Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T13:19:02.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does Intentionality Matter? An Exploration of Discrimination With Ambiguous Intent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2017

Danielle M. Gardner  and
Ann Marie Ryan
Danielle M. Gardner*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University
Ann Marie Ryan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Danielle M. Gardner, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 316 Physics Road, Room 258, East Lansing, MI 48824. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Although intentionality may be a valuable spectrum on which to categorically distinguish instances of discrimination, we consider whether or not differences on this construct actually reveal differing impacts for targets. Specifically, we wonder whether intentionality is very relevant to the experiences of targets of discrimination or whether the negative consequences stemming from the discriminatory interactions occur regardless of the perpetrator's intent. Further, we explore the potential consequences related to a target attempting to confront discrimination of ambiguous intent. Finally, we discuss discrimination of ambiguous intent from the perspective of the perpetrator, outlining theories related to intentional versus unintentional subtle discrimination.

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 77 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bullock, S. C., & Houston, E. (1987). Perceptions of racism by Black medical students attending White medical schools. Journal of the National Medical Association, 79 (6), 601–608. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.278 Google Scholar
Crocker, J., & Major, B. (1994). Reactions to stigma: The moderating role of justifications. In Zanna, M. P. & Olson, J. M. (Eds.), The psychology of prejudice: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 7, pp. 289–314). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Google Scholar
Crocker, J., Voelkl, K., Testa, M., & Major, B. (1991). Social stigma: The affective consequences of attributional ambiguity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60 (2), 218–228. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.2.218 Google Scholar
Czopp, A. M., & Monteith, M. J. (2003). Confronting prejudice (literally): Reactions to confrontations of racial and gender bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29 (4), 532–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202250923 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Devine, P. G., Evett, S. R., & Vasquez-Suson, K. A. (1996). Exploring the interpersonal dynamics of intergroup contact. In Sorrentio, R. M. & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: The interpersonal context (Vol. 3, pp. 423–464). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Dovidio, J. F., Glick, P. G., & Rudman, L. (Eds.). (2005). On the nature of prejudice: Fifty years after Allport. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Goff, P. A., Steele, C. M., & Davies, P. G. (2008). The space between us: Stereotype threat and distance in interracial contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94 (1), 91–1079. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.91 Google Scholar
Haslett, B. B., & Lipman, S. (1997). Micro inequalities: Up close and personal. In Benokraitis, N. (Ed.), Subtle sexism: Current practice and prospects for change (pp. 34–53). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hebl, M. R., Madera, J. M., & King, E. (2008). Exclusion, avoidance and social distancing. In Thomas, K. M. (Ed.), Diversity resistance in organizations (pp. 127–150). New York, NY: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hebl, M., Ruggs, E. N., Martinez, L. R., Trump-Steele, R., & Nittrouer, C. (2015). Understanding and reducing interpersonal discrimination in the workplace. In Nelson, T. D. (Ed.), Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (2nd ed., pp. 387–407). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Jones, K. P., Arena, D. F., Nittrouer, C. L., Alonso, N. M., & Lindsey, A. P. (2017). Subtle discrimination in the workplace: A vicious cycle. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 10 (1), 51–76.Google Scholar
Kaiser, C. R., & Miller, C. T. (2001). Stop complaining! The social costs of making attributions to discrimination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27 (2), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201272010 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, C. R., & Miller, C. T. (2003). Derogating the victim: The interpersonal consequences of blaming events on discrimination. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 6 (3), 227–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302030063001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kowalski, R. M. (1996). Complaints and complaining: Functions, antecedents, and consequences. Psychological Bulletin, 119 (2), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.179 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendes, W. B., Major, B., McCoy, S., & Blascovich, J. (2008). How attributional ambiguity shapes physiological and emotional responses to social rejection and acceptance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94 (2), 278–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.278 Google Scholar
Shelton, N. J., & Stewart, R. E. (2004). Confronting perpetrators of prejudice: The inhibitory effects of social costs. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28 (3), 215–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00138.x Google Scholar
Snyder, M. L., Kleck, R. E., Strenta, A., & Mentzer, S. J. (1979). Avoidance of the handicapped: An attributional ambiguity analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37 (12), 2297–2306. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.37.12.2297 Google Scholar
Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69 (5), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797 Google Scholar
Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92 (4), 548–573. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.92.4.548 Google Scholar