Putting the brakes on prejudice: On the development and operation of cues for control.

Abstract

A model concerning the establishment and operation of cues for control was developed and tested to understand how control can be exerted over (automatic) prejudiced responses. Cues for control are stimuli that are associated with prejudiced responses and the aversive consequences of those responses (e.g., guilt). In Experiments 1 and 2, 3 events critical to the establishment of cues occurred: behavioral inhibition, the experience of guilt, and retrospective reflection. In Experiment 3, the presentation of already-established cues for control did, as expected, produce behavioral inhibition. In Experiment 4, participants were provided with an experience in which cues could be established. Later presentation of those cues in a different task resulted in behavioral inhibition and less racially biased responses.

The malleability of stigmatizing attitudes: Combining imagined social contact with implicit attitude feedback

“…These results appear to be in line with the assertion that when an individual recognizes the difference between their perceived behavior and the way they actually behave they may undergo a global feeling of discomfort, which leads to the individual engaging in efforts to decrease this discrepancy (Festinger, 1957;Monteith, Ashburn-Nardo, Voils, & Czopp, 2002). As such, in combination with ISC, simply making an individual consciously aware of their implicit attitudes may act as a 'cue for control' − increasing self-regulatory behavior and reducing stereotypical attitudes (ibid).…”

Self-Control Over Automatic Associations

“…Analysis using the Quad model showed that the negation training not only weakened participants' automatically activated associations (AC) but also improved their ability to determine the correct response (D). Th e fi nding of enhanced detection is consistent with the idea that training enables individuals to develop cues for recognizing and then controlling non-prejudiced responses (Monteith et al, 2002). Th is suggests that people can be trained to engage self-control in a manner similar to individuals who are internally motivated to be non-prejudiced (and, presumably, train themselves).…”

The self-regulation of automatic associations and behavioral impulses.

“…Analysis with the Quad model showed that the negation training not only weakened participants' automatically activated associations (AC) but also improved their ability to determine the correct response (D). According to Monteith and her colleagues (Monteith, Ashburn-Nardo, Voils, & Czopp, 2002), behavioral monitoring is an essential skill in responding without bias because successfully discriminating appropriate actions from inappropriate actions is a necessary precondition for regulating behavior. Our modeling results show that one of the benefits of antibias training is an increased ability to monitor appropriate behavior.…”