In 3 studies, the authors tested the hypothesis that discrimination targets' worldview moderates the impact of perceived discrimination on self-esteem among devalued groups. In Study 1, perceiving discrimination against the ingroup was negatively associated with self-esteem among Latino Americans who endorsed a meritocracy worldview (e.g., believed that individuals of any group can get ahead in...

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 ...

Does contact with ethnic minorities exacerbate or lower the racial prejudice of whites? To provide empirical evidence on this question, I examine the recruitment of members by the British National Party (BNP), which has a long history of supplying hate-creating stories about ethnic minorities. I find that the BNP recruits fewer white members from communities in which: (i) whites interact more f...

For decades, researchers have discovered much about how humans automatically categorize others in social perception. Some categorizations—race, gender, and age—are so automatic that they are termed “primitive categories.” As we categorize, we often develop stereotypes about the categories. Researchers know much about racism and sexism, but comparatively little about prejudicing and stereotyping...

In an era of increasing globalization, social and economic harmony depends on the ability of people to cooperate with others from a variety of ethnic, geographic, and religious backgrounds. A trend toward explicitly egalitarian attitudes among North Americans has been accompanied (and motivated) by legislation that makes discrimination a crime and public scrutiny that makes a single racist stat...

The present study investigated differences over a 10-year period in whites’ self-reported racial prejudice and their bias in selection decisions involving black and white candidates for employment. We examined the hypothesis, derived from the aversive-racism framework, that although overt expressions of prejudice may decline significantly across time, subtle manifestations of bias may persist. ...