The Space Between Us
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2008, Vol. 94, No. 1, 91–107
Copyright 2008 by the American Psychological Association 0022-3514/08/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.91
The Space Between Us: Stereotype Threat and Distance in Interracial Contexts
Phillip Atiba Goff
The Pennsylvania State University
Claude M. Steele
Stanford University
Paul G. Davies
University of British Columbia, Okanagan
Four studies investigate the role that stereotype threat plays in producing racial distancing behavior in an anticipated conversation paradigm. It was hypothesized that the threat of appearing racist may have the ironic effect of causing Whites to distance themselves from Black conversation partners. In Study 1, participants distanced themselves more from Black partners under conditions of threat, and this distance correlated with the activation of a “White racist” stereotype. In Study 2, it was demonstrated that Whites’ interracial distancing behavior was not predicted by explicit or implicit prejudice. Study 3 provides evidence that conceiving of interracial interactions as opportunities to learn may attenuate the negative consequences of threat for Whites. Study 4 found that Whites have conscious access to their experience of stereotype threat and that this awareness may mediate the relationship between threat and distance. These results are discussed within a broader discourse of racial distancing and the possibility that certain identity threats may be as important as prejudice in determining the outcomes of interracial interactions. Keywords: stereotype threat, racial bias, racial discrimination, social distance, prejudice
Much of contemporary research on racial prejudice and discrimination must contend with a paradox. Namely, in the last half century, researchers have found a consistent decline in the expression of anti-Black racial attitudes and a similarly robust maintenance of Black–White racial inequality (Bobo, 1983). Many researchers
Copyright 2008 by the American Psychological Association 0022-3514/08/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.91
The Space Between Us: Stereotype Threat and Distance in Interracial Contexts
Phillip Atiba Goff
The Pennsylvania State University
Claude M. Steele
Stanford University
Paul G. Davies
University of British Columbia, Okanagan
Four studies investigate the role that stereotype threat plays in producing racial distancing behavior in an anticipated conversation paradigm. It was hypothesized that the threat of appearing racist may have the ironic effect of causing Whites to distance themselves from Black conversation partners. In Study 1, participants distanced themselves more from Black partners under conditions of threat, and this distance correlated with the activation of a “White racist” stereotype. In Study 2, it was demonstrated that Whites’ interracial distancing behavior was not predicted by explicit or implicit prejudice. Study 3 provides evidence that conceiving of interracial interactions as opportunities to learn may attenuate the negative consequences of threat for Whites. Study 4 found that Whites have conscious access to their experience of stereotype threat and that this awareness may mediate the relationship between threat and distance. These results are discussed within a broader discourse of racial distancing and the possibility that certain identity threats may be as important as prejudice in determining the outcomes of interracial interactions. Keywords: stereotype threat, racial bias, racial discrimination, social distance, prejudice
Much of contemporary research on racial prejudice and discrimination must contend with a paradox. Namely, in the last half century, researchers have found a consistent decline in the expression of anti-Black racial attitudes and a similarly robust maintenance of Black–White racial inequality (Bobo, 1983). Many researchers
References: Received December 19, 2005 Revision received April 15, 2007 Accepted April 17, 2007 Members of Underrepresented Groups: Reviewers for Journal Manuscripts Wanted