The objective of this project is to examine the cross-cultural aspects of the prejudice reduction process, and to systematically explain differences in the conception of prejudice between cultures. Prejudice is chosen as a research topic because it is a profound social problem with widespread impact on the psychological well-being of many disadvantaged groups. Specifically, the project will delineate the bases of the prejudice reduction process in the United States, which until now have been unspecified empirically. The project then makes comparisons between the mechanisms of the prejudice reduction process in four research sites of differing cultures, using as an explanatory framework the differential elaboration of moral codes of thought in the various cultures. Finally, the project examines the affective aspects of the process, aspects, which are viewed as key motivational components to reducing prejudice. The primary research method will be semi-structured interviews followed by content coding, although during some phases of the project, questionnaires will also be used. It is hoped that through this project, better understanding of the prejudice reduction process will be achieved, and the effectiveness of interventions based on this process will be improved in diverse cultures, both within subcultures in the United States and in other countries. Ultimately, such improvements in interventions should lead to a decrease in intergroup tension, which has benefits at both the individual and societal level.
