Editing Scapegoating (section)

==Scapegoat theory of intergroup conflict<!--'Scapegoat theory of intergroup conflict' redirects here-->==

The '''scapegoat theory of intergroup conflict'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> provides an explanation for the correlation between times of relative economic despair and increases in prejudice and violence toward [[Ingroups and outgroups|outgroups]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Poppe|first=Edwin|title=Effects of changes in GNP and perceived group characteristics on national and ethnic stereotypes in central and eastern Europe.|journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology|year=2001|volume=31|issue=8|pages=1689–1708|doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2001.tb02746.x}}</ref> Studies of [[Anti-black racism|anti-black]] violence ([[racist]] violence) in the [[southern United States]] between 1882 and 1930 show a correlation between poor economic conditions and outbreaks of violence (e.g. lynchings) against black people. The correlation between the price of cotton (the principal product of the area at that time) and the number of lynchings of black men by whites ranged from −0.63 to −0.72, suggesting that a poor economy induced white people to take out their frustrations by attacking an outgroup.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hovland|first1=C. I.|last2=Sears| first2=R. R. |title=Minor studies of aggression: VI. Correlation of lynchings with economic indices|journal=Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied|year=1940|volume=9|issue=2|pages=301–310|doi=10.1080/00223980.1940.9917696}}</ref>

Scapegoating as a group necessitates that [[Ingroups and outgroups|ingroup]] members settle on one specific target to blame for their problems.<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1002/9780470773963.ch15|chapter=Choice of Scapegoats|title=On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport|pages=244–261|year=2005|last1=Glick|first1=Peter|isbn=978-0470773963|editor1-link=John Dovidio|editor-last1=Dovidio|editor-first1=John F.|editor-last2=Glick|editor-first2=Peter|editor-last3=Rudman|editor-first3=Laurie|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDSyHPt98E0C&pg=PA244|publisher=Blackwell Publishing}}</ref>

In management, scapegoating is a known practice in which a lower staff employee is blamed for the mistakes of senior executives. This is often due to lack of [[accountability]] in upper management.<ref name="it-scapegoat">[http://www.pmhut.com/the-art-of-scapegoating-in-it-projects The Art of Scapegoating in IT Projects] PM Hut, 15 October 2009</ref>