People often simultaneously hold prejudices towards multiple groups, a
theory known as generalized prejudice. The current research explores lay
perceptions of generalized prejudice, identifying which prejudices are
believed to co-occur, and what perpetrator characteristics organize
generalized prejudice beliefs. Utilizing multidimensional scaling, this
article presents a two-dimensional cognitive map of perceived generalized
prejudice towards 20 social groups that replicates across four United
States samples (N = 1,035) and across participant race and gender. Results
suggest people perceive prejudiced beliefs to be organized around the
political orientation of the prejudiced person and the contamination threat
perceived by the prejudiced person. This work illustrates how perceived
generalized prejudices are organized, providing a new perspective for
stigma, intersectionality, and intergroup relations research.
