Yale University

Mispredicting affective and behavioral responses to racism.

TitleMispredicting affective and behavioral responses to racism.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsKawakami, Kerry, Elizabeth Dunn, Francine Karmali, and John F. Dovidio
JournalScience (New York, N.Y.)
Volume323
Issue5911
Pagination276-8
Date Published2009 Jan 9
ISSN1095-9203
KeywordsAffect, Anger, Emotions, Female, Humans, Logistic Models, Male, Prejudice, Social Behavior, Social Identification, Social Perception
AbstractContemporary race relations are marked by an apparent paradox: Overt prejudice is strongly condemned, yet acts of blatant racism still frequently occur. We propose that one reason for this inconsistency is that people misunderstand how they would feel and behave after witnessing racism. The present research demonstrates that although people predicted that they would be very upset by a racist act, when people actually experienced this event they showed relatively little emotional distress. Furthermore, people overestimated the degree to which a racist comment would provoke social rejection of the racist. These findings suggest that racism may persevere in part because people who anticipate feeling upset and believe that they will take action may actually respond with indifference when faced with an act of racism.
DOI10.1007/s10995-010-0650-3
Alternate JournalScience

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