The Relationship Between Social Norms, Prejudice And Discrimination

In 1952 Minard investigated the relationship between social norms, prejudice and discrimination. The behaviour of Southern US black and white miners was observed both below and above ground. The results showed that below ground where the social norm was friendly behaviour towards work colleagues, 80 of the white miners were friendly to the black miners. However, above ground where the social norm was prejudice this dropped to 20 while miners showing friendly behaviour to black miners. Minard concluded that the white miners were confirming to social norms above and below ground. The change in the behaviour of the white miners was explained by the social context in which the behaviour took place.

In 1959 Pettigrew further investigated the role