abstract read, and 1 had bibliographic metadata checked (0 unverified). Literary works and memoirs are distinguished from empirical research studies.
- [3]Allport, G. W. (1954a). The nature of prejudice (open library work record). Open Library (Internet Archive). https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3420407WArchive or library record. Work, edition, or catalog record.Edition, title-page, or archive record checkedOpen Library work record and search results read on 2026-10-23. catalog-level only; the description is promotional.
- [1]Allport, G. W. (1954b). The nature of prejudice (wellcome collection catalogue record). Wellcome Collection Library Catalogue. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/rk5gw3qaArchive or library record. Work, edition, or catalog record.Edition, title-page, or archive record checkedWellcome catalog record read on 2026-10-23. It describes a September 1955 printing.
- [2]Allport, G. W. (1979, January 22). The nature of prejudice (25th anniversary edition). Basic Books (Hachette Book Group). https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/gordon-w-allport/the-nature-of-prejudice-25th-anniversary-edition/9780201001792/Publisher or bibliographic record. Work, edition, or catalog record.Bibliographic metadata or reference record checkedPublisher page read on 2026-10-23. It lists 576 pages and an on-sale date of January 22, 1979 for the 25th anniversary edition, and is a promotional description.