AAA Spark Meeting of the Regions

The Effect of Biases on Consideration of Co-Worker Guilt

• In Event: Organizational Behavior

Abstract

Using a theft case, we explore the association between biases and perception of guilt in alleged workplace wrongdoing. We ask participants to assess the guilt of four possible suspects: two Black (male and female) and two White (male and female), and we measure explicit and implicit racial and gender biases. When we provided only minimal information about each suspect, the participants' age, education, and explicit sexism score were significantly associated with ratings of the likelihood of guilt of the Black female suspect. In contrast, only participant gender was associated with guilt ratings for the Black male suspect. When we provided additional information that produced a convergence of opinion on the White male suspect, explicit racism and sexism and their interaction were associated with the binary choice of selecting the Black female as the most likely culprit. Similarly, with the additional information, age and education remained significant predictors of Black female guilt ratings. When additional information directed most participants to the White male suspect, significant predictors of binary 'most likely culprit' were identified for all four suspects. We discuss that biases were more obscured in lower evidence conditions and were more apparent in the presence of persuasive evidence.

Authors

• Stephani A. Mason, DePaul University

• Claire Costin, University of Portland

• Jason Rinaldo, Texas Tech University