2013/12/16 by Clara L. Wilkins, Cheryl R. Kaiser · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Racial and Ethnic Identity Research #Cultural Differences and Values #Psychology #Salience (neuroscience) #Perception #Social psychology #Racism #Race (biology) #Racial formation theory #Social perception #Salient #Racial hierarchy #Hierarchy #White (mutation) #Racial differences #Racial bias #Ethnic group #Cognitive psychology #Sociology #Political science #Gender studies
paper · doi:10.1177/0956797613508412
openalex publication_date 2013/12/16 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
In three studies, we examined how racial progress affects Whites' perceptions of anti-White bias. When racial progress was chronically (Study 1) and experimentally (Study 2) salient, Whites who believed the current U.S. status hierarchy was legitimate were more likely to report that Whites were victims of racial discrimination. In contrast, Whites who perceived the current status system as illegitimate were unaffected by the salience of racial progress. The results of Study 3 point to the role of threat in explaining these divergent reactions to racial progress. When self-affirmed, Whites who perceived the status hierarchy as legitimate no longer showed increased perceptions of anti-White bias when confronted with evidence of racial progress. Implications for policies designed to remedy social inequality are discussed.