Racism : social psychological perspectives

Racism has been a core topic in social psychology since the 1930s. Central to most definitions of racism is the belief ina biological hierarchy between different social groups based on perceived racial differences. As a complex social issue multiplesocial psychological perspectives have been advanced to understand and theorize beliefs, behavior, and social practices thatsustain racial inequality ranging from the individual to the social level of explanation. These include personality theories;social cognition models; realistic group conflict; social identity theory; critical discursive approaches, studies of white privilege;and embodied racism. Although these perspectives are frequently argued to be inconsistent with each other, recentattempts at integration are providing richer accounts of this phenomenon.