What's Race Got to Do with It? Responses to Consumer Discrimination

Abstract

Consumer discrimination occurs when sales clerks and other store employees, including security personnel, treat customers differently because of their race or ethnicity. The goal of the present research was to examine how participants perceived a case of consumer discrimination and what actions they felt the victim should take. Based on Robinson's theory of perceptual segregation, we examined whether the perceptions and responses of white participants differed from those of people of color. We also drew on the liberation psychology tenets of conscientization and de-ideologization with particular emphasis on taking the perspective of the oppressed, by measuring participants' level of perceived societal discrimination. These two individual difference variables (participant race and perceived societal discrimination) significantly predicted participants' perceptions of the situation and their emotional responses, which, in turn, mediated how they thought the customer should respond.When New Yorker Denise Simon goes shopping, she is always on guard. She carries a small bag, keeps her hands visible whenever possible, and makes an effort to be overly friendly to sales clerks. She doesn't have any reason to be wary except for one thing-she happens

Tableside Justice: Racial Differences in Retributive Reactions to Dissatisfaction

“…In an attempt to avoid the costs associated with confrontational reactions to mistreatment, victims of perceived discrimination may respond by simply ignoring the incident, withdrawing from the situation, vowing not to return to the establishment, or seeking support from their friends and family (Crockett et al 2003; Evett et al 2013; Feagin 1991; Gabbidon et al 2008; Walsh 2009). In the restaurant context, customers who perceive to be victims of discriminatory treatment have access to another means of recourse—they can reduce or eliminate a server’s tip.…”

“…This argument follows from research that frequently documents racial discrimination in consumer settings (e.g., Brewster and Rusche 2012; Feagin 1991; Gabbidon 2003; Harris et al 2005; Williams, Henderson, and Harris 2001). Likewise, this expectation follows from research showing that experiencing racial discrimination can provoke anger and trigger a physiological “fight” response, foster a hostile view of relationships, and encourage disengagement from conventional norms (Burt, Simons, and Gibbons 2012; Evett et al 2013; Feagin 1991; Klinner and Walsh 2013; Krieger 1999). Finally, this expectation flows from social psychological research that suggests Blacks and other disadvantaged groups may be particularly sensitive to discrimination cues and as such are more likely to attribute dissatisfactory events to racial prejudice (Allport [1954] 1979; Anderson 2015; Feagin 1991; Major, Quinton, and McCoy 2002; see also Baker, Meyer, and Johnson 2008).…”

From Anxious Spaces to Harmonious Relations? Interracial Marketplace Interactions Through the Lens of Consumer Psychology

“…For instance, Dovidio and Gaertner's (1986) theory of aversive racism states that many White people’s reactions to Black people do not result from pure hostility but instead reflect discomfort and uneasiness (Plant & Devine, 2003). Applied to a consumption context, Evett, Hakstian, Williams, and Henderson (2013) find that even though White consumers also experience high level anxiety when confronted with a situation in which a Black consumer is discriminated against by a White salesclerk, the White (vs. Black) consumer will still tend to downplay the incident as an individual‐level problem. The authors suggest that this heightened anxiety among the White consumers results from their desire to maintain an unprejudiced self‐image by distancing themselves from the “racist” White salesclerk while refraining from challenging the status quo (Evett et al, 2013).…”

Operationalizing Critical Race Theory in the Marketplace

“…The project focus changed to develop the conceptual basis prior to the empirical work, but Gerri continued to contribute to the team in multiple ways including from organizational, theoretical, and practical perspectives. Her deep knowledge of issues related to race, culture, and ethnicity, particularly with regard to issues of racial discrimination (e.g., Ekpo et al 2018; Evett et al 2013; Harris, Henderson, and Williams 2005; Henderson, Hakstian, and Williams 2016; Henderson and Zhang 2019; Williams and Henderson 2012) was essential to our theorizing. However, her contributions were not based solely on “intellectual intrigue,” as she shared not only her empirical understandings.…”