Major
Psychology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2020
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Confronting prejudice leads to backlash (Czopp et al., 2006), so people hesitate to confront (Swim & Hyers, 1999). This research investigated the effects of feeling essentialized after confrontation on liking, and interventions to reduce backlash for confronters. Participants imagined being confronted for racism by a friend or stranger, and wrote about the scenario in a self-affirming, self-compassionate, or objective manner. Feelings of being essentialized by the confronter and liking were measured. Participants felt more essentialized by a stranger (versus friend). As feelings of essentialism increased, a self-compassionate (versus self-affirmative/objective) viewpoint increased liking. Encouraging self-compassion limits backlash, making confrontation less costly.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Robyn Mallett, Associate Professor, Social Psychology; Jamie Patrianakos, Graduate Student, Social Psychology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
The Effect of Feeling Essentialized on Outcomes of Direct Confrontation
Confronting prejudice leads to backlash (Czopp et al., 2006), so people hesitate to confront (Swim & Hyers, 1999). This research investigated the effects of feeling essentialized after confrontation on liking, and interventions to reduce backlash for confronters. Participants imagined being confronted for racism by a friend or stranger, and wrote about the scenario in a self-affirming, self-compassionate, or objective manner. Feelings of being essentialized by the confronter and liking were measured. Participants felt more essentialized by a stranger (versus friend). As feelings of essentialism increased, a self-compassionate (versus self-affirmative/objective) viewpoint increased liking. Encouraging self-compassion limits backlash, making confrontation less costly.