His Outlook

Henry Tajfel was a social psychologist known for his work on the cognitive side of prejudice. In his experiments, insignificant distinctions between groups, such as the preference for a particular type of art, provoked an impulse to favor one’s own group. The “us vs. them” mentality is a verifiable human condition. Belonging to a group provides self-esteem and pride, and one group can easily discriminate against other groups in order to preserve their social identity.