Hoist On Your Own Petard: When Prejudiced Remarks Are Recognized and Backfire On Speakers

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2005

Department

Psychology

School

Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore when people recognize prejudice in those who make bigoted remarks, and whether such expressions of bigotry backfire to harm those who express them. The results of Study 1 suggest that people attribute prejudice to speakers who make stereotypical generalizations about either ascribed (e.g., race, age, sexual orientation) or assumed (e.g., occupational) groups, but have more difficulty recognizing prejudice in those who express positive stereotypes. Study 2 found that bigoted speakers were perceived as less likeable, even by in-group members who agreed with their remarks. Study 3 replicated these findings in a more realistic paradigm, and found that those who made prejudiced remarks were spontaneously described as bigoted. Such negative reactions were again obtained even from like-minded in-group members, with follow-up analyses suggesting that these reactions primarily characterized a subset who spontaneously noted the bigotry and that these reactions mediated negative impressions. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publication Title

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Volume

41

Issue

3

First Page

240

Last Page

255

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