A taxonomy of discriminatory behavior.

Abstract

Discrimination is the behavior through which bias is expressed and enacted, but social psychology has focused much more on prejudice than on discrimination. This may be due, in part, to the broad conceptualization of discrimination, in which heterogeneous behaviors with different causes are considered together. To map the landscape of discrimination and provide a foundation for developing theoretical and predictive models of discrimination, the present work develops a taxonomy of discriminatory behavior. After establishing the conceptual framework on which to build a taxonomy, we denote 11 distinct clusters of discrimination. Drawing from theory and empirical evidence, we then consider the psychological variables that are most likely to predict such behavior. This taxonomy makes unique predictions and advances the study of discrimination toward more predictive models of behavior. This will enable a more precise understanding of the causes of discrimination, thereby laying the foundation necessary to reduce it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).