Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
With few exceptions, the research examining perspective taking and empathy as intergroup relation strategies has focused on the benefits of each strategy on members of the majority group (Vorauer & Quesnel, 2016). However, when researchers have included measures to examine the effects of these intergroup relation strategies on minority group members, they have only focused on how enjoyable the experience was for the target and if they experienced happiness as a result of the experience (e.g., Vorauer, Martens, & Sasaki, 2009) For instance, Todd, Bodenhausen, Richeson, and Galinsky (2011) found that Black participants experienced increased intergroup positivity with White participants following perspective taking, but they also found that all participants experienced an increase in perceptions of racial inequalities among their groups. They did not further examine these effects. This is concerning considering that research has shown that individual perceptions of the status of one’s ingroup impact their overall psychological well-being (Crocker & Major, 1989), and Schmitt, Branscombe, Kobrynowicz, and Owen (2002) found that individuals’ positive and negative perceptions of their ingroup’s social status impact their group identification. Due to this lack of empirical examination, Vorauer and Quesnel (2016) first studied the effects of these common intergroup relation strategies on members of the minority group. They analyzed the effects of being the target of these common intergroup relation strategies on individuals’ sense of power and status in society and concluded that targets of empathy compared to perspective taking and objectivity as a control condition in intergroup exchanges with actors experienced a significant decrease in perceptions of their groups’ social status. These findings are valuable due to the differences in the common goals that members of these groups hold. Members of majority groups tend to desire pleasant and smooth interactions with minority group members, but, members of minority groups often desire to increase group-based power and individual respect through interactions with majority group members (Bergsieker, Shelton, & Richeson, 2010; Saguy, Davidio, & Pratto, 2008). Consequently, individuals will likely experience each type of intergroup relation strategy through the lens of their most salient social group (Vorauer & Quesnel, 2016). Kurtz-Costes, DeFreitas, and Kinlaw (2011) have shown that race is salient enough for young Black and White Americans that it influences their development of group identity and social behavior. Accordingly, this study will focus on replicating and extending the findings of Vorauer and Quesnel (2016) to a sample of Black and White Americans.
Date
October 2017
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Included in
An Examination of Common Strategies to Improve Intergroup Relations and Minority Group Members’ Perceptions of Group Social Standing and Individual Power
With few exceptions, the research examining perspective taking and empathy as intergroup relation strategies has focused on the benefits of each strategy on members of the majority group (Vorauer & Quesnel, 2016). However, when researchers have included measures to examine the effects of these intergroup relation strategies on minority group members, they have only focused on how enjoyable the experience was for the target and if they experienced happiness as a result of the experience (e.g., Vorauer, Martens, & Sasaki, 2009) For instance, Todd, Bodenhausen, Richeson, and Galinsky (2011) found that Black participants experienced increased intergroup positivity with White participants following perspective taking, but they also found that all participants experienced an increase in perceptions of racial inequalities among their groups. They did not further examine these effects. This is concerning considering that research has shown that individual perceptions of the status of one’s ingroup impact their overall psychological well-being (Crocker & Major, 1989), and Schmitt, Branscombe, Kobrynowicz, and Owen (2002) found that individuals’ positive and negative perceptions of their ingroup’s social status impact their group identification. Due to this lack of empirical examination, Vorauer and Quesnel (2016) first studied the effects of these common intergroup relation strategies on members of the minority group. They analyzed the effects of being the target of these common intergroup relation strategies on individuals’ sense of power and status in society and concluded that targets of empathy compared to perspective taking and objectivity as a control condition in intergroup exchanges with actors experienced a significant decrease in perceptions of their groups’ social status. These findings are valuable due to the differences in the common goals that members of these groups hold. Members of majority groups tend to desire pleasant and smooth interactions with minority group members, but, members of minority groups often desire to increase group-based power and individual respect through interactions with majority group members (Bergsieker, Shelton, & Richeson, 2010; Saguy, Davidio, & Pratto, 2008). Consequently, individuals will likely experience each type of intergroup relation strategy through the lens of their most salient social group (Vorauer & Quesnel, 2016). Kurtz-Costes, DeFreitas, and Kinlaw (2011) have shown that race is salient enough for young Black and White Americans that it influences their development of group identity and social behavior. Accordingly, this study will focus on replicating and extending the findings of Vorauer and Quesnel (2016) to a sample of Black and White Americans.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology