The role of gender in Black/White interracial contexts.
Babbitt, Laura.
2012
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Abstract: This dissertation presents five studies designed to examine the role
of gender in interracial contexts. Gender intersects with race to fundamentally shape
social perception and experience, yet its influence in this area is often overlooked. The
first set of studies laid the groundwork for this program of research by examining gender
differences in cognitive representations of racial ... read moregroups: In Study 1a, White participants
reported their views of Blacks' stereotypes about them. Specifically, they reported that
Blacks see White women as less prejudiced than White men, or White people in general. Study
1b examined Black participants' perceptions of the same groups, finding that Blacks also
report that White women are seen as less prejudiced. In Study 2, White participants who
completed a version of the Black/White Implicit Association Test with female stimuli showed
marginally less implicit pro-White bias than those who completed the more traditional
version, with male stimuli. Together, these studies showed that gender predicts outcomes in
two basic intergroup processes: stereotyping and implicit bias. The next set of studies
built on this intersectional approach by investigating the underlying role of individual
differences, adding contextual factors, and examining behavioral implications of gender
differences in interracial contexts. Study 3 was a meta-analysis of the interracial
interaction literature, designed to investigate the interaction of gender, race, and
context in interaction outcomes. It demonstrated that dyadic gender composition affects
participants' experience of the interaction, and that the structure of the interaction
interacts with the gender composition of the sample to predict outcomes as well. Study 4
measured the effect of gender identity on White women's expectations about an interaction
with a Black female interaction partner. When gender identity was experimentally primed, or
preexisting levels of gender identification were high, participants had more positive
outcomes. Taken together, these studies demonstrated that gender plays a role in multiple
aspects of interracial contexts, predicting not just the degree but in some cases the
direction of effects. In an increasingly diverse society, an intersectional approach that
considers gender in conjunction with race will help create a more thorough understanding of
intergroup relations.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2012.
Submitted to the Dept. of Psychology.
Advisor: Samuel Sommers.
Committee: Nalini Ambady, Keith Maddox, and Evan Apfelbaum.
Keyword: Social psychology.read less - ID:
- pn89dk00n
- Component ID:
- tufts:20728
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
