Strange Bedfellows? An Experimental Investigation of Factors Influencing Bias Against Interracial Couples in the U.S

• In Event: 41011 - Experimental Examinations of Social Psychological Processes

Abstract

Who is allowed to forge intimate relationships across racial boundary lines? Furthermore, when faced with mixed-race couples, do people evaluate some more positively than others? If so, why? Previous research suggests three possibilities: 1) An overarching preference for racial similarity, 2) A hierarchy of preferences that reflects gender stereotypes and norms about men and women from different racial groups, and 3) Varying support for frameworks 1 and 2 based on whether the couples in question are observers’ in-group or out-group members, and whether the observers are from a majority or minority group. This study examines support for these perspectives using an original, dyadic conjoint survey experiment. White, Black and East Asian respondents were randomly assigned potential same- and mixed-race couples from a fictitious dating app and asked to evaluate them. For each couple they read about, respondents were asked to indicate their approval of the couple, their perceptions of the couple’s fit, and how they believed others would view them. By examining evaluations of couples that have yet to form as opposed to those already formed, this study is able to investigate what norms might affect the earliest stages of relationship formation. The results contribute to literature on racial homophily, racialized sexuality, and third-order beliefs, which have largely been overlooked in research on interracial unions.

Author

• Safa Salim, New York University