The hubris penalty: Biased responses to “Celebration” displays of black football players

a r t i c l e i n f o We posit that pride and arrogance are tolerated for high-status group members but are repudiated for low-status group members. Thus, we predict that Blacks, but not Whites, who behave arrogantly will be penalized. Specifically , we investigated the context of penalties against football players for " celebrating " after touchdowns. We propose that such celebrations reflect a racially biased " hubris penalty " because: (1) celebrations are primarily perceived as displays of arrogance (rather than exuberance), and (2) arrogance is penalized for Black but not White players. Three experiments demonstrate that all players who celebrated after touchdowns were perceived as more arrogant than those who did not celebrate. Although celebratory Black and White players were perceived as being equally arrogant, Black players were penalized with lower compensation whereas White players were not. Mediation analyses show that perceived arrogance mediated the effect of celebration on compensation , even when controlling for perceived aggression. A virulent controversy erupted when NBA superstar LeBron James announced his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat during a grandiose, hour-long ESPN special report. Two issues underlying the furor were: (1) whether he had the " right " to leave the Cavaliers at all (the team's owner viewed the departure as a sign of hubris, " ingratitude " , and betrayal) and (2) whether LeBron had the right to leave in such an ostentatious, unapologetic, and seemingly arrogant manner. Some individuals, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson, saw the controversy as evidence of backlash that Blacks face when they display dominance rather than deference. Similarly, some sports commentators have questioned whether the NFL's " celebration penalties " are a racially biased attempt to quell the confident and ostentatious displays of Black players. The current paper sought to investigate the consequences of high-status behaviors (e.g., confidence, dominance , arrogance) for members of low diffuse status groups, namely Blacks. We hypothesized that Blacks, but not Whites, would be penalized for exhibiting such behaviors because they violate the established social hierarchy. Every civilization known to humankind has possessed some form of social hierarchy, with relatively privileged, high-status groups at the top and relatively disadvantaged, low status groups at the bottom (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). One quality of social hierarchies is that they tend to be stable and self-reinforcing (They are maintained and perpetuated by a number …