Personal Prejudice: Examining Relations Among Trait Characteristics, Parental Experiences, and Implicit Bias

Abstract

20 COPYRIGHT 2011 BY PSI CHI, THE INTERNATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY IN PSYCHOLOGY (VOL. 16, NO. 1/ISSN 1089-4136) Despite many investigations exploring the various roots of prejudice toward outgroups (Hewstone, Rubin, & Willis, 2002; Mikulincer & Florian, 1998; Reynolds, 2000), work remains. Some researchers have studied emotion variables in relation to prejudice, yet the directionality of the association is still unclear (Ciarrochi & Forgas, 1999; Johnson & Fredrickson, 2005; Wilkowski, Robinson, Gordon, & TroopGordon, 2007). In one study using explicit measures, Ciarrochi and Forgas (1999) found that highanxiety participants rated a potentially threatening outgroup (in this case, African Americans) more positively than did low-anxiety participants. The authors’ speculation for this finding was that the participants who were more trait-anxious also had lower self-confidence. Feeling more like an individual in an outgroup themselves, it is possible the anxious group sympathized with the outgroup, therefore rating African Americans more favorably. In contrast, Johnson and Fredrickson (2005) reported that positive emotions, like joy, reduced own-race bias and may be extrapolated to include reduced outgroup bias. Furthermore, it is possible that individuals prone to negative affect, like anxiety, may portray increased own-race bias and greater prejudice toward outgroups. With respect to trait anger, the literature suggests that anger has a positive relation with prejudice. Wilkowski et al. (2007) observed that persons high in trait anger automatically interpreted ambiguous social situations as hostile. This finding suggested that people with high trait anger may regard unfamiliarity, such as members from salient outgroups, with hostility; inversely, persons with low trait anger may interpret outgroup individuals more holistically. Moreover, Tapias, Glaser, Keltner, Vasquez, and Wickens (2007) found that ABSTRACT. This study focused on potential linkages between personality traits, past parental relationships, and implicit bias toward an outgroup. Introductory psychology students (N = 75, 56 women, 19 men) completed the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998), designed to identify preference for either Muslim or non-Muslim names, followed by the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (short form; Rohner, 2004), and the State-Trait Personality Inventory (Speilberger, 1979). Findings showed perceived paternal warmth had a significant negative correlation with the IAT association effect, r(75) = -.27, p = .02. In other words, as reports of paternal warmth increased, positive association with Muslim names decreased. Results also indicated a moderate, yet nonsignificant, correlation between trait anger and the IAT association effect, r(75) = .21, p = .07. That is, as trait anger increased, reaction times for positive associations with Muslim names also increased. These findings supported the notion that intrapersonal factors play a role in implicit bias. Personal Prejudice: Examining Relations Among Trait Characteristics, Parental Experiences, and Implicit Bias Carolyn Brayko, Shavon Harris, Sarah Henriksen, and Anna Marie Medina* Gonzaga University