Status Generalization, Implicit Bias, and the Production of Racial Inequality

• In Event: 4144 - Emerging Frontiers in Research on Discrimination

Abstract

Racial stratification is well documented in many spheres of social life. Much stratification research assumes that implicit or explicit bias on the part of institutional gatekeepers produces disparate racial outcomes. Research on status-based expectations provides a good starting point for theoretically understanding racial inequalities. In this context it is understood that race results in differential expectations for performance, producing disparate outcomes. But even here, the mechanism, i.e., status-based expectations, is often assumed, because of the lack of tools to measure status-based expectations. In this paper, we put forth a new way to measure implicit racial status beliefs. This enables us to assess the mechanism in the relationship between race and disparate outcomes. We conducted two studies to assess our implicit status measure. Study 1 demonstrates the measurement properties of the implicit status measure. Study 2 uses it to explain about a quarter of the effect of race on social influence. That is, we develop a means for measuring implicit status beliefs, and apply that measure to test one mechanism linking race to social influence. We conclude with the implications of this work for social psychological research, and racial stratification more generally.

Authors

• David M. Melamed, The Ohio State University

• Christopher Munn, Indiana University

• Leanne Barry, UNC Charlotte