Can the absence of prejudice be more threatening than its presence? It depends on one's worldview

Bibliographic Data

ID6206506
AuthorsSarah S M Townsend (0000-0001-7086-5454, University of California, Santa Barbara), Brenda Major (0000-0002-2688-9464, University of California, Santa Barbara), Pamela J Sawyer (University of California, Santa Barbara), Wendy Berry Mendes (0000-0003-4453-1201, Harvard University)
Year2010
Volume99
Issue6
Pages933-947
Publication date2010-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/a0020434
PMID21114352
PMCIDPMC3059499
OpenAlexW2105988984
LanguageEN
Citations received36
References cited49

The present research used validated cardiovascular measures to examine threat reactions among members of stigmatized groups when interacting with members of nonstigmatized groups who were, or were not, prejudiced against their group. The authors hypothesized that people's beliefs about the fairness of the status system would moderate their experience of threat during intergroup interactions. The authors predicted that for members of stigmatized groups who believe the status system is fair, interacting with a prejudiced partner, compared with interacting with an unprejudiced partner, would disconfirm their worldview and result in greater threat. In contrast, the authors predicted that for members of stigmatized groups who believe the system is unfair, interacting with a prejudiced partner, compared with interacting with an unprejudiced partner, would confirm their worldview and result in less threat. The authors examined these predictions among Latinas interacting with a White female confederate (Study 1) and White females interacting with a White male confederate (Study 2). As predicted, people's beliefs about the fairness of the status system moderated their experiences of threat during intergroup interactions, indicated both by cardiovascular responses and nonverbal behavior. The specific pattern of the moderation differed across the 2 studies

Developmental psychology · Interpersonal interaction · Moderation · Prejudice (legal term) · White (mutation) · Cultural Differences and Values · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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