Prejudice

Willful stereotype control: The impact of internal motivation to respond without prejudice on the regulation of activated stereotypes

by Kai Sassenberg

Fehr, J., Sassenberg, K., & Jonas, K. J. (in press). Willful stereotype control: The impact of internal motivation to respond without prejudice on the regulation of activated stereotypes. Zeitschrift für Psychologie / Journal of Psychology.

Internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced leads to heightened control of stereotype activation. However, it is not... more Internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced leads to heightened control of stereotype activation. However, it is not clear whether internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced only reduces stereotype activation or whether individuals high internally motivated to behave nonprejudiced are also more successful in intentionally controlling already activated stereotypes. Two studies show that internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced when measured as well as when manipulated leads to more efficient control of activated stereotypes. This underlines the powerful potential of internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced to support the intentional control of previously activated stereotypes.

No role for lightness in the perception of black and white? Simultaneous contrast affects perceived skin tone, but not perceived race

by Kevin Brooks

Brooks, K. R. & Gwinn, S. O. (2010). No role for lightness in the perception of black and white? Simultaneous contrast affects perceived skin tone, but not perceived race. Perception, 39, 1142-1145.

Faces of individuals with African and European heritage (henceforth referred to as Black and White respectively)... more Faces of individuals with African and European heritage (henceforth referred to as Black and White respectively) feature two major differences: those of skin tone and morphological characteristics. Although considerations of perceived race are important to various psychological subdisciplines, to date the relative influence of morphological versus photometric characteristics has not been investigated. We attempted to influence the perceived racial typicality of a central target face by manipulating perceived skin tone using the well-known lightness contrast illusion. As expected, ratings of skin tone were influenced by surround faces, yet ratings of perceived racial typicality were not, suggesting a dissociation between the two judgments. Surprisingly, skin tone contributes little to perceived race, leaving facial morphology as the dominant cue. These results may shed light on failures to find effects of racial typicality in studies of prejudice where judgments were based on photographs with altered skin tone alone.

Playing" Sherlock Holmes": Enhancing Studentsʼ Understanding of Prejudice and Stereotyping

by Debra Behrens

Prejudice in verbal interaction

by Susan Condor

Existing social psychological perspectives tend to overlook the fact that public expressions of racial, ethnic or... more Existing social psychological perspectives tend to overlook the fact that public expressions of racial, ethnic or national prejudice normally constitute collaborative accomplishments, the product of joint action between a number of individuals. Awareness of the inherently dialogical character of prejudiced talk affords appreciation of the ways in which expressions of ethnic or racial antipathy need not simply be used to display a speaker’s private attitudes or to defend a group position, but may also be oriented to the local context of talk in action. Recognizably prejudiced talk may be used to claim the floor, to bully, to amuse, to shock, to display intimacy and solidarity, to mark a variety of personal and social identities or to key the informal, backstage, character of a social encounter. The fact that prejudiced talk can be intricately woven through the delicate choreography of everyday sociability may greatly complicate any attempts to challenge it.

Előítéletek Europában, intolerancia Magyarországon

by G.Márkus György

Egy európai -- nyolc országra kiterjedő -- projekt eredményeiből kiindulva az előítéletesség terjedésének és... more Egy európai -- nyolc országra kiterjedő -- projekt eredményeiből kiindulva az előítéletesség terjedésének és magyarországi intenzitásának okaira kérdezünk rá.

Bijleveld, E., Scheepers, D., & Ellemers, N. (in press). The cortisol response to anticipated intergroup interactions predicts self-reported prejudice. PLoS ONE.

by Erik Bijleveld

Objectives. While prejudice has often been shown to be rooted in experiences of threat, the biological underpinnings... more Objectives. While prejudice has often been shown to be rooted in experiences of threat, the biological underpinnings of this threat-prejudice association have received less research attention. The present experiment aims to test whether activations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, due to anticipated interactions with outgroup members, predict self-reported prejudice. Moreover, we explore potential moderators of this relationship (i.e., interpersonal similarity; subtle vs. blatant prejudice).

Methodology/Principal findings. Participants anticipated an interaction with an out-group member who was similar or dissimilar to the self. To index HPA activation, cortisol responses to this event were measured. Then, subtle and blatant prejudice were measured via questionnaires. Findings indicated that only when people anticipated an interaction with an out group member who was dissimilar to the self, their cortisol response to this event significantly predicted subtle (r = .50) and blatant (r = .53) prejudice.

Conclusions. These findings indicate that prejudicial attitudes are linked to HPA-axis activity. Furthermore, when intergroup interactions are interpreted to be about individuals (and not so much about groups), experienced threat (or its biological substrate) is less likely to relate to prejudice.

The relationship between religious orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, and implicit attitudes toward lesbians and gay men.

by Jo-Ann Tsang

Social Tolerance in Slovenia and Europe: A Comparative and Longitudinal Analysis [Netolerantnost v Sloveniji in Evropi: Primerjalna in longitudinalna analiza].

by Andrej Kirbis

Co-authored with Flere, S., & Tavčar Krajnc, M. (2012). Accepted for publication in Druzboslovne razprave.

Our study draws upon postmodernization theory to examine and compare social tolerance of Slovenes and Europeans toward... more Our study draws upon postmodernization theory to examine and compare social tolerance of Slovenes and Europeans toward nine minority groups. We analyzed 44 representative national samples in European Values Study (2008) and Slovenian Public Opinion data. In 2008 Slovenes were most intolerant toward drug addicts, heavy drinkers, and Romas, who remain the least desired ethnoreligious group in Slovenia and Europe. Multilevel regression model showed that at the cross-country level higher intolerance was predicted only by lower levels of socioeconomic development, but not by other macrovariables. Significant predictors at the individual level proved to be education, household income, age and religiosity. In Slovenia during the 1992–2008 period levels of intolerance toward lifestyle minorities have remained at the similar level, while xenophobia has decreased.

Stereotypes as Justifications of Prejudice

by Chris Crandall

Co-authored with Bahns, Warner and Schaller

Three experiments investigate how stereotypes form as justifications for prejudice. The authors created novel... more Three experiments investigate how stereotypes form as justifications for prejudice. The authors created novel content-free prejudices toward unfamiliar social groups using either subliminal (Experiment 1, N = 79) or supraliminal (Experiment 2, N = 105; Experiment 3, N =130) affective conditioning and measured the consequent endorsement of stereotypes about the groups. Following the stereotype content model, analyses focused on the extent to which stereotypes connoted warmth or competence. Results from all three experiments revealed effects on the warmth dimension but not on the competence dimension: Groups associated with negative affect were stereotyped as comparatively cold (but not comparatively incompetent). These results provide the first evidence that—in the absence of information, interaction, or history of behavioral discrimination—stereotypes develop to justify prejudice.

From ‘prejudice’ to collective action

by John Drury

Stott, C., Drury, J., & Reicher, S. (2012). From ‘prejudice’ to collective action. In J. Dixon and M. Levine (Eds.), Beyond prejudice: Extending the social psychology of conflict, inequality and social change (pp. 286-303). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGY AND ETHNIC CONFLICT: SLOW LIFE HISTORY AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR AGAINST NEGATIVE ETHNOCENTRISM IN TWO …

by Daniel Nelson Jones

Exploring the self-directed anger of the stigmatized: The interplay between perceived legitimacy and social identification

by Kai Sassenberg

Hansen, N., & Sassenberg, K. (2011). Exploring the self-directed anger of the stigmatized: The interplay between perceived legitimacy and social identification. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 14, 807-818.

Does social identification protect or harm targets of discrimination? Two studies (N = 52, N = 94) tested the... more Does social identification protect or harm targets of discrimination? Two studies (N = 52, N = 94) tested the prediction that perceived legitimacy moderates the impact of social identification on negative responses to discrimination. Results confirm that when discrimination is perceived as illegitimate, identification is negatively related to self-directed anger (buffering effect) because identification provides a feeling of in-group support. However, when discrimination is perceived as legitimate, identification is positively related to self-directed anger (exacerbating effect) because the internalized social identity is perceived as legitimate target for the negative treatment. Legitimacy is measured and manipulated among different low-status groups. The legitimization and internalization of discrimination driven by self-directed anger are discussed.

Effects of linguistic abstractness in the mass media

by Kai Sassenberg

Geschke, D., Sassenberg, K., Ruhrmann, G., & Sommer, D. (2010). Effects of linguistic abstractness in the mass media: How newspaper articles shape readers’ attitudes towards migrants. Journal of Media Psychology, 22(3), 99-104.

Media coverage contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudice. So far, research has focused on biased... more Media coverage contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudice. So far, research has focused on biased content rather than style in reporting about minorities. One such stylistic dimension is the so-called linguistic intergroup bias: The tendency to describe positive behavior of members of one’s own group and negative behavior of other groups’ members in a more abstract way (compared to the same behavior of the respective other group). Recipients of communication biased in this way judge the described individuals in line with abstract descriptions (i.e., own-group members more positively than members of other groups). The current study demonstrates that linguistically biased news reports about minorities lead to higher levels of prejudice. Hence, media coverage does not only affect attitudes about minorities by what is reported, but also by how it is presented.

Willing and able: How internal motivation and failure help to overcome prejudice

by Kai Sassenberg

Fehr, J., & Sassenberg, K. (2010). Willing and able: How internal motivation and failure help to overcome prejudice. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13(2), 167-181.

Internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced reduces automatic and controlled prejudice. The present studies examined... more Internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced reduces automatic and controlled prejudice. The present studies examined the impact of internal motivation to behave nonprejudiced on reactions to one’s failure to behave nonprejudiced. In Study 1 higher levels of internal motivation led to more negative self-directed affect when failing to behave nonprejudiced, but not when failing in other domains. In Study 2 higher levels of internal motivation led to less prejudice after failure to behave nonprejudiced, but not in a non-failure condition. These findings suggest that failure to behave nonprejudiced plays a key role for highly internally motivated individuals in learning to regulate prejudice successfully.

The carry-over effect of competition: The impact of competition on prejudice towards uninvolved outgroups

by Kai Sassenberg

Sassenberg, K., Moskowitz, G.B., Jacoby, J., & Hansen, N. (2007). The carry-over effect of competition: The impact of competition on prejudice towards uninvolved outgroups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 529-538.

Following realistic group-conflict theory, negative interdependence between groups (e.g., competition) leads to... more Following realistic group-conflict theory, negative interdependence between groups (e.g., competition) leads to prejudice towards the opposing outgroup. Based on research on mindset priming, it is hypothesized that competition increases prejudice, regardless of whether the derogated outgroup is involved in the competition or not. In Experiment 1, participants remembered an event involving either competition or cooperation; in Experiments 2 and 3 they participated in a competitive, cooperative, or individual assessment of their knowledge. Subsequent measures indicated that competition results in higher levels of prejudice, even when it is not related to the intergroup context. Additional evidence suggests that this effect is not driven by the transfer of negative affect or ego-depletion. Possible underlying cognitive processes are discussed

Does social identification harm or serve as a buffer? The impact of social identification on anger after experiencing social discrimination

by Kai Sassenberg

Hansen, N., & Sassenberg, K. (2006). Does social identification harm or buffer? The impact of social identification on anger after social discrimination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 983-996.

Research on targets' affective reactions to social discrimination has not yet addressed self- and other-directed anger... more Research on targets' affective reactions to social discrimination has not yet addressed self- and other-directed anger at the same time. Four studies tested the hypothesis that the perceived cause of negative feedback moderates the impact of social identification on self-directed anger. In Studies 1 and 2, high levels of social identification led to less self-directed anger when negative feedback was attributed to social discrimination but not when it was attributed either to other external causes or internally. In Study 3, a cross-lagged design showed that higher identification led to less self-directed anger when negative feedback was attributed to social discrimination but not the other way around. This effect was found using scenarios (Studies 1-3) and also when using the recollection of personal experiences to manipulate attribution (Study 4). These results indicate that following social discrimination, social identification protects the self and does not increase individual vulnerability.

The impact of regulatory focus on affective responses to social discrimination

by Kai Sassenberg

Sassenberg, K., & Hansen, N. (2007). The impact of regulatory focus on affective responses to social discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 421-444.

The impact of individuals' regulatory focus and the domain of outcomes (non-gains vs. losses) on the target's... more The impact of individuals' regulatory focus and the domain of outcomes (non-gains vs. losses) on the target's affective responses to social discrimination were tested. Based on regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997), it was predicted that a prevention focus would lead to more anger and agitation after social discrimination, because experiencing social discrimination is similar to experiencing failure. This pattern was predicted to be more pronounced when social discrimination was based on losses than when social discrimination was based on non-gains (i.e., when the in-group was evaluated more negatively vs. less positively compared to the out-group). The results of three studies using chronic and situationally induced regulatory focus confirmed these predictions. No effect was found for the promotion focus.

You Deplete Me: The Cognitive Costs of Colorblindness on Ethnic Minorities

by Deborah Son Holoien

Microaggressions: The new racism

by Louis Hoffman

Heatherlyn Cleare-Hoffman & Nathaniel Granger, co-authors

Review of Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation by Derald Wing Sue Review of Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation by Derald Wing Sue

Collaborative prejudice

by Susan Condor

Published in the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 2006.