Page 41 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

2. INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL DISCRIMINATION
intergroup emotions provide specific mechanisms that influence the degree
and form of discrimination toward particular groups.
Discrimination 17
Stereotypes are both prescriptive and descriptive (Eagly & Karau, 2002).
Consequently, behaviors by members that violate stereotypic expectations,
even though they may be positive and instrumental actions when con­
sidered objectively, can elicit negative emotions (such as fear, disgust, or
anger). These negative emotional reactions can then trigger discrimination
to maintain the status quo, which favors one's own group over others.
For example, stronger perceptions that "Blacks are getting too demanding
in their push for equal rights," an item from McConahay's (1986) Mod­
ern Racism Scale, are associated with more negative affect toward Blacks
targets and with higher levels of discrimination by White individuals.
Analogously, in terms of discrimination against women, Rudman (1998)
found that women who were self-promoting were perceived as higher
in competence than were those who were not self-promoting. However,
self-promoting women were viewed to be less socially attractive and less
likely to be hired than were self-promoting men and nonself-promoting
women. Thus, to the extent that the specific content of stereotypes guides
appraisals of group members and defines appropriate roles and behaviors,
stereotypes can determine how people respond affectively and, ultimately,
behaviorally to group members.
Besides their expression in overt discrimination, racial stereotypes and
prejudice can shape interpersonal interactions in subtle but significant
ways, such as through self-fulfilling prophecies. Regardless of their self-
reported (and presumably conscious) racial attitudes, individual differ­
ences in automatically and unconsciously activated attitudes predict how
friendly White individuals behave overall (Fazio, Jackson, Dunton, &
Williams, 1995) and non verbally (Dovidio, Kawakami, Johnson, Johnson,
& Howard, 1997; Word, Zanna, & Cooper, 1974) toward a Black person.
Furthermore, consistent with the operation of self-fulfilling prophecies,
and as shown by Word et al. (1974), Black applicants who interact with in­
terviewers displaying a less friendly nonverbal style perform significantly
more poorly in the situation.
The elements identified in the top half of Fig. 2.1 offer a view of the types
of factors that contribute to individual-level discrimination in general and
in the workplace. These elements can best be conceptualized as factors that
influence an individual's propensity to discriminate. The actual manifesta­
tion of discrimination, however, can be determined ultimately by other
moderating elements. We consider these influences in the next section.