Ironic Effects of Racial Bias During Interracial Interactions
Abstract
Previous research has suggested that Blacks like White interaction partners who make an effort to appear unbiased more than those who do not. We tested the hypothesis that, ironically, Blacks perceive White interaction partners who are more racially biased more positively than less biased White partners, primarily because the former group must make more of an effort to control racial bias than the latter. White participants in this study completed the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a measure of racial bias and then discussed race relations with either a White or a Black partner. Whites' IAT scores predicted how positively they were perceived by Black (but not White) interaction partners, and this relationship was mediated by Blacks' perceptions of how engaged the White participants were during the interaction. We discuss implications of the finding that Blacks may, ironically, prefer to interact with highly racially biased Whites, at least in short interactions.
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Suppressing stereotypes requires effort, which can deplete cognitive resources and adversely affect the ability to solve problems and make correct decisions.
“In addition, suppressing stereotypes requires effort,65 which can deplete cognitive resources and adversely affect the ability to solve problems and make correct decisions.66”
From Reducing Racial Bias Among Health Care Providers: Lessons from Social-Cognitive Psychology (2007) · cites this paper as [65]
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- Authors
- Shelton, J. N., Richeson, J. A., Salvatore, J., & Trawalter, S.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-05
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 397-402
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2166799601
- Cited by
- 190
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 35.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research
- Keywords
- racial bias, interracial interaction, perceived bias, implicit racial attitudes, Implicit Association Test, interracial friendship, black-white relations, mate preferences, perceived engagement, ironic effects
- MeSH terms
- Child, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Prejudice, Black People, White People
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