Discrimination without Prejudice

Abstract

group. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between discriminatory behavior and prejudiced attitudes--with special application to the behavior and attitudes of white retail employers toward Negro employees. It is generally assumed that discrimination and prejudice are closely correlated. Although people recognize that prejudiced individuals may be prevented by social control mechanisms from practicing discrimination, they less often realize that discrimination may exist in the absence of prejudice. When discriminatory behavior is encountered, the discriminators are ipso facto assumed to be prejudiced. For example staff members of organizations like the Urban League characteristically impute to employers who refuse to hire Negro salesgirls a low opinion of the selling ability of all Negroes. Because they discriminate, they must be prejudiced. The following data suggest, however, that discrimination may be practiced by persons who are not personally prejudiced. The personnel managers of the fifty largest retail stores (excluding groceries) in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, were interviewed in August 1949 regarding their employment policies. (1) The median number of employees in the stores was one-hundred thirty, of whom fifty-seven were typically on the sales staff. Although many of the variety, clothing, and drug stores were members of chains, all but five managers reported they were able to determine their own employment policies with respect to such matters