ABSTRACT
This article presents a theoretical review on the legitimizing factors of discrimination that are identified in classical theories of social psychology. In this sense, we analyze how these mechanisms are treated in four theoretical perspectives: individual differences; conflicts of interest; categorization processes; and identity processes. The focus of our analysis is based on the idea that theories of social psychology have explained the intergroup discrimination by referring the central role played by legitimating factors in social inequality, although the reference to these factors did not occur in an explicit way. Finally, we propose that the use of justifying factors of discrimination is the mechanism through which prejudice leads to discrimination, while realistic and symbolic perceptions of threat are some of the most important legitimating factors of discrimination.
Keywords:
prejudice; social discrimination; attitudes; legitimacy