Dominant majority-group members living in areas with larger proportions of outgroup members tend to express more ingroup bias. However, prior research has rarely considered this in tandem with the bias-reducing effects of intergroup contact or tested whether outgroup proportions have similar effects for oppressed minority-group members. In two preregistered studies, we tested whether contact moderates the association between outgroup proportions and ingroup bias among White and Black Americans (total N > 75,000). As hypothesized, more Black residents in an area predicted greater explicit (but not implicit) ingroup bias among White respondents who reported low (but not high) contact with Black people. By contrast, more White residents in an area predicted lower explicit (but not implicit) ingroup bias among Black respondents regardless of intergroup contact with White people. We qualify previous findings by demonstrating that the association between outgroup proportions and ingroup bias depends on one’s group membership and level of intergroup contact.
Prior work suggests that some cisgender people do not consider gender identity when thinking about what being transgender means, and that exposure to a definition of transgender can reduce negative attitudes toward transgender people. In two studies, we sought to integrate these lines of research by examining whether anti-transgender attitudes are associated with how cisgender people define the term transgender. In Study 1, 293 participants (132 female and 157 male; four participants did not report their sex/gender) recruited via Mechanical Turk were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Participants in one condition first read a definition of "transgender" that referred to gender identity and then reported their attitudes toward transgender people. Participants in the other condition did not read the definition and instead simply reported their attitudes toward transgender people. Contrary to predictions, exposure (vs. lack thereof) to the definition did not affect attitudes. However, participants who identified gender identity as a central component of the definition of transgender on a manipulation check endorsed more positive attitudes. In Study 2, 295 cisgender participants (165 women and 130 men; recruited via Mechanical Turk) wrote down their own definitions of transgender. Participants who spontaneously included (vs. did not include) gender identity in their definitions reported distinctively positive attitudes. Observed effects held over and above individual differences in cognitive style, gender identification, contact with transgender people, and participant gender.How cisgender people think about gender identity may thus index their attitudes toward transgender people.
Research shows that people often do not intervene to stop immoral action from happening.However, limited information is available on why people fail to intervene. Two preregistered studies (Ns = 248, 131) explored this gap in the literature by staging a theft in front of participants and immediately interviewing them to inquire about their reasons for intervening or not intervening. Across both studies, most participants did not try to stop the theft or even report it to the experimenter afterwards. Furthermore, many participants reported confusion and inattention as precursors to non-intervention, yielding insight into what inhibits moral courage.
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