Beyond the Binary: The Issue of Intra-Minority Hostility and the Need to Challenge Conventional Victim/Perpetrator Frameworks Within Hate Studies

It is well-established within the hate studies literature that the majority of hate crimes and incidents of targeted hostility are perpetrated by those in the "majority" society. In the UK, academic and official research consistently shows that young White, British males are most commonly the culprits of all forms of targeted victimization, especially racist hate. However, urban areas of "super-diversity" offer researchers an opportunity to understand hate crime victimization and perpetration in a more nuanced and comprehensive way. Hate studies research has slowly begun to highlight instances of people from marginalized and stigmatized groups being targeted on the basis of their identity by individuals who are also members of minority groups, sometimes even the same minority group as the victim. Very little is understood about this particular victimizing dynamic other than it appears to be an attempt by minority group members to "fit in" by adopting what they perceive to be majority group values and attitudes. By drawing from 44 qualitative in-depth interviews exploring the experiences of new migrants and refugees and observations from 20 months of grassroots engagement, this article challenges established theories of "othering" that overwhelmingly refer to binary, static majority/minority tensions. The stories of these too-often "hidden" victims of targeted hostility offer a fresh perspective on the relationships between victims of hate and perpetrators. The article also contributes new explanations as to why those who are often targeted go on to target others.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio Predicts Sexual Perception and Responses to Sexual Assault Disclosures

The current work investigates the effects of target of perception's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on perceivers' judgments of sexual unrestrictedness and sexual victimization prototypicality. Studies 1a and 1b found that women with lower WHRs were perceived as relatively more sexually unrestricted. Studies 2a and 2b found that women with lower WHRs were perceived as relatively more prototypic of sexual victimization. Study 3 built on these findings to consider implications for responses to sexual assault disclosures. Perceivers disbelieved and minimized a disclosure of assault relatively more when made by a woman with a higher WHR. In sum, this body of work implicates WHR as a body cue that can inform consequential sexual perception. Thereby, this work identifies factors that could influence judgments of credibility of sexual violence reports, which may have implications for hesitancy to report sexual violence.

Talking Trials: An arts-based exploration of attitudes to clinical trials amongst minority ethnic members of the South Riverside Community of Cardiff

INTRODUCTION

Clinical trials must include diverse participants to ensure the wide applicability of results. However, people from ethnic minorities are included in clinical trials at rates lower than expected given their share of the population. Working with South Riverside Community Development Centre (SRCDC), Talking Trials used public engagement to foster discussions around the underrepresentation of those from minority ethnic communities in clinical trials and to identify and address concerns surrounding trial participation.

METHODS

We conducted three workshops with 13 co-researchers from minority ethnic backgrounds. We explored perceptions and understanding of clinical trials alongside participatory art activities to help move away from verbocentric methods of communication. These artworks formed an exhibition that was presented to the community, prompting further discussions and engagement.

FINDINGS

Co-production workshops were an effective tool to introduce the public to trial research. With little knowledge of clinical trials at the beginning of the process, our co-researchers formed a cohesive group, sharing initial fears and mistrust towards trials. As conversations progressed these attitudes clearly shifted. Artwork produced during the workshops was incorporated into an exhibition. Quotes and creative pieces from the group were included to reflect the themes identified. Presenting the exhibition at Riverside Festival enabled further engagement with a wider diverse community. The focus on co-production helped build a network of individuals new to research and keen to become involved further.

CONCLUSION

Inclusive and democratic co-production, enriched by participatory art practices, provided a powerful means of enabling our group to create new insights and foster new relationships. Projects like Talking Trials can diversify the research process itself-for example, four co-researchers have commenced lay research partner roles on trial management groups and a lay advisory group is in development.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Three members of staff at SRCDC were on the project delivery group and involved in the initial project design, subsequently helping to connect us with members of the Riverside community to work as co-researchers. Two of the SRCDC staff are co-authors of this manuscript. The project had 13 public co-researchers guiding the direction of this research and creating the artwork displayed in the art exhibition.

Feminist Social Vision: Seeing Through the Lens of Marginalized Perceivers

Social vision research, which examines, in part, how humans visually perceive social stimuli, is well-positioned to improve understandings of social inequality. However, social vision research has rarely prioritized the perspectives of marginalized group members. We offer a theoretical argument for diversifying understandings of social perceptual processes by centering marginalized perspectives. We examine (a) how social vision researchers frame their research questions and who these framings prioritize and (b) how perceptual processes (person perception; people perception; perception of social objects) are linked to group membership and thus comprehensively understanding these processes necessitates attention to marginalized perceivers. We discuss how social vision research translates into theoretical advances and to action for reducing negative intergroup consequences (e.g., prejudice). The purpose of this article is to delineate how prioritizing marginalized perspectives in social vision research could develop novel questions, bridge theoretical gaps, and elevate social vision's translational impact to improve outcomes for marginalized groups.

Interethnic workplace conflict: Reciprocal perception of Italian and immigrant blue-collar coworkers

Past research has examined the beneficial effects of contact focusing mainly on the affective dimension of intergroup relationships. Limited research has examined cognitive dimensions, in particular considering at the same time minority and majority group perspectives. This study tested whether contact in a work context relates differentially to the perception of interethnic conflict in Italian (n = 67) and immigrant (n = 40, all male) blue-collar coworkers with the potential mediation of reciprocal stereotypical content (competence and warmth dimensions), interethnic attitudes, perceived discrimination, and whether organizational identification amplifies the effect of contact. Multigroup path analysis revealed that the two stereotype dimensions, warmth and competence, mediate the relationship between interethnic contact and perceived discrimination for Italians, and between organizational identification and perceived conflict for immigrants. Results highlighted an asymmetrical effect of contact on perceived conflict, detrimental and direct for immigrant workers, beneficial and mediate via the outgroup cognitive image for the Italian workers. Findings suggest that a superordinate identity, in terms of organizational identification, may be effective in reducing conflict at the workplace for majority members, whilst a personalized strategy seems to be more suitable for minority members. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed along with the acculturation perspective.

Multiculturalism and Colorblindness as Threats to the Self: A Framework for Understanding Dominant and Non-Dominant Group Members' Responses to Interethnic Ideologies

Both multiculturalism (which involves recognizing and appreciating differences) and racial/ethnic colorblindness (which can involve emphasizing similarities or individual characteristics) are intended to promote intergroup harmony. Nevertheless, these ideologies can backfire when salient. Although this work has sometimes been interpreted to suggest that dominant group members may perceive salient multiculturalism, and non-dominant group members may perceive salient colorblindness, as threatening, it is unclear what about these interethnic ideologies poses a threat and why. The present article draws upon theories of the self-concept to introduce a framework of Multiculturalism and Colorblindness as Threats to the Self. Specifically, it is proposed that multiculturalism (colorblindness) is potentially threatening to dominant (non-dominant) group members' collective, relational, and personal selves. Dispositional and contextual variables that may moderate perceptions of threat among members of dominant and non-dominant groups, alternative interethnic ideologies to multiculturalism and colorblindness, and potential future research directions are discussed.

Missing perspective: Marginalized groups in the social psychological study of social disparities

Drawing on interdisciplinary, feminist insights, we encourage social psychologists to embrace the active participation of marginalized groups in social disparities research. We explain (1) how the absence of marginalized groups' perspectives in research presents a serious challenge to understanding intergroup dynamics and concomitant disparities, and (2) how their inclusion could assuage some of social psychology's "fatal flaws."

Superposition strategies: How and why White people say contradictory things about race

Due to the centrality of race and racism in social, economic, and political life, coupled with the racially privileged position of White people, the assessment of White racial attitudes is an ongoing concern. There is a great deal of survey-based, quantitative work that demonstrates a compelling case of White attitudinal polarization-a grouping of authoritarian, racist attitudes versus another alliance of progressive, antiracist attitudes-an increasingly racialized culture war. However, other studies, largely qualitative and open-ended, demonstrate the heterogeneous, shifting, and hypocritical nature of White discourse about race. To resolve this paradox, I refrain from the assumption that White racial "attitudes" are essentially bifurcated, while I also refuse the contention that White people produce spontaneous narratives whole-cloth. Rather, I argue that with sustained attention to time, context, and triangulation, we can better understand how and why White people speak of People of Color in positive ways one moment and negative the next, marshaling both to defend, rationalize, or improve their racialized subject position. I argue that these contradictions are-à la Schrödinger's famous thought experiment-"superposition strategies." Both racist and antiracist attitudes are simultaneously alive and dead in the same individual or group. Contradictory White discourse helps maintain a sense of self-efficacy and coherent White racial identity within conflictual and politically supercharged social situations, as well as within racially unequal social structures.

Believing that prejudice can change increases children's interest in interracial interactions

Children begin interacting less across racial lines around middle childhood, but it remains unclear why. We examine the novel possibility that, at that time, children's prejudice theories-their understanding of prejudice as a fixed or malleable attribute-begin to influence their desire for interracial affiliation. We devise immersive behavioral experiences to evaluate when and how prejudice theories affect interracial affiliation. Study 1 measured prejudice theories among 8-13-year-olds (N = 152; 76 White, 76 racial minority) and observed children in a newly-developed social interaction task. In line with our hypothesis, children older than 10 years with stronger malleable-prejudice theories exhibited more interest and affiliation in a simulated cross- (versus same-race) interaction, regardless of their preexisting prejudice level. Study 2 randomly assigned children to listen to a fixed- or malleable-prejudice theory story before engaging in a real, first-time interaction with a same- or cross-race partner at a different school via live video-stream (N = 150; 96 White, 54 racial minority). The malleable theory increased children's interest in further interaction with their cross-race partner. These findings highlight the promise of malleable-prejudice theories for sustaining positive interracial relationships during a critical developmental window-when the frequency of cross-race friendships typically declines. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Pushing Back Against the Microaggression Pushback in Academic Psychology: Reflections on a Concept-Creep Paradox

Echoing the 1960s, the 2020s opened with racial tensions boiling. The Black Lives Matter movement is energized, issuing pleas to listen to Black voices regarding day-to-day discrimination and expressing frustrations over the slow progress of social justice. However, psychological scientists have published only several opinion pieces on racial microaggressions, primarily objections, and strikingly little empirical data. Here I document three trends in psychology that coincide with the academic pushback against microaggressions: concept-creep concerns, especially those regarding expanded notions of harm; the expansion of right-leaning values in moral judgments (moral foundations theory); and an emphasis on prejudice symmetry, with the political left deemed equivalently biased against right-leaning targets (e.g., the rich, police) as the right is against left-leaning targets (e.g., Black people, women, LGBT+ people). Psychological scientists have ignored power dynamics and have strayed from their mission to understand and combat prejudice against disadvantaged populations, rendering researchers distracted and ill-equipped to tackle the microaggression concept. An apparent creep paradox, with calls to both reduce (e.g., harm) and expand (e.g., liberal prejudices, conservative moral foundations) concepts, poses a serious challenge to research on prejudice. I discuss the need for psychology to better capture Black experiences and to "tell it like it is" or risk becoming an irrelevant discipline of study.

Bringing an Intersectional Lens to “Open” Science: An Analysis of Representation in the Reproducibility Project

Feminist psychologists have called for researchers to consider the social and historical context and the multidimensionality of participants in research studies. The Reproducibility Project documents the degree to which the findings from mainstream psychological studies are reproduced. Drawing on intersectionality theory, we question the value of reproducing findings while ignoring who is represented, intersecting social and group identities, sociohistorical context, and the power and privilege that likely influence participants’ responses in psychology experiments. To critically examine the Reproducibility Project in psychology, we analyzed the 100 replication reports produced between 2011 and 2014 (Open Science Collaboration, 2015). We developed an intersectional analytic framework to investigate (a) representation, (b) whether demographic and identity factors were considered through a multidimensional or intersectional lens, (c) explanations of non-replication, and (d) whether socio-cultural context was considered. Results show that reports predominantly include WEIRD samples (people from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic countries). Context and identity were rarely considered, even when study design relied on these factors, and intersectional identities and structures (considering power, structural issues, discrimination, and historical context) were absent from nearly all reports. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843211035678

Mixed Evidence for Interactive Effects of Outgroup Proportions and Intergroup Contact on Racial Bias in the United States

Dominant majority-group members living in areas with larger proportions of outgroup members tend to express more ingroup bias. However, prior research has rarely considered this in tandem with the bias-reducing effects of intergroup contact or tested whether outgroup proportions have similar effects for oppressed minority-group members. In two preregistered studies, we tested whether contact moderates the association between outgroup proportions and ingroup bias among White and Black Americans (total N > 75,000). As hypothesized, more Black residents in an area predicted greater explicit (but not implicit) ingroup bias among White respondents who reported low (but not high) contact with Black people. By contrast, more White residents in an area predicted lower explicit (but not implicit) ingroup bias among Black respondents regardless of intergroup contact with White people. We qualify previous findings by demonstrating that the association between outgroup proportions and ingroup bias depends on one’s group membership and level of intergroup contact.

Disadvantaged group members’ evaluations and support for allies: Investigating the role of communication style and group membership

Limited research has examined disadvantaged group members’ evaluations and support for allies who engage in collective action on their behalf. Across two studies (Study 1 N = 264 women; Study 2 N = 347 Black Americans) we manipulated an ally’s communication style and group membership to investigate whether these factors play a role in how allies are perceived and received. We found that participants evaluated allies less positively and were less willing to support them when they communicated their support in a dominant compared to a neutral way. Heightened perceptions that the ally was trying to take over the movement and make themselves the center of attention explained these results. However, we found no effect of whether the ally belonged to another disadvantaged group or not. Our findings contribute to the growing literature which seeks to understand the complexities associated with involving allies in collective action.

Association between sexual orientation acceptance and suicidal ideation, substance use, and internalised homophobia amongst the pink carpet Y cohort study of young gay, bisexual, and queer men in Singapore

Background

Gay, bisexual and queer (GBQ) men are frequently subjected to minority stressors that have negative impacts on their health. Milestones that include the acceptance and disclosure of sexual identity amongst GBQ men are hence key instruments in understanding the prevalence of internalised homophobia and predicting health outcomes. As such, this work takes a novel approach to deduce the correlates of delayed acceptance of sexual orientation in young GBQ men as a measure of internalised homophobia through retrospective self-reporting and age-based analysis.

Methods

Participants were recruited as part of a cohort study exploring the syndemic risks associated with HIV acquisition among young GBQ men in Singapore. We examined their levels of internalised, perceived, experienced homophobia, as well as their health behaviours and suicidal tendencies. Two separate variables were also self-reported by the participants – the age of questioning of sexual orientation and the age of acceptance of sexual orientation. We subsequently recoded a new variable, delayed acceptance of sexual orientation, by taking the difference between these two variables, regressing it as an independent and dependent variable to deduce its psychosocial correlates, as well as its association with other measured instruments of health.

Results

As a dependent variable, delayed acceptance of sexual orientation is positively associated with an increase of age and internalised homophobia, while being negatively associated with reporting as being gay, compared to being bisexual or queer. As an independent variable, delayed acceptance of sexual orientation was associated with a delayed age of coming out to siblings and parents, suicide ideation, historical use of substances including smoking tobacco cigarettes and consuming marijuana, as well as reporting higher levels of experienced, internalised and perceived homophobia.

Conclusion

Greater levels of early intervention and efforts are required to reduce the heightened experience of minority stress resulting from communal and institutional hostilities. Areas of improvement may include community-based counselling and psychological support for GBQ men, while not forsaking greater education of the social and healthcare sectors. Most importantly, disrupting the stigma narrative of a GBQ ‘lifestyle’ is paramount in establishing an accepting social environment that reduces the health disparity faced by GBQ men.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-10992-6.

Psychological Science Is Not Race Neutral

In their analysis in a previous issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, Roberts and colleagues argued that the editors, authors, and participants throughout subfields of psychological science are overwhelmingly White. In this commentary, we consider some of the drivers and consequences of this racial inequality. Drawing on race scholarship from within and outside the field, we highlight three phenomena that create and maintain racial inequality in psychology: (a) racial ignorance, (b) threats to belonging, and (c) racial-progress narratives. We close by exploring steps that journals and authors can take to reduce racial inequality in our field, ending with an appeal to consider the experience of scholars of color in race scholarship and in psychological science more broadly.

Invisible middle-class Black space: Asymmetrical person and space stereotyping at the race–class nexus

In addition to racial stereotypes about people (e.g., Black people are poor), perceivers hold parallel racial stereotypes about physical spaces (e.g., Black spaces are impoverished; Bonam, Bergsieker, & Eberhardt, 2016). Three studies extend these findings, showing that (a) Whites describe Black space as impoverished and undesirable, but describe White space as affluent and desirable, and (b) this racially polarized stereotype content is heightened for spaces compared to people (Studies 1 & 2). Perceivers are accordingly more likely to racially stereotype spaces than people (Study 3). This asymmetry in racial stereotype application is exacerbated when targets are objectively middle class versus lower class, likely because Whites have more difficulty incorporating counterstereotypic information into perceptions of Black spaces—compared to perceptions of Black people, White people, and White spaces (Study 3). Finally, we provide and discuss evidence for potential consequences of invisible middle-class Black space, relating to residential segregation and the racial wealth gap.

Prejudice Masquerading as Praise: The Negative Echo of Positive Stereotypes

Five studies demonstrate the powerful connection between being the target of a positive stereotype and expecting that one is also being ascribed negative stereotypes. In Study 1, women who heard a man state a positive stereotype were more likely to believe that he held negative stereotypes of them than women who heard no stereotype. Beliefs about being negatively stereotyped mediated the relationship between hearing a positive stereotype and believing that the stereotyper was prejudiced. Studies 2 to 4 extended these results to Asian Americans and accounted for alternative explanations (e.g., categorization threat). In Study 5, the same positive stereotype (e.g., good at math) was directed to Asian American men's racial or gender identity. Their perceptions about whether negative racial or gender stereotypes were being applied to them depended on the identity referenced by the positive stereotype. Positive stereotypes signal a latent negativity about one's group, thereby explaining why they can feel like prejudice.

Promoting the “Social” in the Examination of Social Stigmas

This review highlights the value of empirical investigations examining actual interactions that occur between stigmatizers and targets, and is intended to stimulate and help guide research of this type. We identify trends in the literature demonstrating that research studying ongoing interactions between stigmatizers and targets is relatively less common than in the past. Interactive studies are challenging, complex, and have variables that are sometimes more difficult to control; yet, they offer unique insights and significant contributions to understanding stigma-related phenomena that may not be offered in other (e.g., self-report) paradigms. This article presents a conceptual and empirical overview of stigma research, delineates the unique contributions that have been made by conducting interactive studies, and proposes what can be further learned by conducting more of such research.

Ethnocentrism as a Form of Intuition in Psychology

Ethnocentrism is conceptualized as a basic Kantian form of intuition that plays aknowledge-producing role. Although all cultures have developed their particular forms of intuition, the focus of this analysis is on Western ethnocentrism, which is discussed in four psychological manifestations. The most explicit expression of Western ethnocentrism in academia is scientific racism, which has been an important research program in the history of the science of mental life. Another manifestation of ethnocentrism as a form of intuition in Western psychology is researchers’ prejudices, which play a significant role in the context of discovery. Besides these two explicit manifestations of ethnocentrism, a hidden one is analyzed, which expresses itself in terms of exclusion or disregard of non-Western views, or in their assimilation without a reconceptualization of mental life. In this type of ethnocentrism it is assumed that Western psychological conceptualizations are superior. Finally, a fourth manifestation is discussed, which expresses itself in the institutional practices of academia, such as hiring, publishing and teaching.

Multicultural and Colorblind Ideology, Stereotypes, and Ethnocentrism among Black and White Americans

We examined Blacks' and Whites' perceptions of group variability and positivity as well as their beliefs about the extent to which multiculturalism and colorblindness would improve intergroup relations. In two studies, responses to questionnaires indicated that the tendency to endorse multiculturalism more than colorblindness was greater among Blacks than Whites; Blacks consistently endorsed multiculturalism more than colorblindness and Whites endorsed colorblindness more than did Blacks. Both studies also revealed evidence of out-group homogeneity and ethnocentrism. Stronger endorsement of multiculturalism relative to colorblindness predicted stronger stereotypes among Blacks, whereas stronger endorsement of colorblindness relative to multiculturalism predicted stronger stereotypes among Whites. In Study 2, stronger endorsement of multiculturalism relative to colorblindness predicted less ethnocentrism; this relationship did not depend on ethnicity.

Race and the Psychological Health of African Americans

This study examined an array of race-related factors pertaining to psychological well-being and distress among 300 African American participants. Findings obtained via structural equation modeling pointed to the importance of having positive implicit ingroup attitudes for psychological health and underscored the significance of Black cultural immersion, particularly in shaping implicit attitudes. Support was obtained for three models: ingroup identity as an antecedent to perceived prejudice, which, in turn, was negatively associated with psychological health; ingroup identity as a consequence of perceived prejudice with positive implications for psychological health; and ingroup identity as a moderator of perceived prejudice, with stronger identity providing a buffer from prejudice. Findings illustrate the consequential and complex role of racial variables in African Americans' psychological health.

Ethnic Social Comfort I: Construct Validity Through Social Distance Measurement

Emotion-related constructs hold understudied promise for understanding interand intraethnic attitudes and behaviors of African Americans. This article describes preliminary steps taken to explore the construct of interethnic social comfort through the revision and expansion of an existing measure of interethnic social distance, and to explore its psychometric properties among several subsamples of a group of 238 African American undergraduates. Items from the Revised Social Scales were found free from traditional social desirability. Factor analyses suggested a single-factor latent structure for in-group (i.e., Black) social comfort and a two-factor latent structure for out-group (i.e., White) social comfort, which distinguished intimate from nonintimate relationships. Subscales based on these analyses showed high internal consistency reliability and convergent and discriminant validity by patterns of correlations with measures of ethnic identity, related attitudes, self-relevant beliefs, and demographic background. Gender and other demographic differences, limitations, and next steps for establishing validity are discussed.

Interpersonal Concerns in Social Encounters between Majority and Minority Group Members

Dyadic interactions between Whites and Blacks were examined. Whites' concern about appearing prejudiced was manipulated by informing Whites that it was extremely important not to be prejudiced during the interaction. Blacks' concern about being the target of prejudice was manipulated by informing them that their dyadic partner was prejudiced against Blacks. The findings show that these two concerns differentially impacted individuals' own and their partner's experiences in the interaction. Specifically, Whites who tried not to be prejudiced experienced more anxiety and enjoyed the interaction less, but were liked more by their Black partner. Additionally, Blacks who believed their partner was prejudiced enjoyed the interaction more, and their White partner experienced less anxiety and enjoyed the interaction more. The implications of these findings for interpersonal intergroup encounters are discussed.

The Role of Threats in the Racial Attitudes of Blacks and Whites

This study employed the integrated threat theory of intergroup attitudes to examine the attitudes of Black and White students toward the other racial group. This theory synthesizes previous research on the relationships of threats to intergroup attitudes. Structural equation modeling revealed that for both racial groups, realistic threats, symbolic threats, and intergroup anxiety predicted attitudes toward the other group. To varying degrees, the effects of negative contact, strength of ingroup identity, perceptions of intergroup conflict, perceived status inequality, and negative stereotyping on negative racial attitudes were mediated by the three threat variables. The model accounted for more variance in the negative attitudes of Whites toward Blacks than in the negative attitudes of Blacks toward Whites. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Confronting Prejudice (Literally): Reactions to Confrontations of Racial and Gender Bias

Participants in two studies reported how they would feel, think, and behave after being confronted about either gender-biased or equivalent racial-biased responses. In Study 2, whether the confrontation was from a target group member (Black or female) or nontarget (White or male) group member was manipulated. Regardless of confronter status, allegations of racial bias elicited more guilt and apologetic-corrective responses and greater concern over having offended the confronter than similar confrontations of gender bias, which elicited more amusement. Target confrontations elicited less guilt but greater discomfort than nontarget confrontations and were associated with feelings of irritation and antagonism among more prejudiced participants. In addition, participants perceived a target’s confrontation as more of an overreaction than the same confrontation from a nontarget. The implications of these findings for prejudice-reduction efforts are discussed.

The Causes and Consequences of an Avoidance-Focus for Interracial Interactions

The current work examined the causes and consequences of non-Black people’s desire to avoid interracial interactions (an avoidance-focus). Expecting to respond with racial bias in inter-racial interactions was argued to result in an avoidance-focus for such interactions, which was hypothesized to have negative implications for the quality of interracial interactions. Across three studies, feedback indicating that non-Black participants would respond with racial bias in interactions with Black people resulted in anxiety and the desire to avoid the interaction. In addition, when participants with an avoidance-focus interacted with a Black confederate (Study 2), they had shorter interactions that were rated as less pleasant by the confederate and participant as compared to those without an avoidance-focus. Avoidance-focused participants were less interested in future interactions and came across as more avoidant and biased to their partner than less avoidance-focused participants. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for racial relations.

Interreligious Contact, Perceived Group Threat, and Perceived Discrimination

This study examines the relationship between interreligious contact and negative attitudes toward the religious outgroup among minority Christians and majority Muslims in Indonesia. It answers two research questions: Does interreligious contact reduce negative outgroup attitudes equally for minority Christians and majority Muslims? Are mediation by perceived group threat and moderation by perceived discrimination equally important for religious minorities and majorities? The analysis is based on unique survey data collected from among Christian and Muslim students in Ambon (the Moluccas) and Yogyakarta (central Java). Results show that a higher quantity of interreligious contact reduces negative outgroup attitudes among majority Muslims but not among minority Christians. However, the quality of contact reduces negative attitudes regardless of relative group size. Perceived group threat is an important mediator of the contact-attitude relationship and is equally so for Christians and Muslims. Findings suggest that perceived discrimination does not affect the relationship between interreligious contact and negative attitudes.

Exposure to Racial Out-Groups and Implicit Race Bias in the United States

The industrialized world is becoming more ethnically diverse. Research in several disciplines has suggested that exposure to racial out-groups may be associated with more positive and more negative intergroup attitudes. Given that U.S. states are often at the center of debate regarding diversity-related public policy, we examined how exposure to out-groups is associated with state-level implicit and explicit race bias among White and Black Americans. We found that larger proportions of Black residents across U.S. states were associated with stronger implicit and explicit in-group bias among both White and Black respondents. State-level bias was predicted by proportions of Black residents even when controlling for (a) state-level demographic control variables (e.g., median income), (b) proportions of non-Black minorities, and (c) historical membership in the Confederacy. Our results convey the importance of investigating why diversity may not always have the positive impact on intergroup relations that one might hope it to have.

Learning orientation as a predictor of positive intergroup contact

Adapting the goal orientation framework from the achievement motivation literature, the present research tests whether learning orientation, as compared to performance orientation, predicts greater comfort and interest in intergroup contact. These links are examined in a cross-sectional survey of European American and African American middle school students (Study 1), and in a longitudinal survey with European American high school students (Study 2). Both studies yielded converging evidence that while performance orientation generally had a negative association with comfort and interest, a stronger orientation toward learning predicted greater comfort and interest in intergroup contact. The links between the learning orientation and comfort and interest in intergroup contact were consistent across both racial groups in Study 1, and in longitudinal analyses in Study 2. Together, these findings point to learning orientation as a potentially important means for promoting positive intergroup contact.

Beyond prejudice: Are negative evaluations the problem and is getting us to like one another more the solution?

For most of the history of prejudice research, negativity has been treated as its emotional and cognitive signature, a conception that continues to dominate work on the topic. By this definition, prejudice occurs when we dislike or derogate members of other groups. Recent research, however, has highlighted the need for a more nuanced and “inclusive” (Eagly 2004) perspective on the role of intergroup emotions and beliefs in sustaining discrimination. On the one hand, several independent lines of research have shown that unequal intergroup relations are often marked by attitudinal complexity, with positive responses such as affection and admiration mingling with negative responses such as contempt and resentment. Simple antipathy is the exception rather than the rule. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that nurturing bonds of affection between the advantaged and the disadvantaged sometimes entrenches rather than disrupts wider patterns of discrimination. Notably, prejudice reduction interventions may have ironic effects on the political attitudes of the historically disadvantaged, decreasing their perceptions of injustice and willingness to engage in collective action to transform social inequalities.

These developments raise a number of important questions. Has the time come to challenge the assumption that negative evaluations are inevitably the cognitive and affective hallmarks of discrimination? Is the orthodox concept of prejudice in danger of side-tracking, if not obstructing, progress towards social justice in a fuller sense? What are the prospects for reconciling a prejudice reduction model of change, designed to get people to like one another more, with a collective action model of change, designed to ignite struggles to achieve intergroup equality?