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Training away bias: The differential effects of counterstereotype training and self-regulation on stereotype activation and application
Abstract
A pressing issue concerns how to reduce stereotypic responses and discriminatory outcomes resulting from the operation of implicit biases. One possibility is that cognitive retraining, such as by repeatedly practicing counterstereotypes, can reduce implicit bias so that stereotype application will be reduced in turn. Another possibility involves motivated self-regulation, where people's awareness of their proneness to biased responses heightens negative self-directed affect, which in turn facilitates monitoring for biases and reduces stereotype application. These possibilities were tested across three experiments. In all experiments, participants who completed counterstereotype training subsequently scored lower on a measure of implicit bias, relative to untrained participants. In Experiments 1 and 2, counterstereotyping did not reduce subsequent stereotype application; in Experiment 3, counterstereotyping did reduce stereotype application, but this effect was not mediated by implicit bias scores. Participants in the motivated self-regulation condition (Experiments 2 & 3) were primed with their proneness to respond in biased ways, which increased negative self-directed affect among participants more internally motivated to respond without bias. Participants' degree of negative self-directed affect was not consistently associated with implicit bias scores. However, greater negative self-directed affect was associated with reduced stereotype application (Experiment 2) and greater rejection of racist jokes (Experiment 3). These results suggest that reductions of implicit bias through counterstereotype training do not, in turn, lead to reduced stereotype application. In contrast, the results support the viability of motivated self-regulation interventions that facilitate awareness of bias and heighten negative self-directed affect, thus creating the motivation to self-regulate stereotype application.
... Personal prejudice in the form of automatically activated biases that can influence people's responses with little awareness and intention are commonplace (Eberhardt, 2020). Combatting these biases, which has been likened to a habitbreaking process, requires becoming aware of and concerned about one's biases and developing skills to identify, interrupt, and respond in non-biased ways (Burns et al., 2017;Devine et al., 2012;Forscher et al., 2017;Monteith, 1993;Monteith et al., 2002). Compared to explicit biases, people are held less accountable for biases of which they are unaware and that are unintentional (Daumeyer et al., 2019;Simon et al., 2019), which highlights the need to increase people's recognition of and motivation to combat personal implicit bias. ...
... In addition, Experiment 1 assessed negative self-and other-directed affect as exploratory measures. Typically, procedures designed to highlight personal bias activate negative self-directed affect, especially among individuals who are internally motivated to be egalitarian (e.g., Burns et al., 2017;Monteith & Voils, 1998). We assessed negative other-directed affect with the idea that reading about discrimination experience would activate this emotional response (Borders & Wiley, 2020;Moss-Racusin et al., 2018). ...
... Procedure. The procedure replicated Experiment 1 except we used a racial stereotypic inference task (SIT) instead of the IAT to highlight people's personal proneness to racial bias (e.g., Burns et al., 2017;Czopp et al., 2006). On each trial, participants viewed a picture of a person accompanied by a short description (e.g., "This person is often found with a camera"). ...
Social psychological research has used strategies to increase recognition of and motivation to combat personal or systemic bias, but with little attention to whether single strategies might influence both personal and systemic outcomes. We investigated whether single strategies are effective in both bias domains and potential underlying mechanisms. Across two experiments, non-Black participants were exposed to information concerning (a) their personal racial biases, (b) multiple Black individuals’ discrimination experiences across institutional contexts, or (c) race-unrelated information (control condition). Discrimination experiences exposure (vs. control) increased recognition of systemic bias and motivation to combat both systemic and personal bias (Studies 1 and 2), and we found statistical support for empathy as a mediator (Study 2). In contrast, strategies for highlighting personal bias had weaker effects on personal bias outcomes and no effects on systemic bias outcomes. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of discrimination experiences exposure for combatting systemic and personal bias.
... This chapter begins with a relatively brief consideration of selfconfrontation theory and research (for more elaborate reviews, see Burns, Monteith, & Parker, 2017;Monteith, Arthur, & Flynn, 2010;Monteith, Lybarger, & Woodcock, 2009), which is essential for setting up our primary focus on other-confrontation. Our main objective in this chapter is to advance a theoretical framework for explaining how people react to being confronted by others, and why and when these reactions occur. ...
... Affective reactions to standard violations have been extensively investigated in research on prejudice-related discrepancies (for a review, see Monteith & Mark, 2005). In some research, participants' affect was assessed after their discrepancies were activated through the completion of the Should-Would Discrepancy Questionnaire (e.g., Burns et al., 2017;Gill & Andreychik, 2007;Monteith & Voils, 1998). In other research, discrepancies have been experimentally manipulated so that participants do or do not believe they have responded in biased ways (e.g., Monteith, 1993;Monteith, Ashburn-Nardo, Voils, & Czopp, 2002). ...
... The model of the Self-Regulation of Prejudiced Responses (SRP) summarizes these consequences and their implications for bias reduction (see Fig. 2). According to the model and supporting research (e.g., Amodio, Devine, & Harmon-Jones, 2007;Burns et al., 2017;Fehr & Sassenberg, 2010;Monteith, 1993;Monteith et al., 2002;Monteith, Mark, & Ashburn-Nardo, 2010), when a stereotype is activated (often through automatic processes) and results in a biased response that conflicts with one's standards, awareness of one's discrepant responses triggers negative affect. For people with lower prejudiced attitudes, this affect takes the form of negative self-directed affect. ...
Self-confrontation, whereby people become aware of their responses being more biased than their personal standards condone, triggers self-regulation and bias reduction. However, impediments to self-confrontation reduces its occurrence. Other-confrontation, where someone points other another person's biased responses with disapproval, provides an antidote. Research has identified confrontees' reactions and associated moderators, but in a largely descriptive manner. We propose a theoretical framework capturing consequences of other-confrontation for confrontees. The confrontee's perceived validity of the confrontation determines whether they evaluate their response based on their personal standards, which prompts negative self-directed affect and bias reduction. Simultaneously, the confrontee's perception that the confronter is trying to impugn their egalitarian and non-prejudiced image triggers negative other-directed affect and, in turn, the confrontee's generation of social costs (e.g., dislike for the confronter). Moderators affecting bias reduction and social costs operate through their influence on people's answers to the perceived validity and impugnment questions.
... Among them, counter-stereotypes cognitive training plays a key role in reducing the influence of negative stereotypes. Counter-stereotypes cognitive training has been shown to be effective in diminishing or inhibiting the activation and application of stereotypes across the domains of race, occupation, and gender (Marini et al., 2012;Meijs et al., 2015;Lai et al., 2016;Burns et al., 2017). Although aging stereotypes have not been given corresponding attention in academia (Barber, 2017), aging stereotypes as a socio-cognitive factor, it is reasonable to believe that counter-stereotypes cognitive intervention training may have the same effect in suppressing aging stereotypes and eliminating the negative effects of aging stereotypes on older adults. ...
... Counter-stereotypes storytelling is an effective way to weaken or eliminate stereotypes by exposing subjects to a variety of typical counter-stereotypes situations. It has been shown that targets are made to exhibit behaviors inconsistent with stereotypes through false story scenarios, news reports, or people's subjective accounts, whether it is a plant-related situation (flowers are dangerous, and insects are safe; Foroni and Mayr, 2005;Lai et al., 2014) or a humanrelated situation (e.g., black heroes and white villains), which can develop distinct counter-stereotypes through stories (Dasgupta and Greenwald, 2001;Marini et al., 2012;Burns et al., 2017). Some researchers have presented subjects with a compiled report of an assault by using a false story scenario or report. ...
... The evaluative conditioning technique is a method discovered and named by (Martin and Levey, 1978), which focuses on making a relevant connection between two things through multiple pairwise evaluations and transferring attitudes, emotions, etc., about one thing to the other. The associativepropositional evaluation model summarized by Gawronski and Bodenhausen (2006) found that the typical method of changing implicit attitudes is a progressive change in social structure achieved through the action of evaluative conditioning (Burns et al., 2017). For example, Dijksterhuis (2004) used an evaluative conditioning technique in which subjects repeatedly paired their self-represented words with positive words and found that their implicit self-esteem was effectively increased after repeated practice. ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of counter-stereotypes cognitive training on adolescents’ aging stereotypes and to further investigate the best training method to intervene in aging stereotypes by comparing the effect of single and multiple intervention training methods on aging stereotypes and their retention effects. Three experiments examined the different intervention outcomes of different counter-stereotypes cognitive training on adolescent aging stereotypes. The study used a randomized block group experimental design and recruited a total of 183 middle school students for testing. Experiment 1 verified the effect of counter-stereotypes cognitive training by taking a single training task (evaluative conditioning technique), randomly assigning subjects to different conditions (training task or unrelated drawing task), and administering a follow-up test 24h after the posttest. Experiment 2a compared the effects of multiple versus single cognitive training, where we took multiple (adding the counter-stereotypes situational storytelling method) versus single training tasks and administered a follow-up test 72h after the posttest. Experiment 2b increased the number of training sessions based on Experiment 2a, with a second intervention training 72h after the end of the posttest and a follow-up test 72h after the second training. Experimental results suggest that evaluative conditioning techniques are effective in weakening subjects’ aging stereotypes, but are less effective in maintaining them. Compared to a single training task, multi-tasking is more effective and the effects of the intervention are maintained for up to a week by increasing the number of training sessions.
... The goals of implicit bias awareness, affective/ attitudinal learning, and behavioral learning are linked, because those who are aware of their own bias are more likely to believe in implicit bias (i.e., affective/attitudinal learning) and engage in self-regulation to overcome it (i.e., behavioral learning; Perry et al., 2015). Especially among those who are internally motivated to avoid bias, evidence of bias triggers negative self-directed affect, which motivates monitoring to reduce stereotype application (Burns et al., 2017). Feedback indicating bias on the IAT may also increase internal motivation to control prejudice (Adams et al., 2014). ...
... Feedback indicating bias on the IAT may also increase internal motivation to control prejudice (Adams et al., 2014). By triggering negative self-directed affect and/or negative qualitative responses to IAT results (e.g., discomfort, confusion, or shock; Hillard et al., 2013), demonstrations of personal implicit bias may motivate awareness of and reflection on bias that can increase learning and reduce discriminatory behavior (e.g., Adams et al., 2014;Burns et al., 2017;Hillard et al., 2013). ...
... These depersonalization strategies are more likely when results indicate higher levels of anti-Black bias (Casad et al., 2012;Hillard et al., 2013;Howell et al., 2015). Given that emotional involvement can greatly facilitate engagement and learning (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2009), students' tendency to create emotional distance by depersonalizing their IAT results may reduce their understanding of bias and minimize the self-directed negative affect that has been linked with behavioral learning (Burns et al., 2017). Furthermore, because the majority of IAT participants receive feedback indicating bias (Nosek et al., 2007), the resulting tendency to experience general negative affect and reject the IAT as a valid measure of implicit bias may be widespread when using the IAT as an experiential exercise in classes or diversity training. ...
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) can increase students’ understanding of implicit bias and motivation for behavioral change. However, little is known about the educational effects of other implicit bias demonstrations. In this experiment involving a classroom assignment, students’ reactions to the IAT and the first-person-shooter task (FPST) were examined. Students found the demonstrations to be useful to their education, reported mild positive affect following the demonstrations, and characterized the demonstrations as generally positive and accurate. Among students who completed the IAT, a stronger implicit bias (i.e., anti-Black/pro-White) was associated with greater negative affect, a more negative attitude toward the IAT, greater depersonalization of their results, and weaker endorsement of the demonstration as educational; however, these reactions did not occur among students who received results indicating implicit bias on the FPST. These findings suggest that the FPST and IAT may both be valuable and engaging tools for demonstrating implicit bias, with the FPST reducing the likelihood that students will dismiss their results and the demonstration as invalid following feedback indicating bias.
... 8 These evidence-based interventions typically include one or more of the following strategies: stereotype replacement, individuation, perspective taking, counter stereotypic imaging, and increasing opportunities for contact with out-group members. 9,10 The impact of implicit bias on disparities in health care may be lessened if physicians recognize their own biases and practice the skills of perspective taking and individuation. [11][12][13] Components of this habit-breaking intervention formed the basis for a simulation named ''SDOH Sim'' that we developed as part of the Medicaid Equity Simulation (MES) project funded by the Ohio Medicaid Technical Assistance and Policy Program (MED-TAPP). ...
... Research with the prejudice habit-breaking model has demonstrated that opportunities for interaction with individuals from groups for which there are negative assumptions and biases can help mitigate the tendency to ''fill in the blanks'' with stereotypes for such individuals. 9,10 Although training simulations cannot fully replace real-life experience with individuals from disenfranchised groups, they can begin to heighten awareness of how learning more of the history and life story for given individuals can help reduce negative thoughts and increase compassion for these persons. The more another person is viewed as an individual, rather than simply a member of a stereotyped group, the greater the chance that health care provided will be more equitable. ...
Purpose: Biased perceptions of individuals who are not part of one's in-groups tend to be negative and habitual. Because health care professionals are no less susceptible to biases than are others, the adverse impact of biases on marginalized populations in health care warrants continued attention and amelioration.
Method: Two characters, a Syrian refugee with limited English proficiency and a black pregnant woman with a history of opioid use disorder, were developed for an online training simulation that includes an interactive life course experience focused on social determinants of health, and a clinical encounter in a community health center utilizing virtual reality immersion. Pre- and post-survey data were obtained from 158 health professionals who completed the simulation.
Results: Post-simulation data indicated increased feelings of compassion toward the patient and decreased expectations about how difficult future encounters with the patient would be. With respect to attribution, after the simulation participants were less inclined to view the patient as primarily responsible for their situation, suggesting less impact of the fundamental attribution error.
Conclusion: This training simulation aimed to utilize components of evidence-based prejudice habit breaking interventions, such as learning more about an individual's life experience to help minimize filling in gaps with stereotyped assumptions. Although training simulations cannot fully replicate or replace the advantages that come with real-world experience, they can heighten awareness in the increase of increasing the cultural sensitivity of clinicians in health care professions for improving health equity.
... These two types of motivation are independent of each other, which imply that a person can be motivated by internal reasons, by external reasons, by a combination of both or by neither of them (Devine et al., 2002). Previous research has shown that individuals with high internal motivation generally express fewer race biases, whereas individuals with high external motivation tend to express more race biases (e.g., Amodio et al., 2008;Burns et al., 2017;Devine et al., 2002;Ito et al., 2015;Plant & Devine, 1998). While the majority of studies have analyzed the relationships between motivation to respond without prejudice and racism, similar patterns have been observed with other kinds of biases. ...
Previous studies have reported fewer social biases in bilinguals compared to monolinguals. However, it is unclear whether the expression of social biases varies across the bilingualism spectrum. This article investigates the connections between different dimensions of bilingual experience and the expression of explicit bias. We analyzed the responses of 389 bilinguals to a battery of questionnaires on bilingual and multicultural experiences, explicit bias, internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice and executive control. The results show that more diverse language-use and language-learning experiences were associated with lower explicit bias among bilinguals who had lower internal motivation to respond without prejudice (i.e., motivation driven by personal values). This study presents novel evidence on the relationships between bilingual experiences and the expression of social biases.
... Advantaged group members support equality at different levels and in different ways (see the study by De Souza & Schmader, 2024 for a typology of allyship behaviors). When confronted with specific instances of inequality, for example, they can attempt to reduce their own bias (Burns et al., 2017), confront the perpetrator (Czopp et al., 2006), and/or engage in collective action (Agostini & van Zomeren, 2021). Advantaged group members also support equality 1273354P SRXXX10.1177/10888683241273354Personality and Social Psychology ReviewMoser and Wiley proactively by seeking out positive contact (Wright & Lubensky, 2009); advocating for friends, family members, and colleagues (Chen et al., 2023;Sudkämper et al., 2020); and/or implementing inclusive policies as leaders in organizations (e.g., Lyubykh et al., 2024). ...
Advantaged group allies have multiple motives for supporting equality, raising questions about their sincerity. We draw upon the covariation model of attributions to explain how disadvantaged group members make attributions about whether advantaged group “allies” are sincerely motivated to empower the disadvantaged group. We propose an Attribution-Identity Model of Sincerity (AIMS) which posits that disadvantaged group members view advantaged group members as sincere allies when they support equality in the presence of inhibitory causes and in the absence of facilitative causes, exceed expectations for the advantaged group, and provide support across time and contexts. Furthermore, those who identify strongly with their disadvantaged group and perceive intergroup inequality as illegitimate are most motivated to ascertain the sincerity of advantaged group members’ allyship. AIMS suggests how members of disadvantaged groups seek to maximize benefits and minimize risks of advantaged group members’ allyship.
Public Abstract
Advantaged group members (e.g., men, White Americans) can act as allies for disadvantaged groups (e.g., women, Americans belonging to minoritized racial groups), but members of disadvantaged groups sometimes have reason to question whether their motives are sincere. We argue that members of disadvantaged groups view advantaged group allies as more sincere when they support equality when they do not stand to benefit from it and even when they stand to lose. We also argue that members of disadvantaged groups view advantaged group allies as more sincere when their support for equality goes beyond expectations for their advantaged group, consistently over time, and is not limited to particular situations, forms, or contexts. Members of disadvantaged groups like sincere allies, want to work with them, and feel safe around them. Sincere allies also serve as moral exemplars to other members of advantaged groups.
... Indeed, research has pointed out that awareness of inconsistency between egalitarian values and behaviors can increase commitments to fairness and attempts to mitigate bias in one's actions (e.g., Aneja et al., 2023). Thus, sustainable reduction of bias in real-world contexts often, but not always, follows increased awareness of bias (Adams et al., 2014;Axt et al., 2019;Bezrukova et al., 2016;Burns et al., 2017;Carnes et al., 2015;Devine et al., 2012;Forscher et al., 2017;Monteith, 1993;Monteith & Mark, 2009;Moskowitz et al., 1999;Parker et al., 2018;Regner et al., 2019). ...
Resistance to knowledge about implicit bias jeopardizes the ability to learn, understand, and act to outsmart bias. Across three experiments and five independent samples (N > 3,500), conditions that increase cognitive consistency were created alongside control conditions. In Experiment 1, using a race (Black–White) Implicit Association Test (IAT), cognitive consistency was enhanced when participants evaluated the validity and utility of the test before, rather than after, receiving the test result, leading to greater acceptance of bias. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants either evaluated their performance on a Black–White IAT alone or evaluated their performance on a morally innocuous Insect–Flower IAT prior to a Black–White IAT. Again, resistance to evidence of implicit racial bias was reduced in the latter condition, where the imperative for cognitive consistency was heightened. In all three experiments, creating ordinary conditions to heighten cognitive consistency was associated with increased bias awareness and acceptance and, additionally, with support for actions to minimize its consequence–outcomes critical to achieving effective bias education.
... Thus, training which provides methods to reduce gender disparities should boost confidence to address equality issues (Carnes et al., 2012;Zawadzki et al., 2012). As in Experiment 1, imagining counter-stereotypical representatives of male-dominated careers (i.e., female scientists) can reduce bias (Blair et al., 2001;Burns et al., 2017) and simply raising awareness about biases has long-term impacts on prejudice . During hiring processes, biases can be limited by using structured interviews; emphasizing the qualifications and achievements of an applicant to minimize the influence of gender (Alonso et al., 2017;Ceci & Williams, 2015). ...
Despite the implementation of equality interventions within higher education, progress towards gender parity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remains slow. Male educators often exhibit poorer engagement with diversity initiatives, potentially contributing to persisting gender disparities in STEM given men’s longstanding dominance in these programs. Two experiments investigate how equality interventions should be designed to maximize support from male educators. Experiment 1 ( N = 72; M age = 39.72, SD age = 12.33) used virtual reality to manipulate 2 factors among male academics: (1) exposure to gender inequality and (2) virtually taking the perspective of a female scientist. Using self-report and behavioral measures, viewing an empirical presentation outlining the prevalence of gender issues in STEM yielded the greatest support for equality initiatives following successful perspective-taking. Experiment 2 ( N = 120; M age = 32.48, SD age = 10.36) varied two additional factors among male academics: (1) evidence-based methods to reduce gender biases in STEM (i.e., promoting self-efficacy) and (2) blaming male academics for gender inequalities. Promoting self-efficacy and blaming men for disparities led to greater confidence in male academics’ ability to address gender inequalities in their field. Notably, higher self-efficacy accounted for greater support for equality initiatives and internal motives to engage with diversity programs. Findings provide an empirical framework and high-tech training tools for promoting engagement with diversity initiatives among male educators, informing development of interventions within higher education to improve student and faculty experiences in STEM.
... Interestingly, training procedures have been created to modify stereotypical attributions emanating from a category (e.g. Burns et al., 2017;Kawakami et al., 2000Kawakami et al., , 2007. In a counterstereotypic training, participants are asked to repeatedly select traits that are opposite to those culturally associated with the category (e.g. to select 'weak' instead of 'sloppy' for men), ultimately leading to changes in stereotypical attributions (compared to the 'no training' condition). ...
In the attractiveness halo effect, a single known piece of information about a target stimulus (attractiveness of a person) influences assumptions about a host of other attributes about that target (e.g. this person is socially competent or vain). We examined for the first time whether this effect can be updated, that is, whether new information about physical attractiveness (e.g. that someone is not as attractive as initially thought) can undo the effects of earlier information. Across three preregistered experiments (n = 1131), we obtained evidence of a halo-update effect and showed that updating depended on the extent to which personality traits are stereotypically related to attractiveness (i.e. updating was larger for the traits that are typically influenced by attractiveness information). We also explored potential mediators of the halo-update effect. By shedding new light on the malleability of stereotypical attributions, our work has both theoretical and practical implications.
... Through providing a credible source of counter-stereotypical information, individuals are able to instantly inhibit the activated negative traits and reduce their influence toward behaviours (Burns et al., 2017). Crucially, while not predicted to directly affect perceptions, possessing knowledge of sex offender treatment will eventually improve perceptions toward sex offenders in the long run (Rees et al., 2018). ...
Abstract
Sex offenders are often subject to negative perceptions and behaviours from members
of the public, which greatly hampers their ability to reintegrate back into society after
completing their sentences (Brown et al., 2007; Winnick, 2008). Therefore, this study aims to determine how factors like the type of sex offender, type of victim, and knowledge of sex offender treatment influence the magnitude and type of perceptions held, and the effects of perceptions on subsequent behaviours towards sex offenders.
A 2 x 2 x 2 study was conducted, measuring the respondent’s reported and implicit
perceptions, alongside behavioural intention toward sex offenders. Non-parametric analysis of 222 respondents revealed that there was a significant difference when comparing behaviours towards sex offenders in the distant (Mdn = 42.1, SD = 21.2) and close proximities (Mdn = 9.5, SD = 22.0), W = 23044, p < .001, with a large effect size of .93 (Aarts et al., 2014). Additionally, the knowledge of sex offender treatment significantly improved behaviours towards sex offenders in both distant (Knowledge Condition: Mdn = 51.6, SD = 21.7 vs Absence Condition: Mdn = 38.1, SD = 19.3, U = 7960.5, p < .001) and close proximities (Knowledge Condition: Mdn = 12.0, SD = 23.5 vs Absence Condition: Mdn = 5, SD = 19.8, U = 7561, p = .003), with small effect sizes of r = .29 and r = .23 respectively (Kerby, 2014). However, no significant effects of the type of sex offender and type of victim on perceptions and behaviours were found. These results have important implications in highlighting the need to consider moderating factors that influence perceptions, along with what and whose behaviours should be targeted when designing future interventions.
... Specifically, Malone et al. (2022) advocate for equity-focused MTSS, describing Tier 1 interventions for promoting a positive school racial climate and presenting culturally relevant elements to integrate into Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. Additionally, Romero et al. (2020) provide a review of three different interventions that have demonstrated evidence to alleviate implicit bias as part of a decision-making process: (a) an empathic mindset intervention aimed at enabling teachers to see the value of students' diverse perspectives and experiences while building and maintaining positive relationships with students (Okonofua et al., 2016); (b) training related to recognizing and replacing stereotyped reactions (i.e., counterstereotpying; Burns et al., 2017); and (c) a "habit-breaking intervention" designed to increase participant awareness and knowledge of bias while also teaching different bias-reduction strategies (Forscher et al., 2017, p.133). However, Romero et al. (2020) caution against widespread implementation of these interventions until additional research can be conducted. ...
Universal screening for social, emotional, and behavioral risk is an important method for identifying students in need of additional or targeted support (Eklund and Dowdy in School Mental Health 6:40–49, 2014). Research is needed to explore how potential bias may be implicated in universal screening. We investigated student demographics as predictors of being placed at risk via a teacher-report measure: the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener as reported by Kilgus et al. (in: Theodore J. Christ et al. (eds) Social, academic, and emotional behavior risk screener (SAEBRS), 2014). Results indicated student demographics, including sex, special education status, free/reduced price lunch status, and identification as a student of color, were statistically significant predictors across multiple SAEBRS risk placements. The predictive power of student demographics was meaningful when evaluated independently (i.e., when each characteristic was considered separately with each risk placement) as well as when evaluated relatively or dependently (i.e., when all characteristics were taken together as a set to predict each risk placement). We discuss findings in the context of implications for implementation of universal behavioral screening amidst potential bias and serving students with identified levels of social, emotional, and behavioral risk.
... Preconfrontation stereotype use and liking were entered as covariates. Contrary to past research (Burns et al., 2017;Chaney & Sanchez, 2018;Czopp & Monteith, 2003;Czopp et al., 2006;Gulker et al., 2013;Parker et al., 2018), but in line with Study 1, the mediation model was not significant (B = −.04, SE = .02, ...
Confronting, or calling out people for prejudiced remarks, reduces subsequent expressions of prejudice. However, people who confront others incur social costs: Confronters are disliked, derogated, and avoided relative to others who have not confronted. These social costs hurt the confronter and reduce the likelihood of future confrontation. The present studies (N = 1,019) integrate the close relationships and prejudice reduction literatures to examine whether people who are confronted assign fewer social costs when they trust the confronter. Study 1 provided correlational evidence that people who were confronted for making a sexist remark experienced less irritation and annoyance (i.e., negative other-directed affect) if they trusted the confronter, which, in turn, reduced social costs. Manipulation of trust in Study 2 with non-Black participants provided causal evidence that trust buffers against social costs. Being confronted predictably led to more negative other-directed affect and social costs, relative to not-confronted participants; however, these effects were mitigated among participants who underwent a trust-building exercise with the confronter. Study 3 used an ecologically valid context in which non-Black participants who made a stereotypic remark were confronted by an actual friend or stranger. They assigned fewer social costs when confronted by their friend (vs. stranger), and this effect was serially mediated by trust and negative other-directed affect. Importantly, confrontation reduced subsequent stereotyping in all studies. Practically, these studies reveal that when confronters establish trust, they experience fewer social costs. Theoretically, these studies provide a new direction for confrontation research that accounts for interpersonal dynamics.
... An exhaustive presentation of this literature would exceed the scope of this article, which instead focuses on some of the key, primary factors of intergroup attitude change. In the intergroup domain, certain strategies have been shown to influence intergroup attitudes (see Fig. 1): Examples include perspectivetaking to alter category-based knowledge of out-groups (Kawakami et al., 2017) and counterstereotyping (i.e., presenting individuals with out-group members who defy stereotypes associated with their group; Burns et al., 2017). Another strategy that is often used to change intergroup attitudes is education-raising awareness of biases, persistant discrimination, systemic racism, stereotypes, microaggressions, and so on (see, e.g., Jackson et al., 2014). ...
Decades of research on how to improve intergroup relations have primarily examined ways to change prejudiced attitudes. However, this focus on negative intergroup attitudes has yielded few effective solutions. Because intergroup relations are shaped by behavior during intergroup interactions, it is necessary to identify constructs that have a strong causal impact on intergroup behavior change. In this article, I will discuss evidence showing that intergroup attitude change is neither a sufficient nor necessary cause for intergroup behavior change. Empirical research suggests that intergroup attitudes are difficult to change and have a limited effect on intergroup behavior. I also distinguish between constructs that primarily affect intergroup attitude change (e.g., counterstereotypical exemplars, evaluative conditioning) and constructs that primarily affect intergroup behavior change (e.g., social norms, self-efficacy). Further, suggestions for future research will also be provided to advance understanding of the various psychological constructs that influence intergroup behavior change, which will help us develop effective methods of improving intergroup relations.
... Moskowitz et al. (1999) similarly demonstrate how prejudice-related discrepancies lead egalitarians to inhibit stereotypes and focus their attention on nonprejudiced goals (Moskowitz & Li, 2011). Awareness of bias is the first step toward bias reduction and control (Burns et al., 2017;. Providing people with information about their implicit attitudes is therefore a common and effective component of bias reduction initiatives Hillard et al., 2013;Parker et al., 2018;Perry et al., 2015;Régner et al., 2019). ...
Educational and training programs designed to reduce racial bias often focus on increasing people’s awareness of psychological sources of their biases. However, when people learn about their biases, they often respond defensively, which can undermine the effectiveness of antibias interventions and the success of prejudice regulation. Using process (Quad) modeling, we provide one of the first investigations of the relationships between (a) controlled and automatic cognitive processes that underpin performance on the Implicit Association Test and (b) defensive reactions to unflattering implicit racial bias feedback. In two correlational samples (one preregistered; N = 8,000) and one experiment in which the provision of bias feedback was manipulated (N = 547), we find racially biased associations and some control over these associations among White people. Nonetheless, more defensiveness to bias feedback consistently predicted weaker ability to control biased associations. We also find correlational evidence that lower levels of biased associations predict more defensiveness, but did not replicate this observation in the experimental study. These results are critical for theories of implicit attitudes, models of prejudice regulation, and strategies for antibias interventions.
... This deals in reshaping the cognitive culture which is demonstrated through values, ethics, organization environment and interactions among employees within and outside the organization (Larsen et al., 1992). The culture affects the emotional quotient which further impacts the emotional contagion of professionals (Burns et al., 2017). Seeing the economic perspective, the IIOT facilities enhances the connectivity of business, reduce costs, and creates better quality of service and goods (Oesterreich and Teuteberg 2016) and altogether these leads to increased customer satisfaction (Stock and Seliger 2016). ...
Throughout the world, the fourth industrial revolution is taking place around the globe creating several challenges for businesses to operate sustainably. This work intends to explore the possible barriers to Bangladeshi companies joining the global race of the fourth industrial revolution and aims to understand the overall challenge faced in emerging economies throughout the world. The study utilizes empirical data to understand and establish the findings. We interviewed RMG and SME business owners, senior-level management employees, industry consultants and attempted to anticipate possible causes for not adapting to new technologies for automation and digitization. We found through our research that despite government attempts to create awareness, there is still lack of leadership and guidance among business owners. Moreover, inadequate industry research in this area also indicates a gap in availability of information to prioritize the adoption of fourth industrial revolution. Specific issues include poor infrastructure, lack of awareness, availability of cheap labor, resistance to change, lack of government support, lack of organizational capabilities, lack of readiness of leadership, lack of skilled workforce to be pivotal causes for workers’ attitudes toward technology adaptation in Bangladesh. Addressing the barriers would facilitate timely adoption of the fourth industrial revolution.
... Counter-stereotype training can raise awareness of beauty-based discrimination and may help reduce not only beauty premium but also different types of stereotypes. For example, Burns et al. (2017) showed that when participants are aware of their own bias, they succeed in reducing it significantly. On a different level, removing photographs from CV will prevent beauty-based discrimination (at least in the callback stage). ...
This research investigates labor market discrimination based on physical appearance in Israel’s Certified Public Accountant firms. Using a survey questionnaire, we showed that accountants in managerial positions prefer to hire more physically attractive candidates. This beauty premium is larger among the five biggest Certified Public Accountant firms and can be explained by the perception that attractive candidates possess essential traits for becoming successful accountants. An important implication of our results is that even among accounting firms, where professionalism is well defined, discrimination against candidates based on traits such as physical appearance can ineffectively eliminate suitably qualified interns.
... Unexplored in the present work is any effect of individual differences on the processes at play. People differ in the extent to which they express or regulate stereotypic responses (e.g., Axt & Trawalter, 2017;Burns, Monteith, & Parker, 2017;Cox, 2015;Devine, 1989;Monteith, Ashburn-Nardo, Voils, & Czopp, 2002), and effortful stereotype regulation might interact meaningfully with the effects described here. People whose values oppose stereotyping and prejudice may put effort into working against any learning that might reinforce those biases (Axt & Trawalter, 2017). ...
In the present work, we set out to assess whether and how much people learn in response to their stereotypic assumptions being confirmed, being disconfirmed, or remaining untested. In Study 1, participants made a series of judgments that could be influenced by stereotypes and received feedback that confirmed stereotypes the majority of the time, feedback that disconfirmed stereotypes the majority of the time, or no feedback on their judgments. Replicating past work on confirmation bias, patterns in the conditions with feedback indicated that pieces of stereotype-confirming evidence exerted more influence than stereotype-disconfirming evidence. Participants in the Stereotype-Confirming condition stereotyped more over time, but rates of stereotyping for participants in the Stereotype-Disconfirming condition remained unchanged. Participants who received no feedback, and thus no evidence, stereotyped more over time, indicating that, matching our core hypothesis, they learned from their own untested assumptions. Study 2 provided a direct replication of Study 1. In Study 3, we extended our assessment to memory. Participants made judgments and received a mix of confirmatory, disconfirmatory, and no feedback and were subsequently asked to remember the feedback they received on each trial, if any. Memory tests for the no feedback trials revealed that participants often misremembered that their untested assumptions were confirmed. Supplementing null hypothesis significance testing, Bayes Factor analyses indicated the data in Studies 1, 2, and 3 provided moderate-to-extreme evidence in favor of our hypotheses. Discussion focuses on the challenges these learning patterns create for efforts to reduce stereotyping.
... A diverse array of organizations and institutions have become attuned to the problem of implicit bias and its impact on members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, including in education (Gullo et al., 2018;Jackson et al., 2014), private industry (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004), public agencies (Beniwal, 2016;Foley & Williamson, 2019), health systems (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017;Zestcott et al., 2016), and legal institutions (Kang et al., 2012;Negowetti, 2014). These entities have instituted various programs and interventions to mitigate the potential impact of implicit bias (Burns et al., 2017;Casey et al., 2013;Lai et al., 2014). ...
Judges are increasingly using “implicit bias” instructions in jury trials in an effort to reduce the influence of jurors’ biases on judgment. In this paper, we report on findings from a large‐scale mock jury study that tests the impact of implicit bias instructions on judgment in a case where defendant race was varied (Black or White). Using an experimental design, we collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data at the individual and group levels obtained from 120 small‐groups who viewed a simulated federal drug conspiracy trial and then deliberated to determine a verdict. We find that while participants were sensitized to the importance of being unbiased, implicit bias instructions had no measurable impact on verdict outcomes relative to the standard instructions. Our analysis of the deliberations, however, reveals that those who heard the implicit bias instructions were more likely to discuss the issue of bias, potentially with both ameliorative and harmful effects on the defendant. Most significantly, we identified multiple instances where, in an effort to avoid bias, participants who heard the implicit bias instructions interfered with their own or other participants’ appropriate assessments of witness credibility. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... 110 By taking the time to identify these presuppositions, the implicit can be made explicit and thus its bias reduced. 111 This can offer an important starting point for dialogue; data that are implicitly rejected because of unspoken presuppositions or biases are bound to fail to persuade. ...
Those interested in the intersection of science and Christianity, rightfully pay attention to specific issues in the landscape of science and religion. Despite progress made in science-religion scholarship, asking and answering thorny questions and unearthing new ones, it sometimes appears that these advances make little progress shifting the narrative in individuals or culture. In this article, I argue that for progress in difficult conversations, such as those between science and Christianity, we must acknowledge and account for the psychology of the individuals engaging in these conversations. This article discusses how normal psychological processes involved in reasoning may influence engagement with science-religion material. I conclude by offering several suggestions to increase the fruitfulness of these conversations.
... For example, intensive prejudice interventions that train individuals to identify and combat bias through various strategies have been shown to increase awareness of and concern about expression of racial bias (Devine, Forscher, Austin, & Cox, 2012). Other work suggests that motivated self-regulation of bias application is more successful in reducing stereotype application than attempts to retrain implicit associations (Burns, Monteith, & Parker, 2017). ...
In adults, implicit racial bias has been linked to prejudiced and discriminatory behavior. However, implicit racial biases emerge well before adulthood; as young as age six, children have already internalized the racial attitudes of their culture. Thus, it is critical for researchers to understand how to change implicit racial bias early in development, before its negative effects compound across the lifespan. The following chapter highlights one potential method of bias reduction in childhood: exposure to positive exemplars. As this method is both scalable and child-friendly, it has the potential to be used with young children on a broader cultural level. This chapter details child-friendly methods for measuring bias change and provides two examples of studies that have successfully employed positive exemplar exposure to reduce children’s implicit racial bias. I conclude the chapter with recommendations for future use of this intervention cross-culturally, as well as broader cultural applications.
... This can be achieved through evaluative conditioning (Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006), a classical conditioning paradigm involving the repeated pairing of the attitude object with positive stimuli. For example, Burns, Monteith, and Parker (2017) repeatedly paired counterstereotypic words with Black versus White faces leading to lower scores in implicit bias. Lai et al., (2014) showed participants pairings of Black faces with positive words, and White faces with negative words. ...
Organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) interventions usually involve some kind of training, and in recent years, that training is likely to concentrate on implicit bias. We examine the content of implicit bias training programs offered in several large organizations to answer two questions: 1) do the programs offer accurate information about implicit bias and 2) do the programs provide the range of knowledge and skills needed for managing and reducing implicit bias? We concluded that while all programs teach in-trapersonal skills for raising self-awareness, detecting and reducing bias, they neglect the interpersonal skills necessary for talking about bias with co-workers and clients. We provide recommendations that con-sultants can use for improving both the content and methods of bias training.
... As a result, determining the exact population and calculating the sample size from people who own and use internet-enabled smartphones, PC's, or tablet PC's for entrepreneurship, was challenging for a researcher. Burns et al. (2017) benchmarking was used to select the sample frame for this analysis, which consisted of Saudis who were engaged in an online company. According to this, a sample size of 96-384 people is considered appropriate for statistical power in data analysis. ...
Businesses that are entirely conducted online have achieved tremendous success. The system has improved to provide a path for the development of online entrepreneurship where individuals can become founders of online businesses or manage internet-based businesses. There are many research studies from different contexts to understand the importance of E-Entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, not until recently, E-Entrepreneurship business impact and opportunities were not being seriously discussed. Furthermore, the complexity and dynamic flow-process towards adopting E-Entrepreneurship were also ignored. As a result, this study is aimed at examining the adoption of E-Entrepreneurship among Saudi Arabians. Four main variables were conceptualized, "E-entrepreneurship behavioral intention (EBI)", "perceived usefulness (PU)", "social pressure (SP)", and "online transactions (OT)". Quantitative surveys were utilized to test the proposed hypothesis. Furthermore, DEMATEL evaluation analysis was used to find the most important criteria of E-Entrepreneur adoption. The samples of the study are obtained from Saudis. Analysis of the results revealed that all the hypotheses are positively significant and supported. This indicates the influences of all the variables on E-Entrepreneurship Behavioral Intention. DEMATEL results are also consistent with the survey finding. It indicates that "social pressure" in E-Entrepreneurship adoption is the key criteria. The study reveals the important factors that affect E-Entrepreneurship acceptance in Saudi Arabia. The finding of the study significantly implicates E-Entrepreneurship service providers and e-marketers to develop a more complete understanding of the factors that affect the Individual intention to accept E-Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43546-021-00110-4.
... The influence of ethnicity and gender on judgments of academic competence and performance (La Neal et al., 2003;Parks & Kennedy, 2007;Tiedemann, 2002) are not decreased by simply instructing teachers to forget the unrelated information. However, previous research revealed that repeated practice of counterstereotypes (e.g., Girls are more mathematically gifted than boys) and increasing self-awareness for stereotypical beliefs can potentially help to decrease the influence of unrelated information on educational judgments and decisions (Burns et al., 2017). Future research could potentially investigate if repeated instruction to forget stereotypes can also be used to counter stereotypical beliefs in education. ...
p style="text-align: justify;">Teachers often face complex educational judgments and research has shown that teachers are prone to be influenced by unrelated information in their judgments and decisions. To investigate the influence of potential misinformation we employed a list-method directed forgetting paradigm and investigated a simulated judgment scenario, in which participants were asked to recommend a higher or lower school track for a fictitious elementary school child. Previous research using list-method directed forgetting revealed that participants can intentionally forget information but this information might still influence further judgments. In two experiments, data on recall performance, school track recommendation, and the evaluative impression of the target were analyzed to investigate whether participants were able to intentionally forget information and whether the to-be-forgotten information influenced later judgments. To-be-forgotten information was either presented before (Experiment 1) or following (Experiment 2) information instructed to be remembered. Both experiments revealed that participants did not forget information instructed to be forgotten and their judgments were not influenced by this information. Bayes factors spoke in favor of the null hypotheses, indicating that the influence of to-be-forgotten information on simulated school track recommendations is questionable. Our results revealed important boundary conditions of directed forgetting in applied contexts.</p
... It is hypothesised that a successful intervention would see a significant reduction in the latency, and increase in accuracy, for students when processing faces of the opposite race after the intervention and compared to the control class. This result would suggest that implicit racial bias has been reduced in the students, which might also indirectly indicate that negative stereotyping has also been reduced (Burns et al., 2017). A second measurement of success would be the number of cross-racial friendship choices reported on a sociometric instrument. ...
Prejudice of many forms is still present in classrooms. This paper outlines the evidence suggesting racial prejudice is an ongoing problem in many U.K schools. It then goes on to apply social identity theory to postulate what might lead students to be racially prejudiced against their peers. This is followed by an explanation of how and why a cooperative based teaching approach might work to reduce prejudice, as well as a suggestion of how this could be implemented on a national scale. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of using cooperative based teaching to reduce prejudice between school students.
... As a research team, we also suggest that health systems should create safe spaces and time for providers to engage in collective reflection and learning. This may allow providers to self-assess and correct biases impacting the care they provide [40]. ...
Objectives
In Alberta, First Nations members visit Emergency Departments (EDs) at almost double the rate of non-First Nations persons. Previous publications demonstrate differences in ED experience for First Nations members, compared to the general population. The Alberta First Nations Information Governance Centre (AFNIGC), First Nations organizations, Universities, and Alberta Health Services conducted this research to better understand First Nations members’ ED experiences and expectations.Methods
This was a participatory research project. Elders selected topics of focus through discussion with the research team, and approved our method of data collection. Sharing circles were held in February 2018 with Elders, First Nations patients, healthcare providers and health administrators from across Alberta. We analyzed data using the Western approach of thematic analysis, with review by two Indigenous team members. AFNIGC is custodian of the research data on behalf of Alberta First Nations, and approves publication of this work.ResultsForty-six persons participated in four sharing circles lasting between one and a half and three hours. Findings included First Nations patients’ understandings of ED work, limited access to primary care services driving ED use, expectations of different treatment in ED based on race, experiences of racism, concerns about interactions with Children’s Services, healthcare avoidance, and avoiding specific hospitals. Equity approaches were identified as key to improving First Nations patients’ ED experiences.Conclusions
Bringing First Nations perspectives to Western understandings of ED care is an important step toward identifying required improvements in the health system for better patient experiences and outcomes.
... However, the awareness that people share information from family members, friends, and social media out of emotional reasons over positive beliefs can help prevent negative emotion contagion or the diffusion of misinformation. As negative emotion contagion is often an unconscious process like racial stereotyping, awareness of this process can reduce its harmful influence (Burns et al., 2017). Recognizing that negative emotion contagion is likely during the current public health crisis, people need to be more careful when sharing negative-valenced information and avoid sharing unverified information. ...
Health information sharing has become especially important during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic because people need to learn about the disease and then act accordingly. This study examines the perceived trust of different COVID-19 information sources (health professionals, academic institutions, government agencies, news media, social media, family, and friends) and sharing of COVID-19 information in China. Specifically, it investigates how beliefs about sharing and emotions mediate the effects of perceived source trust on source-specific information sharing intentions. Results suggest that health professionals, academic institutions, and government agencies are trusted sources of information and that people share information from these sources because they think doing so will increase disease awareness and promote disease prevention. People may also choose to share COVID-19 information from news media, social media, and family as they cope with anxiety, anger, and fear. Taken together, a better understanding of the distinct psychological mechanisms underlying health information sharing from different sources can help contribute to more effective sharing of information about COVID-19 prevention and to manage negative emotion contagion during the pandemic.
... Research has shown that differences in empathy (Shih, Stotzer, & Gutiérrez, 2013), motivation (Devine, Forscher, Austin, & Cox, 2012), and cultural competence (White-Means, Dong, Hufstader, & Brown, 2009) moderate the relationships between stereotypes and discriminatory treatment. Leaders who are motivated and skilled at controlling and regulating these biases may therefore be more able to recognize and prevent their biases from leaking out and negatively impacting their racial minority subordinates' satisfaction with their supervision (Burns, Monteith, & Parker, 2017). Indeed, supervisory satisfaction, defined as the level of satisfaction with a supervisor's ability to coordinate and reconcile the needs and goals of the subordinate (Scarpello & Vandenberg, 1987), is directly correlated with the quality of supervision that the supervisor is able to provide to the subordinate (Mor Barak, Travis, Pyun, & Xie, 2009;Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, & Fetter, 1990). ...
High rates of turnover among racial minority employees have largely been explained by the adage that dissimilarity breeds discontent. An unexplored, but potentially powerful driver of turnover, may emerge as a result of supervisors' and employees' own beliefs about minority employees' abilities. We rely on predictions from research on Pygmalion effects to examine how external, leader biases can elicit subsequent differences in employees' internal cognitions, which then impact turnover decisions. Utilizing a survey study of 228 employers and employees across four time points, we found support for the notion that leaders view racial minority new hires as having less efficacy than their White counterparts, and that these biases, when combined with less satisfactory supervision, lead minorities to have decreased self‐efficacy, subsequently causing them to perceive a less viable future in that company and voluntarily turn over.
The concept of implicit bias – the idea that the unconscious mind might hold and use negative evaluations of social groups that cannot be documented via explicit measures of prejudice – is a hot topic in the social and behavioral sciences. It has also become a part of popular culture, while interventions to reduce implicit bias have been introduced in police forces, educational settings, and workplaces. Yet researchers still have much to understand about this phenomenon. Bringing together a diverse range of scholars to represent a broad spectrum of views, this handbook documents the current state of knowledge and proposes directions for future research in the field of implicit bias measurement. It is essential reading for those who wish to alleviate bias, discrimination, and inter-group conflict, including academics in psychology, sociology, political science, and economics, as well as government agencies, non-governmental organizations, corporations, judges, lawyers, and activists.
Motivated reasoning posits that ideological beliefs and goals bias individuals' information processing particularly regarding socio‐political information. However, most individuals are unaware that ideological bias shapes their perception and judgment making them easy targets for political polarization. This leads to the strong need to address and mitigate this bias. Utilizing an ideological bias task that assesses the degree of expressing one's ideological bias in the estimation of socio‐political facts, we test the effects of feedback on the reduction of ideological bias. With a three between‐factor design (feedback‐only vs. feedback + social norm nudge vs. no feedback control), we test a representative German sample at two time points ( N t 1 = 1229, N t 2 = 1001). Participants who received feedback on the extent of their ideological bias displayed a significant bias reduction between t 1 and t 2 compared to the control group. An additional social norm nudge emphasizing the societal value of unbiased decision‐making did not result in a stronger reduction of ideological bias. Moreover, general bias awareness did not moderate the effect of feedback on bias reduction. Our findings contribute to a growing understanding about the suggestibility of ideological bias and illuminate the (limited) potential of bias awareness in mitigating biased information processing.
This paper investigates the intrinsic preferences for athletic versus musical events in the context of workplace social programs and explores the differing outcomes these events are perceived to generate. Empirical evidence consistently shows that individuals with athletic backgrounds are favoured in the job market, receiving better wages and benefits than their nonathlete counterparts because of stereotypes about their managerial qualities, stress handling and team spirit. In contrast, music participation is often undervalued, with musicians facing wage disparities and discrimination despite the cognitive and emotional benefits associated with music playing and listening. Through a vignette study, this research identifies that participants prefer athletes for events aimed at team cohesion and musicians for events designed to enhance creative skills. The findings highlight a type of job market discrimination based on preferences for workplace programs, emphasizing the role of stereotypes in shaping these preferences. The study contributes to the understanding of how workplace social programs are designed and the underlying biases that influence these decisions, offering insights into the mechanisms of job market discrimination and the potential for more inclusive program design that recognizes the value of both athletic and musical participation.
Progress toward racial equality over the course of U.S. history has not been linear, and reductions in racial inequalities have historically been met with racist backlash. In the current research, we examine whether shifts in racial inequalities in key structural areas in recent decades can be used to predict implicit and explicit racial attitudes among White U.S. residents ( N = 222,203). Consistent with the hypothesis that increasing racial equality is threatening, the majority of the statistically significant effects we observed indicated increased pro-White attitudes among White residents of states where racial inequalities decreased over time. State-level reductions in racial inequalities related to government assistance and employment—which have both been highly politicized—were predictive of greater pro-White attitudes among White U.S. residents. Overall, the current findings provide suggestive evidence that reductions in state-level racial inequalities may threaten the status quo, heightening pro-White attitudes among White U.S. residents.
Many studies have documented discrepancies in student evaluation of teaching ratings between male and female instructors and between ethnic majority and minority instructors. Given the importance of such ratings to academic careers and the likelihood of potential intergroup bias, it is crucial that institutions consider approaches to mitigate such biases. Several recent studies have found that simple bias mitigation messaging can be effective in reducing gender and other biases. In the present research, students enrolled in several large Faculty of Science undergraduate courses at an Australian university were recruited on a volunteer basis via the course learning management system. Half of the participants were randomly assigned an intervention message highlighting potential biases relating to gender and language background. Data from 185 respondents were analysed using Bayesian ordinal regression models assessing the impact of message exposure on evaluation scores. Reading a bias intervention message caused students to significantly adjust their scores, with the nature of that change dependent on student and instructor characteristics. Among male students, the bias intervention message significantly increased scores for all except male instructors with English speaking backgrounds, for whom there was no significant impact of the message. In contrast, among female students, the bias intervention message significantly decreased scores for male instructors with English speaking backgrounds only. The sample showed an overall decrease in scores in the intervention group relative to the control group. This is the first study to detect a negative impact of bias intervention messaging on SET scores. Our results suggest students may not acknowledge their own potential bias towards instructors with whom they share similar demographic backgrounds. In conclusion, bias intervention messaging may be a simple method of mitigating bias, but it may lead to consequences in which one or more groups receive lower ratings as a result of the correction.
Heterosexism is the system granting implicit or explicit advantages (e.g., power, control, and rights) to heterosexuals over non-heterosexuals. This means laws, policies, and rules are written to benefit heterosexual men, women, and trans. The chapter discusses misunderstanding terms or inappropriate use of terms which interferes with developing effective action plans to dismantle heterosexism and heteronormativity. For example, action plans for heterosexism involve changing laws, policies, or rules. However, action plans for discrimination against a non-heterosexual person starts with dialogical conversations to make sure both parties understand the problem correctly in order to develop the effective action plans. The chapter emphasizes changing laws and policies must accompany concrete strategies to access unconscious bias which is activated due to the neurobiology of automaticity. Barriers to dismantling heterosexism (e.g., asymmetric perception, ingroup favoritism, attribution error, and social projection, binary thinking, systemic and internalized heterosexual privilege and oppression, etc.) are discussed. Benefits of dismantling heterosexism, LGBTQ discrimination, and prejudice on everyone including heterosexuals are explored. Experiential learning activities and personal stories are inserted in relevant places throughout the chapter to provide an opportunity for a reader to connect the conceptual understanding of heterosexism to their lived experiences to transform.
Black and Latinx students are underrepresented in advanced placement (AP) and dual enrollment (DE), and implicit bias of educators has been discussed as one potential contributor. This study tests whether aggregate measures of implicit and explicit racial bias are related to AP and DE participation and racial/ethnic gaps in participation, controlling for contextual factors. The results indicate a relationship between implicit racial bias and disparate AP participation for Black students relative to White students, and suggestive evidence of a relationship between explicit racial bias and disparate DE participation between Black and White students. Furthermore, more explicitly biased communities have lower AP participation overall. Implications for school leaders regarding interventions to address systemic inequities in access are discussed.
Three field studies and a laboratory experiment reveal racial discrimination in financial loan services. The results show that (a) service employees provide Black (vs. White) customers with inferior service outcomes (i.e., products offered), (b) Black (vs. White) customers experience inferior service processes (employees’ warmth/competence), and (c) Black (vs. White) customers report lower loyalty intentions toward the firm. Such discrimination is not only morally wrong and illegal, but it is also bad for business. Therefore, the authors also show when and why racial discrimination is mitigated: namely, when Black customers signal higher socioeconomic status, or a Black customer’s company (for which they seek the loan) has a more complex and sophisticated legal structure (corporation vs. sole proprietorship). Exploring this mitigation effect further, the results show that a more sophisticated business structure increases the employee’s trust toward Black customers, which reduces the perceived default likelihood and increases the likelihood to offer a loan; yet, this process does not emerge for White applicants. The findings point to managerial and policy implications to mitigate racial discrimination.
The rise of technology has resulted in economic emergence across the countries. In a world relying upon technology, human beings’ efficiency and emotions may go hand in hand as depicted in one of the movies “Office space” which showed three professional programmers aggressively breaking a machine which disappointed them for too long. Thus, despite of incrementing technological framework, one cannot be distressed with the phenomena of how technology, emotions, and managerial efficiency have mutual interdependence on each other. Quite a few studies have taken place in the field of technology, emotions, and managerial efficiency, yet few have explored the interrelations between the variables in today’s challenging global scenario. Thus, the research gap provides the base of the research for which the finance professionals working in IT industry have been chosen where the emotional contagion level of these professionals is evaluated purposefully who are working on criticalities to save the business, maintaining their emotional stability to perform effectively. The sample size comprising of 148 working finance professionals was incorporated for research. A structured questionnaire using two settled scales: the “Positive and Negative Affect Schedule” (PANAS) scale and the “emotional contagion” (EC) scale (Watson et al., J Pers Soc Psychol 54:1063–1070, 1988) based on purposive sampling was applied. The relationship with both variables emotions and efficiency is investigated by applying Pearson bivariate interaction. The paper presents a dynamic computational model of emotional contagion and efficiency where technology act as a mediator. The result further displayed that female finance professionals are comparatively more vulnerable to EC using IT techniques than men and the notch of EC is directly connected to emotional quotient levels of manpower which helps in increasing efficiency where IT act as a potential moderator.
Purpose
The goal of this study was to help explain the underrepresentation of lesbian women and gay men (LG) in senior leadership positions by examining bias in the allocation of developmental opportunities (sponsorship/coaching and challenging work assignments). It further sought to test stigma-by-association as one reason for the biased allocation of developmental opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
An online experimental vignette study ( N = 273) using a 2 (target gender: male vs female) by 2 (sexual orientation: LG vs heterosexual) design was conducted.
Findings
LG workers were less likely to be allocated developmental opportunities than heterosexual workers overall and relative to their same-sex heterosexual counterparts. Further, lesbian women were least likely to be allocated developmental opportunities. These effects also operated indirectly via participants concerns about stigma-by-association.
Originality/value
Sexual orientation and gender identity minority workers remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions and oftentimes despite having better objective qualifications. Research has begun examining bias in leader selection. This study, however, directs attention to the biased allocation of developmental opportunities which make one competitive for senior leadership positions and occur prior to leader selection. In doing so, the authors provide a baseline understanding of an important reason why LG might be underrepresented in leadership positions.
Purpose
Research consistently shows that non-scientific bias, equity, and diversity trainings do not work, and often make bias and diversity problems worse. Despite these widespread failures, there is considerable reason for hope that effective, meaningful DEI efforts can be developed. One approach in particular, the bias habit-breaking training, has 15 years of experimental evidence demonstrating its widespread effectiveness and efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
This article discusses bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts from the author’s perspective as a scientist–practitioner – the author draws primarily on the scientific literature, but also integrates insights from practical experiences working in DEI. The author provides a roadmap for adapting effective, evidence-based approaches from other disciplines (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy) into the DEI context and review evidence related to the bias habit-breaking training, as one prominent demonstration of a scientifically-validated approach that effects lasting, meaningful improvements on DEI issues within both individuals and institutions.
Findings
DEI trainings fail due to widespread adoption of the information deficit model, which is well-known as a highly ineffective approach. Empowerment-based approaches, in contrast, are highly promising for making meaningful, lasting changes in the DEI realm. Evidence indicates that the bias habit-breaking training is effective at empowering individuals as agents of change to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity, both within themselves and the social contexts they inhabit.
Originality/value
In contrast to the considerable despair and pessimism around DEI efforts, the present analysis provides hope and optimism, and an empirically-validated path forward, to develop and test DEI approaches that empower individuals as agents of change.
Multiple studies (n = 1065 parents, 625 females, 437 males, 3 nonbinary, 99.06% White; n = 80, 5 to 7‐year‐old children, 35 girls, 45 boys, 87.50% White; data collection September 2017–January 2021) investigated White U.S. parents' thinking about White children's Black‐White racial biases. In Studies 1–3, parents reported that their own and other children would not express racial biases. When predicting children's social preferences for Black and White children (Study 2), parents underestimated their own and other children's racial biases. Reading an article about the nature, prevalence, and consequences of White children's racial biases (Study 3) increased parents' awareness of, concern about, and motivation to address children's biases (relative to a control condition). The findings have implications for engaging White parents to address their children's racial biases.
Im alltäglichen Verständnis haftet dem Begriff des Vergessens häufig eine negative Konnotation an. Didaktische Maßnahmen zielen in der Regel darauf ab, die Wahrscheinlichkeit, Inhalte zu erinnern, zu maximieren. Dabei zeigt die Lern- und Gedächtnisforschung, dass Vergessen lernförderlich sein kann, sich positiv auf Entscheidungs- und Urteilsprozesse auswirken kann und die Fähigkeit unterstützt, flexibel in dynamischen Situationen reagieren zu können. In diesem Kapitel werden zwei Fehlvorstellungen über das Vergessen im schulischen Kontext vorgestellt, sowie Vorschläge zum Umgang mit ihnen diskutiert. Die erste Fehlvorstellung besteht darin, dass Vergessen oft als unerwünscht und negativ bewertet wird, da dieses lediglich als die Abwesenheit von erfolgreichem Erinnern wahrgenommen wird. Eine zweite Fehlvorstellung im schulischen Kontext betrifft die in vielen Fällen unbegründete Annahme, diagnostisch irrelevante oder fehlerhafte Informationen vergessen oder ignorieren zu können und diese nicht in ein Urteil einfließen zu lassen. Eine fundierte Auseinandersetzung mit diesen beiden Fehlvorstellungen kann helfen, unser Gedächtnissystem besser zu verstehen und mit schulischen Herausforderungen angemessener umzugehen.
Work-family management has become a highly salient issue for organizations as the world of work experiences ongoing changes due to globalization, technological advances, and new challenges spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past decade or so, the concept of family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) has been recognized by management and organizational science scholars as an important resource for alleviating negative pressures related to work-family management. However, despite evidence suggesting organizations are heavily gendered (i.e., built upon and structured according to assumptions about gender) and that FSSB represent a set of gendered behaviors, the role of gender is largely missing from FSSB theorization. In addition, little is known regarding the antecedents of FSSB and the mechanisms responsible for the enactment or withholding of FSSB by supervisors. To address these gaps, we perform an interdisciplinary theoretical integration to develop a conceptual and process model of gendered antecedents of the FSSB decision-making process. We present theoretically driven propositions regarding how gender-related variables of the supervisory dyad influence both 1) if/how supervisors become aware of an FSSB opportunity, and 2) supervisors' FSSB decisions to enact, withhold, or neglect FSSB. We conclude with practical implications and opportunities for future FSSB research based on implications of our theoretical insights.
People’s proclivity for favoring their ingroups over outgroups has negative consequences for individuals, groups, and societies. Social psychologists have explored a variety of techniques to reduce these intergroup biases. Emerging research suggests that mindfulness may be effective for this purpose. Mindfulness is defined as present-moment attention and awareness with an accepting attitude, and it is often cultivated through meditation. Our systematic review of the mindfulness-intergroup literature suggests that, across the heterogeneity of paradigms, mindfulness attenuates intergroup bias. Supporting this supposition, for all studies in the current review, regardless of operationalization of mindfulness (i.e., mindfulness-based intervention, brief mindfulness induction, expert meditators, dispositional mindfulness), the overall effect size was g = +.29 ( k-number of studies = 36; 95% CI [0.20, 0.39]; Z = 5.94, p < .0001), suggesting a small but significant effect of mindfulness on improved levels of intergroup bias. In the current work, we review the eligible studies and their findings in detail and conclude by discussing critical issues and implications for future research.
The present research proposed a theoretical distinction among various stereotypes that we predicted would moderate their malleability in implicit person perception: the extent to which the stereotypes can be learned and validated with minimal or no indirect inference (i.e., their observability). We hypothesized that observable stereotypes would be less malleable than unobservable stereotypes in implicit person perception in the presence of counterstereotypic individuating information. This main hypothesis was tested in four studies, as were two alternative hypotheses that all implicit stereotype-relevant evaluations would show evidence of fast-learning, and that all such evaluations would provide support for slow-learning. Studies 1 and 2 tested these predictions in the domain of an observable (Study 1) and an unobservable (Study 2) racial stereotype, and Studies 3 and 4 in the domain of an observable (Study 3) and an unobservable (Study 4) gender stereotype. Considered as an aggregate, Studies 1 and 2 provided strong support for the hypothesis that the observability of an implicit stereotype would moderate its malleability. Studies 3 and 4 showed only limited support for this hypothesis. However, when all four studies were considered together, the hypothesis was supported. The finding that observable stereotypes in implicit person perception are less malleable than unobservable stereotypes is discussed in the context of current debates regarding the processes underlying implicit and explicit social cognition.
The paper presents the economic literature on gender bias, illustrating the underpinnings in the psychology of bias and stereotyping; the incorporation of these insights into current theoretical and empirical research in economics; and the literature on methods to contrast bias, presenting evidence (where it exists) of their effectiveness. The second part of the paper presents results of an experiment in revealing unconscious bias.
In part 1 of this opinion piece, we described inherent and potential challenges of the equity of African American (AA) men in headache medicine including headache disparities, mistrust, understudied/lack of representation in research, cultural differences, implicit/explicit bias, and the diversity tax. We shared personal experiences related to headache medicine likely faced due to the color of our skin. In part 2, we offer possible solutions to achieve equity for AA men in headache including: (1) addressing head and facial pain disparities and mistrust in AA men; (2) professionalism and inclusion; (3) organizational/departmental leadership buy-in for racial diversity; (4) implicit/explicit and other bias training; (5) diversity panels with open discussion; (6) addressing diversity tax; (7) senior mentorship; (8) increased opportunities for noteworthy and important roles; (9) forming and building alliances and partnerships; (10) diversity leadership training programs; (11) headache awareness, education, and literacy with a focus to underrepresented in medicine trainees and institutions; and (12) focused and supported the recruitment of AA men into headache medicine.
Using a simple videogame, the effect of ethnicity on shoot/ don't shoot decisions was examined. African American or White targets, holding guns or other objects, appeared in complex backgrounds. Participants were told to “shoot” armed targets and to “not shoot” unarmed targets. In Study 1, White participants made the correct decision to shoot an armed target more quickly if the target was African American than if he was White, but decided to “not shoot” an unarmed target more quickly if he was White. Study 2 used a shorter time window, forcing this effect into error rates. Study 3 replicated Study 1's effects and showed that the magnitude of bias varied with perceptions of the cultural stereotype and with levels of contact, but not with personal racial prejudice. Study 4 revealed equivalent levels of bias among both African American and White participants in a community sample. Implications and potential underlying mechanisms are discussed.
The authors studied social norms and prejudice using M. Sherif and C. W. Sherif's (1953) group norm theory of attitudes. In 7 studies (N = 1, 504), social norms were measured and manipulated to examine their effects on prejudice; both normatively proscribed and normatively prescribed forms of prejudice were included. The public expression of prejudice toward 105 social groups was very highly correlated with social approval of that expression. Participants closely adhere to social norms when expressing prejudice, evaluating scenarios of discrimination, and reacting to hostile jokes. The authors reconceptualized the source of motivation to suppress prejudice in terms of identifying with new reference groups and adapting oneself to fit new norms. Suppression scales seem to measure patterns of concern about group norms rather than personal commitments to reducing prejudice; high suppressors are strong norm followers. Compared with low suppressors, high suppressors follow normative rules more closely and are more strongly influenced by shifts in local social norms. There is much value in continuing the study of normative influence and self-adaptation to social norms, particularly in terms of the group norm theory of attitudes.
Social behavior is ordinarily treated as being under conscious (if not always thoughtful) control. However, considerable evidence now supports the view that social behavior often operates in an implicit or unconscious fashion. The identifying feature of implicit cognition is that past experience influences judgment in a fashion not introspectively known by the actor. The present conclusion—that attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes have important implicit modes of operation—extends both the construct validity and predictive usefulness of these major theoretical constructs of social psychology. Methodologically, this review calls for increased use of indirect measures—which are imperative in studies of implicit cognition. The theorized ordinariness of implicit stereotyping is consistent with recent findings of discrimination by people who explicitly disavow prejudice. The finding that implicit cognitive effects are often reduced by focusing judges’ attention on their judgment task provides a basis for evaluating applications (such as affirmative action) aimed at reducing such unintended discrimination.
The goal of the research reported in this article was to examine whether automatic group attitudes and stereotypes, commonly thought to be fixed responses to a social category cue, are sensitive to changes in the situational context. Two experiments demonstrated such variability of automatic responses due to changes in the stimulus context. In Study 1 White participants’ implicit attitudes toward Blacks varied as a result of exposure to either a positive (a family barbecue) or a negative (a gang incident) stereotypic situation. Study 2 demonstrated similar context effects under clearly automatic processing conditions. Here, the use of different background pictures (church interior vs. street corner) for Black and White face primes affected participants’ racial attitudes as measured by a sequential priming task. Implications for the concept of automaticity in social cognition are discussed.
The present research suggests that automatic and controlled intergroup biases can be modified through diversity education. In 2 experiments, students enrolled in a prejudice and conflict seminar showed significantly reduced implicit and explicit anti-Black biases, compared with control students. The authors explored correlates of prejudice and stereotype reduction. In each experiment, seminar students' implicit and explicit change scores positively covaried with factors suggestive of affective and cognitive processes, respectively. The findings show the malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes and suggest that these may effectively be changed through affective processes.
Implicit preferences are malleable, but does that change last? We tested nine interventions (eight real and one sham) to reduce implicit racial preferences over time. In two studies with a total of 6,321 participants, all nine interventions immediately reduced implicit preferences. However, none were effective after a delay of several hours to several days. We also found that these interventions did not change explicit racial preferences and were not reliably moderated by motivations to respond without prejudice. Short-term malleability in implicit preferences does not necessarily lead to long-term change, raising new questions about the flexibility and stability of implicit preferences.
This is the first introductory statistics text to use an estimation approach from the start to help readers understand effect sizes, confidence intervals (CIs), and meta-analysis (‘the new statistics’). It is also the first text to explain the new and exciting Open Science practices, which encourage replication and enhance the trustworthiness of research. In addition, the book explains NHST fully so students can understand published research. Numerous real research examples are used throughout. The book uses today’s most effective learning strategies and promotes critical thinking, comprehension, and retention, to deepen users’ understanding of statistics and modern research methods. The free ESCI (Exploratory Software for Confidence Intervals) software makes concepts visually vivid, and provides calculation and graphing facilities. The book can be used with or without ESCI.
Implicit preferences are malleable, but does that change last? We tested 9 interventions (8 real and 1 sham) to reduce implicit racial preferences over time. In 2 studies with a total of 6,321 participants, all 9 interventions immediately reduced implicit preferences. However, none were effective after a delay of several hours to several days. We also found that these interventions did not change explicit racial preferences and were not reliably moderated by motivations to respond without prejudice. Short-term malleability in implicit preferences does not necessarily lead to long-term change, raising new questions about the flexibility and stability of implicit preferences.
In reporting Implicit Association Test (IAT) results, researchers have most often used scoring conventions described in the first publication of the IAT (A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998). Demonstration IATs available on the Internet have produced large data sets that were used in the current article to evaluate alternative scoring procedures. Candidate new algorithms were examined in terms of their (a) correlations with parallel self-report measures, (b) resistance to an artifact associated with speed of responding, (c) internal consistency, (d) sensitivity to known influences on IAT measures, and (e) resistance to known procedural influences. The best-performing measure incorporates data from the IAT's practice trials, uses a metric that is calibrated by each respondent's latency variability, and includes a latency penalty for errors. This new algorithm strongly outperforms the earlier (conventional) procedure.
In this article we review contemporary research testing Martineau's (1972) hypothesis that disparagement humor fosters or introduces prejudice against the disparaged out-group. Supporting Martineau's hypothesis, research suggests that instigating disparagement humor might indeed foster prejudice against the targeted group; however, through mechanisms that do not implicate unique effects of humor as a medium for communicating disparagement. Contrary to Martineau's hypothesis, it does not appear that exposure to disparagement humor promotes a negative disposition toward the targeted group. Rather than acting as an initiator of prejudice, disparagement humor functions as a releaser of existing prejudice. Lastly, following Martineau's theoretical framework, we identify new questions about the social consequences of disparagement humor that require further theoretical development and empirical research.
Mediation analysis is important for research in psychology and other social and behavioral sciences. Great progress has been made in testing mediation effects and in constructing their confidence intervals. Mediation effect sizes have also been considered. Preacher and Kelley (2011) proposed and recommended κ2 as an effect size measure for a mediation effect. In this article, we argue that κ2 is not an appropriate effect size measure for mediation models, because of its lack of the property of rank preservation (e.g., the magnitude of κ2 may decrease when the mediation effect that κ2 represents increases). Furthermore, κ2 can lead to paradoxical results in multiple mediation models. We show that the problem of κ2 is due to (a) the improper calculation of the maximum possible value of the indirect effect, and (b) mathematically, the maximum possible indirect effect is infinity, implying that the definition of κ2 is mathematically incorrect. At this time, it appears that the traditional mediation effect size measure PM (the ratio of the indirect effect to the total effect), together with some other statistical information, should be preferred for basic mediation models. But for inconsistent mediation models where the indirect effect and the direct effect have opposite signs, the situation is less clear. Other considerations and suggestions for future research are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
Many methods for reducing implicit prejudice have been identified, but little is known about their relative effectiveness. We held a research contest to experimentally compare interventions for reducing the expression of implicit racial prejudice. Teams submitted seventeen interventions that were tested an average of 3.70 times each in four studies (total N = 17,021), with rules for revising interventions between studies. Eight of seventeen interventions were effective at reducing implicit preferences for Whites compared to Blacks, particularly ones that provided experience with counterstereotypical exemplars, used evaluative conditioning methods, and provided strategies to override biases. The other nine interventions were ineffective, particularly ones that engaged participants with others’ perspectives, asked participants to consider egalitarian values, or induced a positive emotion. The most potent interventions were ones that invoked high self-involvement or linked Black people with positivity and White people with negativity. No intervention consistently reduced explicit racial preferences. Furthermore, intervention effectiveness only weakly extended to implicit preferences for Asians and Hispanics.
Past research has shown specific situational interventions can reduce implicit prejudice against outgroups, but nothing is known about who is most sensitive to these situations and whether they influence behavior. The present study examined the combined influence of short-term situational exposure to admired outgroup members (gays and lesbians) and individual differences in prior long-term contact on implicit antigay attitudes and discriminatory behavioral intentions (voting). Results snowed that in the absence of any intervention, participants with little contact with gays and lesbians showed more implicit antigay attitudes and discriminatory voting intentions than participants with high contact. However, after the short-term intervention, participants, regardless of prior contact, showed low levels of implicit prejudice and discriminatory voting intentions. The observed reduction of bias in implicit attitudes and behavioral intentions occurred independently; attitude change did not mediate behavioral change. We suggest that different underlying mechanisms drive changes in implicit attitudes versus explicit behavioral intentions.
The present research examined the impact of counterstereotypic training on the application of stereotypes and the moderating effects of correction on these processes. As expected, when receiving no training, participants chose male over female candidates for a supervisory position and rated both male and female candidates as more gender stereotypic. After receiving extensive counterstereotypic association training, however, participants no longer preferred male over female job candidates and no longer attributed stereotypic traits to a greater extent. These latter results, however, were only found after participants had an opportunity to correct for perceived influences on an initial task. These findings provide evidence for the potential moderating effects of correction processes on the success of strategies aimed at decreasing intergroup biases.
Two experiments examined whether Whites’ implicit biases toward Blacks could be reduced by conditioning links between Blacks and the self. Via a computer-mediated experience, White participants were assigned to the same (minimal) group as several Black individuals and practiced classifying photographs as “MY GROUP” or “OTHER GROUP.” Subsequent performance on implicit prejudice and stereotyping measures was compared to a control condition and another condition involving extensive counterstereotype conditioning. Across experiments, the link to self strategy significantly reduced implicit prejudice, relative to the control condition, and to the same extent as the counterstereotype conditioning condition. Process dissociation analyses revealed that these effects corresponded with a reduction in the automatic activation of biased associations. Counterstereotype conditioning also reduced implicit stereotyping, but the link-to-self strategy did not. These findings extend prior work on the reduction of implicit biases and highlight the importance of comparing implicit bias strategies across different types of bias measures.
Over 10 years of research has illustrated the benefits of internal motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS) for prejudice regulation and high-quality intergroup contact (see Plant & Devine, 1998). Yet, it is unclear how this motivation develops. The current work tested one route through which feelings of acceptance from outgroup members facilitate the development of IMS. Longitudinally, feeling accepted by outgroup members predicted increases in IMS across a 15-week period (Study 1). Experimental manipulations of outgroup acceptance also increased IMS toward racial outgroups (Studies 2 and 3). Furthermore, IMS mediated the relationship between outgroup acceptance and participants' increased willingness to pay money to increase opportunities for interracial contact (Study 2). Tests of mediation also demonstrated that feelings of acceptance mediated the effect of outgroup acceptance on internal motivation (Study 3). In addition, this pattern of responses held for members of both high- and low-status racial groups. This research demonstrates one pathway through which the fulfillment of fundamental needs influences motivated intergroup processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
We developed a multi-faceted prejudice habit-breaking intervention to produce long-term reductions in implicit race bias. The intervention is based on the premise that implicit bias is like a habit that can be reduced through a combination of awareness of implicit bias, concern about the effects of that bias, and the application of strategies to reduce bias. In a 12-week longitudinal study, people who received the intervention showed dramatic reductions in implicit race bias. People who were concerned about discrimination or who reported using the strategies showed the greatest reductions. The intervention also led to increases in concern about discrimination and personal awareness of bias over the duration of the study. People in the control group showed none of the above effects. Our results raise the hope of reducing persistent and unintentional forms of discrimination that arise from implicit bias.
Personal standards for responding toward gay males and affective reactions to discrepancies were examined for low prejudiced (LP) and high prejudiced (HP) Ss in 2 studies. These standards and discrepancies involved responses varying in controllability and acceptability. Results indicated that LP Ss experienced negative self-directed affect in connection with transgressions from their nonprejudiced and well-internalized standards, regardless of the type of response. HP Ss' personal standards were quite nonprejudiced and well internalized for relatively controllable and unacceptable prejudiced responses. Nevertheless, HP Ss' transgressions from their standards produced negative affect directed toward others but not toward the self, regardless of the type of response. The findings supported E. T. Higgins's (1987) argument that the standpoint of standards determines affective reactions to discrepancies. Apparently, LP Ss' standards are based on the own standpoint, but HP Ss' standards are based on the other standpoint. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A model suggesting that prejudiced-related discrepancy experiences facilitate prejudice reduction efforts is proposed and tested. Prejudice-related discrepancies concerning gays were activated among low and high prejudiced Ss in 2 experiments. Results indicated that low-prejudiced (LP) Ss' violations of their LP and well-internalized attitudes produced compunction, self- and discrepancy-focused thoughts, attention to discrepancy-relevant information (Exp 1), and a slowing of responses (Exp 2). These findings indicated that LP Ss' discrepancies instigated a self-regulatory cycle that, theoretically, should help in achieving control over subsequent prejudiced responses. Evidence of effective self-regulation was found in a task following discrepancy activation. Specifically, LP Ss effectively inhibited prejudiced responses to jokes about gays as a consequence of discrepancy activation (Exp 2). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Ss reported their standards for how they should respond and how they would respond in contact situations with Black people (Study 1) and homosexual men (Study 2). Interest centered on the affective consequences associated with should–would discrepancies. Low and moderately prejudiced Ss with discrepancies reacted with feelings of global discomfort and with more specific feelings of compunction (guilt and self-criticism). High prejudiced Ss with discrepancies experienced only global discomfort. Study 3 data indicated that low prejudiced Ss internalized their nonprejudiced standards and felt obligated to respond consistently with them. High prejudiced Ss' personal standards were less well internalized and appeared to be derived from their perceptions of society's standards, which Ss indicated were mixed (i.e., contained both egalitarian and discriminatory components). Implications for prejudice reduction and contemporary models of prejudice are discussed.
Processes involving an automatic activation of stereotypes in different contexts were investigated using a priming paradigm with the lexical decision task. The names of social categories were combined with background pictures of specific situations to yield a compound prime comprising category and context information. Significant category priming effects for stereotypic attributes (e.g., Bavarians–beer) emerged for fitting contexts (e.g., in combination with a picture of a marquee) but not for nonfitting contexts (e.g., in combination with a picture of a shop). Findings indicate that social stereotypes are organized as specific mental schemas that are triggered by a combination of category and context information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Empirical evidence is presented from 7 samples regarding the factor structure; reliability; and convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of separate measures of internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. The scales reliably measure largely independent constructs and have good convergent and discriminant validity. Examination of the qualitatively distinct affective reactions to violations of own- and other-based standards as a function of the source of motivation to respond without prejudice provides evidence for the predictive validity of the scales. The final study demonstrated that reported stereotype endorsement varies as a function of motivation and whether reports are made in private or publicly. Results are discussed in terms of their support for the internal–external distinction and the significance of this distinction for identifying factors that may either promote or thwart prejudice reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors propose a parallel-constraint-satisfaction theory of impression formation that assumes that social stereotypes and individuating information such as traits or behaviors constrain each other's meaning and jointly influence impressions of individuals. Building on models of text comprehension (W. Kintsch, see record
1988-28529-001), the authors describe a connectionist model that can account for the major findings on how stereotypes affect impressions of individuals in the presence of different kinds of individuating information; how stereotypes, behaviors, and traits affect each other's meaning; and how multiple stereotypes jointly affect impressions. Most of these findings can be modeled by constraint networks, which suggests that they may be due to relatively automatic processes that require little conscious inference. The authors also point to a small number of phenomena that involve more controlled processes. The advantages of the authors' parallel model over serial models are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two studies tested the conditions under which social environments can undermine automatic gender stereotypic beliefs expressed by women. Study 1, a laboratory experiment, manipulated exposure to biographical information about famous female leaders. Study 2, a year-long field study, took advantage of pre-existing differences in the proportion of women occupying leadership positions (e.g., female professors) in two naturally occurring environments—a women’s college and a coeducational college. Together, these studies investigated: (a) whether exposure to women in leadership positions can temporarily undermine women’s automatic gender stereotypic beliefs, and (b) whether this effect is mediated by the frequency with which female leaders are encountered. Results revealed first that when women were in social contexts that exposed them to female leaders, they were less likely to express automatic stereotypic beliefs about their ingroup (Studies 1 and 2). Second, Study 2 showed that the long-term effect of social environments (women’s college vs. coed college) on automatic gender stereotyping was mediated by the frequency of exposure to women leaders (i.e., female faculty). Third, some academic environments (e.g., classes in male-dominated disciplines like science and math) produced an increase in automatic stereotypic beliefs among students at the coed college but not at the women’s college—importantly, this effect was mediated by the sex of the course instructors. Together, these findings underscore the power of local environments in shaping women’s nonconscious beliefs about their ingroup.
Motivation has been a central construct in theoretical and empirical efforts to understand the nature of prejudice and stereotyping. We briefly review core motivational underpinnings of prejudice and stereotyping, focusing on aspects of the human condition that help to explain why we are so prone to bias. The strong propensity toward stereotyping and prejudice along with the automatic manner in which intergroup biases often operate have led researchers to question the controllability of such biases (e.g., Bargh's (1999) characterization of stereotyping as a ‘cognitive monster’ that could not be ‘chained’ through efforts at control). We revisit the issue of the controllability of stereotyping and prejudice in light of recent work examining the effects of motivations to control prejudice on regulatory processes. Although a top-down approach to regulation has been emphasized in much past work (e.g., the conscious replacement of prejudiced associations with more egalitarian thoughts), there is growing evidence that more automated and less effortful bottom-up regulation is also possible (i.e., a ‘schooling’ of the ‘cognitive monster’). Altogether, the accumulated evidence points to the limitations of dual-process approaches when applied to understanding the control and regulation of prejudiced responses. The evidence argues instead for a more complex, dynamic, and multi-level conceptualization of regulation.
The concept of symbolic racism was originally proposed 30 years ago. Much research has been done and the society itself has changed, yet many of the original items measuring symbolic racism remain in use. The primary objective of this paper is to present and evaluate an updated scale of symbolic racism. The scale proves to be reliable and internally coherent. It has discriminant validity, being distinctively different from both older forms of racial attitudes and political conservatism, although with a base in both. It has predictive validity, explaining whites' racial policy preferences considerably better than do traditional racial attitudes or political predispositions. Evidence is presented of its usefulness for both college student and general adult population samples, as well as for minority populations. Data using this scale contradict several critiques of the symbolic racism construct (most of which are speculative rather than based on new data) concerning the consistency of its conceptualization and measurement, the coherence of the symbolic racism belief system, possible artifacts in its influence over whites' racial policy preferences (due to content overlap between the measures of independent and dependent variables), and its differentiation from nonracial conservatism and old-fashioned racism.
The statistical analysis of mediation effects has become an indispensable tool for helping scientists investigate processes thought to be causal. Yet, in spite of many recent advances in the estimation and testing of mediation effects, little attention has been given to methods for communicating effect size and the practical importance of those effect sizes. Our goals in this article are to (a) outline some general desiderata for effect size measures, (b) describe current methods of expressing effect size and practical importance for mediation, (c) use the desiderata to evaluate these methods, and (d) develop new methods to communicate effect size in the context of mediation analysis. The first new effect size index we describe is a residual-based index that quantifies the amount of variance explained in both the mediator and the outcome. The second new effect size index quantifies the indirect effect as the proportion of the maximum possible indirect effect that could have been obtained, given the scales of the variables involved. We supplement our discussion by offering easy-to-use R tools for the numerical and visual communication of effect size for mediation effects.
Three studies tested a stereotype inoculation model, which proposed that contact with same-sex experts (advanced peers, professionals, professors) in academic environments involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enhances women's self-concept in STEM, attitudes toward STEM, and motivation to pursue STEM careers. Two cross-sectional controlled experiments and 1 longitudinal naturalistic study in a calculus class revealed that exposure to female STEM experts promoted positive implicit attitudes and stronger implicit identification with STEM (Studies 1-3), greater self-efficacy in STEM (Study 3), and more effort on STEM tests (Study 1). Studies 2 and 3 suggested that the benefit of seeing same-sex experts is driven by greater subjective identification and connectedness with these individuals, which in turn predicts enhanced self-efficacy, domain identification, and commitment to pursue STEM careers. Importantly, women's own self-concept benefited from contact with female experts even though negative stereotypes about their gender and STEM remained active.
Medical interactions between Black patients and nonBlack physicians are usually less positive and productive than same-race interactions. We investigated the role that physician explicit and implicit biases play in shaping physician and patient reactions in racially discordant medical interactions. We hypothesized that whereas physicians' explicit bias would predict their own reactions, physicians' implicit bias, in combination with physician explicit (self-reported) bias, would predict patients' reactions. Specifically, we predicted that patients would react most negatively when their physician fit the profile of an aversive racist (i.e., low explicit-high implicit bias). The hypothesis about the effects of explicit bias on physicians' reactions was partially supported. The aversive racism hypothesis received support. Black patients had less positive reactions to medical interactions with physicians relatively low in explicit but relatively high in implicit bias than to interactions with physicians who were either (a) low in both explicit and implicit bias, or (b) high in both explicit and implicit bias.
http://implicit.harvard.edu/ was created to provide experience with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a procedure designed to measure social knowledge that may operate outside awareness or control. Significant by-products of the website's existence are large datasets contributed to by the site's many visitors. This article summarises data from more than 2.5 million completed IATs and self-reports across 17 topics obtained between July 2000 and May 2006. In addition to reinforcing several published findings with a heterogeneous sample, the data help to establish that: (a) implicit preferences and stereotypes are pervasive across demographic groups and topics, (b) as with self-report, there is substantial inter-individual variability in implicit attitudes and stereotypes, (c) variations in gender, ethnicity, age, and political orientation predict variation in implicit and explicit measures, and (d) implicit and explicit attitudes and stereotypes are related, but distinct. Psychology Accepted Manuscript
An implicit association test (IAT) measures differential association of 2 target concepts with an attribute. The 2 concepts appear in a 2-choice task (2-choice task (e.g., flower vs. insect names), and the attribute in a 2nd task (e.g., pleasant vs. unpleasant words for an evaluation attribute). When instructions oblige highly associated categories (e.g., flower + pleasant) to share a response key, performance is faster than when less associated categories (e.g., insect & pleasant) share a key. This performance difference implicitly measures differential association of the 2 concepts with the attribute. In 3 experiments, the IAT was sensitive to (a) near-universal evaluative differences (e.g., flower vs. insect), (b) expected individual differences in evaluative associations (Japanese + pleasant vs. Korean + pleasant for Japanese vs. Korean subjects), and (c) consciously disavowed evaluative differences (Black + pleasant vs. White + pleasant for self-described unprejudiced White subjects).
Three studies investigated the authenticity of prejudice-related discrepancies. A comprehensive discrepancy questionnaire was developed (Study 1), which yielded small as well as large discrepancy scores. Study 2 indicated that discrepancy scores were stable, and personality could not account for the relation between discrepancies and their affective consequences. In Study 3, low-prejudice participants responded to jokes about Blacks under high or low distraction. Behavioral validation for self-reported discrepancies was found, such that participants with larger discrepancies evaluated the jokes more favorably under high than low distraction, but participants with smaller discrepancies provided equally unfavorable evaluations in both distraction conditions. Implications for understanding people's abilities to avoid potentially prejudiced responses and their self-insight into such abilities are discussed.
The primary aim of the present research was to examine the effect of training in negating stereotype associations on stereotype activation. Across 3 studies, participants received practice in negating stereotypes related to skinhead and racial categories. The subsequent automatic activation of stereotypes was measured using either a primed Stroop task (Studies I and 2) or a person categorization task (Study 3). The results demonstrate that when receiving no training or training in a nontarget category stereotype, participants exhibited spontaneous stereotype activation. After receiving an extensive amount of training related to a specific category, however, participants demonstrated reduced stereotype activation. The results from the training task provide further evidence for the impact of practice on participants' proficiency in negating stereotypes.
The present research suggests that automatic and controlled intergroup biases can be modified through diversity education. In 2 experiments, students enrolled in a prejudice and conflict seminar showed significantly reduced implicit and explicit anti-Black biases, compared with control students. The authors explored correlates of prejudice and stereotype reduction. In each experiment, seminar students' implicit and explicit change scores positively covaried with factors suggestive of affective and cognitive processes, respectively. The findings show the malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes and suggest that these may effectively be changed through affective processes.
The goal of the research reported in this article was to examine whether automatic group attitudes and stereotypes, commonly thought to be fixed responses to a social category cue, are sensitive to changes in the situational context. Two experiments demonstrated such variability of automatic responses due to changes in the stimulus context. In Study 1 White participants' implicit attitudes toward Blacks varied as a result of exposure to either a positive (a family barbecue) or a negative (a gang incident) stereotypic situation. Study 2 demonstrated similar context effects under clearly automatic processing conditions. Here, the use of different background pictures (church interior vs. street corner) for Black and White face primes affected participants' racial attitudes as measured by a sequential priming task. Implications for the concept of automaticity in social cognition are discussed.
Conducting research on human relationships entails special challenges of design and analysis. Many important questions benefit from the study of dyads and families, and studies of relationships in natural settings often involve longitudinal and/or clustered designs. In turn, power analyses for such studies require additional considerations, because multilevel statistical models (or structural equation modeling equivalents) are often used to analyze relationships data. Power calculations in multilevel models involve the difficult task of specifying hypothesized values for a large number of parameters. Planning studies can also involve power trade-offs, including whether to prioritize the number of dyads sampled or the number of repeated measurements per dyad. Unfortunately, the relationships literature provides limited guidance on how to deal with these issues. In this article, we present a data simulation method for estimating power for commonly used relationships research designs. We also illustrate the method using two worked examples from relationships research.
The present article reviews evidence for the malleability of automatic stereotypes and prejudice. In contrast to assumptions that such responses are fixed and ines- capable, it is shown that automatic stereotypes and prejudice are influenced by, (a) self- and social motives, (b) specific strategies, (c) the perceiver's focus of atten- tion, and (d) the configuration of stimulus cues. In addition, group members' indi- vidual characteristics are shown to influence the extent to which (global) stereo- types and prejudice are automatically activated. This evidence has significant implications for conceptions of automaticity, models of stereotyping and prejudice, and attitude representation. The review concludes with the description of an initial model of early social information processing. Given a thimbleful of facts we rush to make general- izations as large as a tub. … Life is short, and the de- mands upon us for practical adjustments so great, that we cannot let our ignorance detain us in our daily transactions. (Allport, 1954, p. 9)
Survey and laboratory studies provide support for the self-regulation of prejudice, but it is unclear whether people similarly self-regulate in“real life. Using a phenomenological approach, 153 non-Black participants recalled racial experiences in which they responded in ways they later wished had been different. Participants internally motivated to control prejudice reported discrepancies regardless of their external motivation, but even participants low on internal motivation reported prejudice-related discrepancies if they were externally motivated. Content analysis results are presented to summarize participants discrepancy experiences. Also, most participants discrepancies produced negative self-directed affect and the self-regulation of prejudice in the future. Findings suggest that self-regulation generalizes beyond the laboratory and occurs even among people who are not internally motivated to control their prejudice.