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Belief in Race as Biological: Early Life Influences, Intergroup Outcomes, and the Process of “Unlearning”

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Abstract

This paper reports on three studies examining people’s belief about race as biological. Study 1 (N = 155) found that the relationship between early exposure to diversity as a child and belief in race as biological was moderated by socioeconomic status. Study 2 (N = 210) found that belief in race as biological was related to greater social distance toward out-group members, and this relationship was mediated by out-group discomfort. Study 3 found that participants (N = 31) had significant decreases in belief in race as biological immediately following a daylong race relations workshop and in a 6-week follow-up, and this “unlearning” trajectory was particularly prominent among students who experienced greater social distance from out-groups. Results are interpreted and discussed in relation to reconceptualizing beliefs about race as rationalizing rather than proactive ideologies and for promoting positive race relations through education aimed at deessentializing race.

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Notes

  1. A related body of research has established that “psychological essentialism” more generally is also related to negative intergroup outcomes (Bastian and Haslam 2006; Haslam et al. 2002; Jayaratne 2006; Keller 2005; Plaks et al. 2012). Given this focus in this research on beliefs about race specifically, this supporting research is deemed outside the scope of this review.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank his undergraduate and graduate mentor, Dr. Karen Suyemoto, with whom he shares ownership for datasets in Study 1 and Study 2. The author would also like to thank his colleagues with whom the intervention and data collection in Study 3 were completed with: Dr. Jesse Tauriac, Dr. Grace Kim, Dr. Susan Lambe Sariñana, and Dr. Vali Kahn.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Salve Regina University, 100 Ochre Point Ave., Newport, RI, 02840, USA

    John Tawa

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  1. John Tawa
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Correspondence to John Tawa.

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Tawa, J. Belief in Race as Biological: Early Life Influences, Intergroup Outcomes, and the Process of “Unlearning”. Race Soc Probl 8, 244–255 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-016-9176-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-016-9176-7

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