(Close) distance makes the heart grow fonder: Improving implicit racial attitudes and interracial interactions through approach behaviors.

Abstract

In 4 studies, the authors examined the effect of approaching Blacks on implicit racial attitudes and immediacy behaviors. In Studies 1-3, participants were trained to pull a joystick toward themselves or to push it away from themselves when presented with photographs of Blacks, Whites, or Asians before completing an Implicit Association Test to measure racial bias. In Study 4, the effect of this training procedure on nonverbal behavior in an interracial contact situation was investigated. Results from the studies demonstrated that approaching Blacks decreased participants' implicit racial prejudice and increased immediacy when interacting with a Black confederate. The implications of these findings for current theories on approach, avoidance, and intergroup relations are discussed.

When approach motivation and behavioral inhibition collide: Behavior regulation through stimulus devaluation

“…Secondly, it could be that negative stimuli are resistant to positive affective tuning, and a limited number of simple go responses is not sufficient to alter evaluations of such stimuli (Cacioppo et al, 1997). It could be that evaluations of negative stimuli can change, but only after extensive training (Kawakami, Phills, Steele, & Dovidio, 2007). Finally, it could be that both these reasons apply.…”

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

“…Despite a common assumption that automatic intergroup reactions reflect highly robust mental representations that are rooted in long-term socialization experiences (e.g., Rudman, 2004;Wilson, Lindsey, & Schooler, 2000), there is now considerable evidence that automatic intergroup reactions are readily influenced by a variety of contextual and psychological variables (e.g., Blair, Ma, & Lenton, 2001;Gawronski, Deutsch, Mbirkou, Seibt, & Strack, 2008;Kawakami, Phills, Steele, & Dovidio, 2007;Richeson & Nussbaum, 2004;Turner & Crisp, 2010; see Gawronski & Sritharan, 2010, for a comprehensive review). The current research sought to add to this accumulating body of research by exploring the effects of one promising bias-reduction strategy-perspective taking-on automatically activated expressions of racial bias.…”

“…After completing the joystick task, participants were asked to help a different research assistant with a separate, unrelated task in a different room in the laboratory. In preparation for this task, participants were instructed to set up two chairs (one for themselves, the other for the research assistant), with the distance between the chairs serving as a second measure of automatic approach-avoidance reactions (e.g., Kawakami et al, 2007;Macrae et al, 1994). Depending on condition, participants were informed that the research assistant's name was either "Jake" (a stereotypically White name) or "Tyrone" (a stereotypically Black name), which again allowed us to assess approach-avoidance reactions to Blacks and Whites separately.…”

Avances en La Validación De Un Programa De Reducción De Estereotipos Y Prejuicios en Personas Mayores

“…1.-PLANTEAMIENTO Desde el enfoque de la cognición social se ha puesto de manifiesto el interés por el desarrollo de estrategias que posibiliten la reducción de la estereotipia y el prejuicio a través de la inducción de determinados constructos (Crisp & Hewstone, 2007;Cuddy, Norton & Fiske, 2005;Devine, 1989;Ekehammar, & Akrami, 2007;Fiske, 2000;Flynn, 2005;Hewstone, 2000;Hodson, 2009;Kawakami, Phills, Steele & Dovidio, 2007;Olson y Fazio, 2006;Paluck y Greeen, 2009;Sibley &Duckitt, 2008;Stephan y Stephan, 2001;Wittenbrick, Judd & Park, 2001). En este contexto de creciente relevancia, son numerosas las investigaciones psicosociales y sociológicas basadas en encuesta que muestran una relación de sentido positivo entre edad y prejuicio en población adulta, tanto en Norteamérica como en Europa (véase una revisión en Pettigrew, 2006, Palacios, Torres& Mena, 2009).…”