Abstract
Abstract:
The self as a psychological construct, and the self in relation to the other has been discussed in psychological and
sociological literature for decades, but not much attention has been given to the psychological development of the self
in relation to the social construction of prejudice. The primary aim of this article is to explore the self in prejudice and
thus the psychological processes involved in the development of self within the social context. Consequently, the aim is
to explore the self in the construction and expression of prejudice from both a social and psychological approach, and to
explain selfhood influences at the individual, group and community levels. I use the conceptual framework of Kohut’s self
psychology as a lens to present the development of the self and thus the idea of the development of the self in relation to
the other. In such exploration of self in prejudice, I present some of my ideas which include prejudice as an outcome of
self-definition in the context of the other, as well as linking self in prejudice and group dynamics to attachment theory and
the notion of “selfgroup’ in terms of overidentification with the in-group. While the social and the psychological in terms
of the development of the self cannot be separated, I have therefore attempted to merge at some point the two bodies of
thought in relation to the self in prejudice.