Lawton, S. (2018) Integrating Psychological and Sociological Conceptualizations of Sexual Prejudice. BPS Psychology of Sexualities 20th Anniversary Conference 1998-2018: Reflecting Back, Looking Forwards, British Psychological Society, London, United Kingdom, 6 July 2018. (doi: 10.53841/bpssex.2018.9.2.23)
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Abstract
Psychological and sociological approaches to theorizing prejudice have developed largely in isolation from each other. This paper aims to reconcile the two disciplines and generate new avenues for the empirical study of sexual prejudice. I adopt a post-structuralist analytical position which critiques the epistemological of both disciplines, in order to find useful and fruitful applications for future research. This critical literature review encompasses social psychological theorising regarding prejudice, tracing the development of the discipline from its early postwar beginnings to contemporary theories of prejudice. Key theorists of prejudice in sociology are then examined and critiqued, including Black feminist scholars, and the paper demonstrates how theorising about racial and gendered prejudice came to shape conceptualizations of sexual prejudice.I find that key authors from psychology and sociology made early contributions to the development of each discipline's understandings of prejudice with a critical point of departure after c.1955, around the time of the cognitive revolution, and the adoption of the quantitative science of psychology to social phenomenon. From then, an epistemological hierarchy was constructed as objectivism in psychology became mainstream, and sociology's philosophical underpinnings diverged from objectivism. I draw on the historical and contemporary theorising about prejudice from both disciplines to adopt an intersectional approach which accounts for racial, gendered, and sexual prejudice, which is provides a valuable framework for theorizing prejudice against sexual minorities.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Gender, sexuality, feminist theory, literature review, sociology, psychology. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Lawton, Dr Samuel |
| Authors: | Lawton, S. |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HM Sociology |
| College/School: | College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences |
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