Interpersonal Costs of Attributions to Discrimination

Kaiser, Cheryl

Abstract

The proposed research investigates the interpersonal costs of attributing negative events to discrimination, and examines factors that moderate and mediate this effect. This proposal argues that because discrimination attributions challenge American cultural ideals (e.g., Protestant Work Ethic, individualism), these judgments should be quite threatening, and in turn should motivate individuals to behave negatively towards the source of the threat. Furthermore, attributions to discrimination should be particularly challenging to individuals who strongly endorse American cultural ideals and those who are in situations where these ideals are made salient, and that these individuals will be especially likely to experience threat and distress and punish individuals who make attributions to prejudice. Ten experiments examine how chronically accessible (Experiments 1, 5-7) and experimentally induced (Experiments 2-4, 8-10) American cultural ideals influence responses to African Americans who attribute negative events to discrimination or other internal and external causes. These experiments examine a number of interpersonal reactions to discrimination claimants, including reports of derogation and interpersonal closeness, and several negative behavioral actions towards the target and African Americans more generally. Additionally, these experiments examine both explicit self-reports of threat (Experiments 1-10) and less direct behavioral markers of threat Experiments 5-10). Because interpersonal outcomes are central to well-being and mental health (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Bowlby, 1969), it is important to develop work examining the interpersonal nature of attributions to prejudice. Additionally, insights gained from this interpersonal analysis of discrimination attributions may help to explain why targets of prejudice often are reluctant to acknowledge the prejudice they face. Thus, the proposed experiments offer novel theoretical and applied developments in research examining the consequences of attributions to prejudice.