Crossing Status Divides: Stereotypes, Strategies, and Solutions

Abstract

The state of interracial relations in America remains a work in progress. This dissertation presents two related lines of work that examine intergroup divisions—one at the societal level, another at the interpersonal level. Both programs of research explore stereotypes surrounding members of advantaged and disadvantaged social groups—their content, the forms they can take, and their ultimate role in macro- and micro-level divisions. One such stereotype is associations between race and status that link Whites with high-status positions and Blacks with low-status positions. Chapter 1 introduces a novel measure of race-status associations (RSAs), testing its validity and exploring the consequences of holding RSAs for Whites’ occupational preferences for self and others. Chapter 2 explores RSAs among minority participants, further determining how such stereotypes can limit—or promote—social mobility among minorities. The final two chapters extend this work by examining how stereotypes can impact divisions between groups on the interpersonal level, influencing self-presentation in same- versus other-group settings. Chapter 3 reports experimental and archival studies that find a subtle but reliable consequence of endorsing racial equality: patronizing minorities. White liberals presented less competence to minorities than to other Whites. This apparently unintentional but patronizing competence- downshift suggests that well-intentioned Whites draw on low-status/competence stereotypes to affiliate with minorities. Finally, Chapter 4 presents evidence that well-intentioned Blacks also draw on stereotypes when attempting to affiliate with outgroup members. Black conservatives adopted the opposite outgroup-focused affiliation strategy, reversing the stereotype applied to their ingroup by engaging in a competence upshift with a White (versus Black) interaction partner. Discussion considers applications in additional applied domains, implications for intergroup divisions, and directions for future research.