Goldstein Lecture Examines Prejudice Among the Well-Intentioned
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Racial or ethnic prejudice isn’t always packaged as overtly as the Ku Klux Klan. Countless numbers of seemingly fair and tolerant people who genuinely espouse ideals of diversity and inclusion discriminate against others every day without having any idea they do so. This Prejudice Among the Well Intentioned was the topic addressed by Samuel Gaertner, Ph.D., a professor of Psychology at the University of Delaware, at the third annual Marvin W. Goldstein Lecture on Prejudice and Prejudice Reduction on Wednesday, October 28, in the Bart Luedeke Center Theater.
“They keep this prejudice hidden deep within themselves,” said Gaertner, who is interested in intergroup relations and how prejudice, discrimination and intergroup relations can be reduced. “They wish to keep it that way because it would challenge the fair-minded views they hold of themselves.”
Biases can arise in even the most ordinary settings, according to Gaertner, who has researched people who often express their racial attitudes in subtle, indirect and “rationalizable” ways that preclude them from recognizing their racial biases. He is attempting to learn if this “aversive racism” can be eliminated by inducing an enhanced sense of partnership or common in-group identity.
“Our studies show that many white people see themselves as liberal and egalitarian, but have diffuse feelings of aversion, anxiety or unease about those from other races, such as African-Americans,” Gaertner explained. “It’s not hatred, but to the black victim, it doesn’t matter. Stereotyping has declined, but its important consequences remain.”
Gaertner says the “well-intentioned” subjects of his research are people who are averse to racism, “but who haven’t escaped the cognitive, motivational or cultural forces” that cause their actions. He defined the cognitive forces as those of social categorization; the motivational as those defined by social identity and self-esteem; and the cultural as those having to do with stereotypes and status.
Asking for a show of hands, Gaertner illustrated the perils of making decisions based on perceptions by asking the predominantly student-aged audience how many eventually intended to marry. After nearly every student raised his or her hand, he then asked how many intended to get divorced. Not surprisingly, almost none offered their hand, prompting Gaertner to ask, “Don’t you know the divorce rate is just about 50 percent? Statistically, half of you who marry will one day divorce. What makes you think you’re better than average?”
Gaertner pointed to the results of a scientific survey that indicated that 50 percent of white people view their African-American counterparts as being treated as well if not better than the average white person. At the same time, only 40 percent of blacks say they were treated unfairly once in the last month, while 72 percent of whites say that blacks are “too sensitive.”
Based on the results of a number of his experiments, Gaertner showed the firm statistical basis for his claims that latent prejudice is manifested in very real ways. He found that in situations that had clear social norms to guide behavior, subjects would act without discrimination. He also calculated correctly that discrimination would be more likely when social norms became weaker or more ambiguous, or where factors other than race could be used unintentionally to rationalize unfavorable behavior.
Situations such as employment discrimination are a prime example of aversive racism, Gaertner maintained. He found that discrimination is unlikely to occur when there is a clearly stronger and weaker candidate, of whom one is white and the other black, but that when the two candidates are of equal qualifications, the white job-seeker was far more likely to be hired or promoted.
He also once conducted an experiment to determine whether resistance to affirmative action indicates subtle prejudice. Simulating an office environment in which he paired white workers with both white and black work partners who were aware of the study. Gaertner would have the aware white or black subject “accidentally” knock over a can of pencils on to the floor in order to observe under what conditions the unaware white test subject would be more likely to help pick up the pencils.
He found that across the board, the white co-worker received more help cleaning up the mess then did the black co-workers. In fact, when the black partner was cast in a supervisory role over the white worker, he received even less help.
All of these experiments were conducted in atmospheres in which there was no obvious conflict between the participants, yet revealed latent prejudice. “Aversive racists are not color blind, but they are blind to the way color makes them act,” Gaertner said.
Gaertner is the recipient of the 1986 and 1998 Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize (along with John Dovidio of the University of Connecticut) awarded by the Society of the Psychological Study of Social Issues. In 2004, Gaertner was again awarded the Kurt Lewin Memorial Award, along with Dovidio, by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, presented annually for “outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action.
The Marvin W. Goldstein Endowed Lecture Series on Prejudice Reduction brings researchers and professors from the field of psychology to Rider each fall to discuss issues related to prejudice; cultural, racial and gender bias; and the divides created by these phenomena. The series honors the 38-year career of Marvin W. Goldstein, Ph.D., a member of the Rider University Department of Psychology and the co-director of The Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust and Genocide Resource Center at Rider.
