fei75766_ch12_377-407.indd 399  02/06/20 12:56 PM
Chapter 12    Allport: Psychology of the Individual399
absence ofanybadfeelings toward theoutgroup (e.g., witness theracial segregation of
atypical public highschool cafeteria). Inother words, discrimination canbeaccom -
plished, Greenwald andPettigrew (2014) argue, viaadecidedly unremarkable process 
thatinvolves littleifanyoutright hostility. Forthisreason, wemust notonlypasslaws
against hostile discrimination butalsoprovide societal constraints against themany 
forms ofsubtle ingroup favoritism thatendupgiving more advantages tothealready-
advantaged, and,overtime, generating discrimination against thedisadvantaged. 
AsPettigrew andcolleagues (2011) point out,popular opinion oncontact between 
groups isquite split.Some believe that“good fences make good neighbors.” Thatis,inter-
group contact onlycauses conflict, sowe’re beststicking toourown.Butdecades of
work oningroup favoritism show thatdoing sowillonlyexacerbate racial imbalances and
discrimination, because when we’re onlysticking toourown,we’re likely toconform to
thenorms ofourown,attheexpense ofothers. Allport believed thatintergroup interaction 
isessential toreduce prejudice andconflict between groups. Decades ofresearch byhis
students haveresolved thisdisagreement andshown thatAllport wasright—the onlywayto
decrease conflict andprejudice istointeract withthose weconsider tobe“different.”
Overall, Gordon Allport wasanimmensely insightful personality psychologist 
whose ideas continue toinspire psychologists today. Although hisideas undoubtedly 
continue toenrich research inpersonality psychology, hisproposals about under -
standing prejudice andmethods forreducing prejudice havequietly enriched thelives
ofpeople whohave, perhaps unknowingly, benefited from hisdeepcommitment to
reducing prejudice inoursociety.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religious Orientation
Allport believed thatadeepreligious commitment wasamark ofamature individual, 
buthealsobelieved thatnotallchurchgoers haveamature religious orientation. Some, 
infact,arehighly prejudiced. Allport (1966) offered apossible explanation forthisfre-
quently reported observation. Hesuggested thatchurch andprejudice offerthesame 
safety, security, andstatus, atleastforsome people. These people canfeelbothcom-
fortable andself-righteous withtheirprejudicial attitudes andtheirchurch attendance. 
Tounderstand therelationship between church attendance andprejudice, 
Allport andJ.Michael Ross (1967) developed theReligious Orientation Scale 
(ROS), which isapplicable onlyforchurchgoers. TheROS consists of20items—11 
Extrinsic and9Intrinsic. Examples ofExtrinsic items are“The primary purpose of
prayer istogainrelief andprotection”; “What religion offers memost iscomfort 
when sorrow andmisfortune strike”; and“One reason formybeing achurch member 
isthatsuchmembership helps toestablish aperson inthecommunity.” Examples 
ofIntrinsic items include “Myreligious beliefs arewhat really liebehind mywhole 
approach tolife”and“Itryhardtocarry myreligion overintoallmyother dealings 
inlife”(p.436). Allport andRoss assumed thatpeople withanextrinsic orientation 
haveautilitarian viewofreligion; thatis,theyseeitasameans toanend.Theirs is
aself-serving religion ofcomfort andsocial convention. Their beliefs arelightly held
andeasily reshaped when convenient. Incontrast, asecond group ofpeople havean
intrinsic orientation. These people livetheirreligion andfindtheirmaster motive in
theirreligious faith. Rather thanusing religion forsome end,theybring other needs into
harmony withtheirreligious values. They haveaninternalized creed andfollow itfully. Final PDF to printer