Constructing explicit prejudice: Evidence from large sample datasets

This research summary can be incorporated into a lecture or shared with students as a reading to demonstrate how psychological science explores the diversity of human experience. This resource can also be used to encourage students to identify the major components of a research study (i.e., the hypothesis or study question, sample, method, and findings). Students can be asked to identify potential limitations of the study and encouraged to discuss the implications for our understanding of human behavior. Keywords highlight how concepts within and across pillars are incorporated into a single research study.

How does implicit bias (i.e., relatively enduring favoritism toward, or prejudice against, people with certain identities, that a person has little or no conscious awareness of) contribute to explicit prejudice (i.e., conscious preference or aversion towards people with certain identities)? To better understand this relationship, the researchers in this study looked at the connection between implicit negative affect (negative feelings and self-reported explicit prejudice). They also examined the role that negative stereotypes play in this relationship. They hypothesized that those who endorsed more negative stereotypes about of Black Americans would have a stronger association between implicit negative affect and explicit prejudicial attitudes. To test these hypotheses, the research team used data from two large national datasets that included measures of implicit negative affect, explicit prejudice, and negative stereotypes. In each study, participants who had higher implicit negative affect were more likely to report more explicit prejudice if they also held more negative stereotypes about Black Americans. Interestingly, participants higher in implicit bias reported less explicit prejudice if they did not also possess negative stereotypes about Black Americans. The findings suggest that attitudes are shaped by the way we interpret our affect.

Lee, K. M., Lindquist, K. A., & Payne, B. K. (2023). Constructing explicit prejudice: Evidence from large sample datasets. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49(4), 541–553. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221075926opens in new window

Race, Cognition, Bias, Prejudice, Stereotypes, Consciousness

The development of resources to broaden diversity and representation in the teaching of high school psychology resources is an APA Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools initiative supported by funding from the American Psychological Foundation David and Carol Myers Fund. This resource was developed by Eric Castro, Shawn C.T. Jones, PhD, Allyn Olsen, and Catherine Sanderson, PhD.