According to the scapegoat hypothesis, prejudice arises from a need to blame other groups for our present misfortunes. The scapegoat hypothesis may also arise from a rivalry over insufficient supplies.
A good example of this is when a country has seen an increase in its unemployment rate, and some people blame workers coming from other countries to be the cause of the high unemployment rate. The workers that are not that said country are accused of “stealing” the jobs that were supposed to be given to the country’s native citizens.