Increasing perceived variability reduces prejudice and discrimination

By Markus Brauer, Abdelatif Er-rafiy. 2011

100 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We examined whether increasing individuals' perceived variability of an out-group reduces prejudice and discrimination toward its members. In a series of 4 laboratory and field experiments, we attracted participants' attention to either the homogeneity or the heterogeneity of members of an out-group, and then measured their attitudes or behaviors. Perceived variability was manipulated by making subgroups salient, by portraying the out-group members as having diverse opinions, by making salient that out-group members have different characteristics, or by asking participants to think about differences among out-group members. Prejudice and discrimination were measured in terms of self-reported attitudes, distribution of rewards, helping an out-group confederate, and evaluation of an out-group candidate in a simulated hiring decision. In all experiments, perceived variability decreased prejudice and discrimination. This effect may be due to the fact that perceived variability decreases the role of group membership in the production of attitudes and behaviors toward other individuals.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b1b55e83320127577c0fc03b471b5fbe2f10b65c

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In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

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Citations in the corpus

Intergroup Perception and Cognition: An Integrative Framework for Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Social Categorization (2017, result): “In line with previous theorizing that suggests that the portrayal of outgroups as variable and heterogeneous can reduce negative attitudes (Brauer & Er-rafiy, 2011; Ryan, Judd, & Park, 1996), we found that posters that associated a mix of valenced traits with an outgroup were more effective in…”
Social-Psychological Interventions for Intergroup Reconciliation: An Emotion Regulation Perspective (2016, background): “Previous research has demonstrated how small manipulations aimed at increasing the perceived variability of the outgroup can reduce levels of generalized negative beliefs about the outgroup (e.g., Brauer & Er-rafiy, 2011).”
How do we get people into contact? Predictors of intergroup contact and drivers of contact seeking (2020, background): “A plethora of studies—of both correlational and experimental nature—has demonstrated that norms reflect on intergroup attitudes and behavior (e.g., Brauer & Er-rafiy, 2011; Crandall et al., 2002; Schlüter et al., 2013; Stangor et al., 2001).”