Ethnocentrism and Prejudice: History of the Concepts

Ethnocentrism and prejudice are two distinct, though closely related, concepts. Since the early twentieth century, social scientists have tended to see them as fundamental social scientific concepts. This article presents a brief history of how social scientists conceptualized ethnocentrism and prejudice, and discusses their study with a focus on four prominent explanations that guided empirical research: (1) evolutionary, (2) threat and conflict, (3) self-aggrandizement, and (4) socialization and normative.