A sense of group position
Blumer (1958) argued that prejudice stems not from individual feelings but from a collective sense that one's group's rightful position and privileges may be encroached upon by another group. Dominant groups combine feelings of superiority, of the out-group's alienness, of proprietary claims to resources, and fear of losing them. This connects to realistic conflict theory, which stresses real competition between groups.
Minority size and threat
Key (1949) found that in the American South, white racial mobilization was strongest where the Black population share was highest. Blalock (1967) formalized the argument that growing minority size raises economic competition and political power threat, increasing discrimination. Quillian (1995) showed across European countries that immigrant shares and economic conditions explain levels of prejudice, and Bobo and Hutchings (1996) extended the focus on perceived group competition to multiracial settings.
Tension with contact theory
Group threat theory sometimes predicts the opposite of the contact hypothesis, which holds that contact reduces prejudice. Enos (2014) reported from a field experiment placing Hispanic riders on Boston commuter trains that brief exposure increased exclusionary immigration attitudes. Hopkins (2010) found local backlash grows when demographic change is sudden and national rhetoric politicizes immigration. Integrated threat theory, which covers symbolic and realistic threats, organizes these ideas psychologically.
FAQ
- What is group threat theory in simple terms?
- When a majority group feels it may lose jobs, power or status to a minority group, prejudice and exclusion grow.
- Doesn't frequent contact reduce prejudice?
- Deep, sustained contact can reduce prejudice, but some studies find brief or competitive exposure heightens feelings of threat.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Blumer, H. (1958). Race prejudice as a sense of group position. The Pacific Sociological Review, 1(1), 3–7. Prejudice as group position.
- Blalock, H. M. (1967). Toward a theory of minority-group relations. Wiley. The size hypothesis.
- Key, V. O. (1949). Southern politics in state and nation. Alfred A. Knopf. The political science roots.
- Quillian, L. (1995). Prejudice as a response to perceived group threat: Population composition and anti-immigrant and racial prejudice in Europe. American Sociological Review, 60(4), 586–611. Cross-national evidence in Europe.
- Bobo, L., & Hutchings, V. L. (1996). Perceptions of racial group competition: Extending Blumer's theory of group position to a multiracial social context. American Sociological Review, 61(6), 951–972. Multiracial extension.
- Hopkins, D. J. (2010). Politicized places: Explaining where and when immigrants provoke local opposition. American Political Science Review, 104(1), 40–60. Politicized change.
- Enos, R. D. (2014). Causal effect of intergroup contact on exclusionary attitudes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(10), 3699–3704. Experimental evidence.