The Mediating Role of the Scope of Justice in Prejudice Against Minoritized Groups in Brazil
Main Article Content
Abstract
The general aim of this research was to analyze the mediating role of the scope of justice as a justification for the relationship between prejudice and discrimination against black people (specifically) and against ethnic and minoritized groups together (black people, indigenous people, gypsies, and black immigrants). Two quantitative studies were conducted through an online questionnaire on prejudice against these groups: the scope of justice (two factors), and perceptions of discrimination/support for discriminatory policies (SDP). These measures were adapted to the Brazilian context. In Study 1, 146 people from all over Brazil participated, aged 18 to 65, mostly women, self-declared white, and with a family income of three minimum wages. In Study 2, 94 people from different Brazilian cities participated, aged 18 to 64, of whom 50% identified as white, with an average monthly family income of BRL 4,479.98. Data analysis was performed using descriptive, factorial, and inferential analyses using the SPSS statistical package. Results showed that participants used the justification of restricting the scope of justice to the ingroup in both studies to legitimize the exclusion of ethnic and minoritized groups, disguising the expression of prejudice. In this sense, the way people perceive the application of justice across different groups (scope of justice) can be altered by prejudice, and it can also be used to justify, in a veiled way, social exclusion. This research corroborates studies on how discrimination is legitimized and perpetuated through the guise of justice.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright to articles published in The Journal Of Psychology: Theory and Practice belongs to the authors, who grant Mackenzie Presbyterian University the not exclusive rights to publish the content.
References
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
Bento, M. A. S. (2002). Branquitude - O lado oculto do discurso sobre o negro. Em I. Carone & M. A. S. Bento (Orgs.), Psicologia social do racismo: estudos sobre branquitude e branqueamento no Brasil (pp. 167184). Vozes.
Brasil (2012, 12 dezembro). Resolução nº 466, de 12 de dezembro de 2012. Disponível em: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/cns/2013/res0466_12_12_2012.htm. Acesso em: 26 junho 2020.
Bergh, R., Akrami, N., Sidanius, J., & Sibley, C. G. (2016). Is group membership necessary for understanding generalized prejudice? A re-evaluation of why prejudices are interrelated. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111(3), 367– 395. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000064
Camino, L., Silva, P., Machado, A., & Pereira, C. (2001). A face oculta do racismo no Brasil: uma análise psicossociológica. Revista de Psicologia Política, 1(1), 13-36.
Clayton, S., & Opotow, S. (2003). Justice and identity: Changing perspectives on what is fair. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7(4), 298–310. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0704_03
Crandall, C. S., & Eshleman, A. (2003). A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 414-446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.414
Costa-Lopes, R., Dovidio, J. F., Pereira, C. R., & Jost, J. T. (2013). Social psychological perspectives on the legitimation of social inequality: Past, present and future. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(4), 229–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1966
Coryn, C. L. S., & Borshuk, C. (2006). The scope of justice for Muslim Americans: Moral exclusion in the aftermath of 9/11. The Qualitative Report, 11(3), 568–604. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2006.1676
Deutsch, M. (1990). Psychological roots of moral exclusion. Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), 21–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1990.tb00270.x
Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (2005). Understanding and addressing contemporary racism: From aversive racism to the common ingroup identity model. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 615-239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2005.00424.x
Gondim, S. M. G., Techio, E. M., Paranhos, J., Moreira, T., Brantes, C., Sobrinho, J. B., & Santana, V. (2013). Imigração e Trabalho: Um Estudo sobre Identidade Social, Emoções e Discriminação contra estrangeiros. Psicologia em Pesquisa, 7(2), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.5327/Z1982-1247201300020003
Ghosh, S., & Vogt, W. P. (2012). Handbook of research methods in social and personality psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Hadarics, M., & Kende, A. (2018). Moral foundations of positive and negative intergroup behavior: Moral exclusion fills the gap. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 64, 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2018.03.006
Hafer, C. L., Conway, P., Cheung, I., Malyk, D., & Olson, J. M. (2012). The relation between identification with a target and the perceived importance of justice. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 34, 395-409. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2012.711693
Katz, I., & Hass, R. G. (1988). Racial ambivalence and American value conflict: Correlational and priming studies of dual cognitive structures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 893-905. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.55.6.893
Lima, A. V. V., Costa, R. C. S. & Costa, A. C. A. (2025). Discursos justificadores de justiça no preconceito contra grupos étnicos e minoritarios. Psicología, Conocimiento y Sociedad, 15(1), e1512. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.26864/PCS.v15.n1.2
Lima, M. E. O. (2020). Psicologia social do preconceito e do racismo. Blucher. https://doi.org/10.5151/9786555500127
Lima, M. E. O. (2024). Contribuições da psicologia social para o entendimento do racismo no Brasil. São Paulo: Blucher.
Lima, M. E. O., & Vala, J. (2004). As novas formas de expressão do preconceito. Estudos de Psicologia (Natal), 9(3), 401-412.
Lima Nunes, A. V., & Camino, L. (2011). Atitude político-ideológica e inserção social: Fatores psicossociais do preconceito racial? Psicologia & Sociedade, 23(1), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-71822011000100016
Lima-Nunes, A., & Farias, K. G. (2019). The strategic use of the scope of justice in legitimizing intergroup conflict. Psico-USF, 24(2), 311-321. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-82712019240208
Lima-Nunes, A., Pereira, C. R., & Correia, I. (2013). Restricting the scope of justice to justify discrimination: The role played by justice perceptions in discrimination against immigrants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(7), 627–636. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1981
Lima Nunes, A. V., Lins, S. L. B., Camino, L. and Torres, A. R. R. (2010). Social insertion and racial prejudice: Distance from black people and socio-political variables. Portuguese Journal of Social Science, 9(1), 3–17 https://doi.org/10.1386/pjss.9.1.3_1
Meertens, R. W., & Pettigrew, T. F. (1997). Is subtle prejudice really prejudice? Public Opinion Quarterly, 61, 54–71. https://doi.org/10.1086/297786
Ministry of Racial Equity (2025). More Data, Better Health – Experience of everyday Discrimination by the Brazilian population. https://www.vitalstrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/Mais-Dados-Mais-SaudeExperience-of-Everyday-Discrimination-by-the-Brazilian-Population.pdf
Modesto, J. G., Minelli, A. C., Fernandes, M. P., Rodrigues, M., Bufolo, R., Bitencourt, R., & Pilati, R. (2017). Racismo e políticas afirmativas: Evidências do modelo da discriminação justificada. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 33, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e3333
Muller, D., Judd, C. M., & Yzerbyt, V. Y. (2005). When moderation is mediated and mediation is moderated. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 852-863. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.852
Nariman, H. S., Hadarics, M., Soufizadeh, A. M., & Kende, A. (2020). The mediating role of moral exclusion between authoritarianism and outgroup discrimination. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 74, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.10.001
Opotow, S. (1990). Deterring moral exclusion. Journal of Social Issues, 46, 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1990.tb00280.x
Opotow, S. (2012). The scope of justice, intergroup conflict, and peace. In L. R. Tropp (Ed.), Oxford library of psychology. The Oxford handbook of intergroup conflict (p. 72– 86). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Opotow, S. (2018). Social Justice theory and practice: fostering inclusion in exclusionary contexts. In P. L. Hammack (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of social psychology and social justice (p. 41-56). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Paiva, T. T., & Pereira, C. R. (2021). O papel da justiça na relação do sexismo e na violência contra mulher. Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 55(3), e1591. https://doi.org/10.30849/ripijp.v55i3.1591
Passini, S., & Villano, P. (2018). Justice and immigration: The effect of moral exclusion. International Journal of Psychological Research, 11(1), 42– 49. https://doi.org/10.21500/20112084.3262
Pereira, C. R. (2012). Normas sociais e legitimação da discriminação. Em C. R. Pereira & R. Costa-Lopes (Eds.), Normas, atitudes e comportamentos sociais (pp. 171-207). Lisboa: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais.
Pereira, C. R. & Vala, J. (2011). A legitimação da discriminação em diferentes contextos normativos. In E. M. Techio, & M. E. O. Lima (Eds.), Cultura e produção das diferenças: Estereótipos e preconceito no Brasil, Espanha e Portugal (pp. 363-404). Brasília: Technopolitik.
Pereira, C. R., Álvaro, J. L., & Vala, J. (2018). The Ego-Defensive Role of Legitimacy: How Threat-Based Justifications Protect the Self-Esteem of Discriminators. Personallity and Social Psychological Bulletin, 44, 1473–1486. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218771007
Pereira, C., Torres, A. R. R., & Almeida, S. T. (2003). Um estudo do preconceito na perspectiva das representações sociais: Análise da influência de um discurso justificador da discriminação no preconceito racial. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 16(1), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-79722003000100011
Pereira, C., Vala, J., & Costa-Lopes, R. (2010). From prejudice to discrimination: The legitimizing role of perceived threat in discrimination against immigrants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 1231– 1250. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp
Pereira, C., Vala, J., & Leyens, J.-P. (2009). From infra-humanization to discrimination: The mediation of symbolic threat needs egalitarian norms. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 336–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.10.010
Pestana, M., & Gageiro, J. (2005). Análise dos dados para Ciências Sociais: A complementaridade do SPSS (5th ed.). Edições Silabo.
Souza, L. E. C., Pereira, C. R., Camino, L., Lima, T. J. S., & Torres, A. R. R. (2016). The legitimizing role of accent on discrimination against immigrants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 609-620. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2216
Staub, E. (1989). The roots of evil: Origins of genocide and other group violence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Vala, J., Lopes, D., & Lima, M. (2008). Black immigrants in Portugal: Luso-tropicalism and prejudice. Journal of Social Issues, 64(2), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00563.x