Page 165 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

BRIEF, BUTZ, DEITCH
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believe Blacks, in fact, are lazy. Moreover and very importantly, Bargh,
Chen, and Burrows (1996) have demonstrated that negative reactions fol­
lowing subliminal priming of a Black stereotype are not moderated by
level of prejudice. For instance, therefore, assuming a Black stereotype
had been primed for a nonprejudiced White interviewer, he or she might
unintentionally react negatively to a Black job applicant [e.g., by feeling un­
comfortable shaking the applicant's hand (Pettigrew, 1987).] Even though
unintended, these reactions of nonprejudiced persons are problematic for
race composition because they may unintentionally bias personnel deci­
sions.
Stereotypes are more troublesome in those organizations whose HRM
policies and practices allow individual managers a great deal of discre­
tion, providing little in the way of written guidelines or effective oversight
(American Psychological Association, 1991; Bielby, 2000; Mittman, 1992).
Such a loose HRM system can result in personnel decisions characterized as
arbitrary, allowing beliefs about the undesirable characteristics of a group
(e.g., Blacks) to be applied to all its members (e.g., Braddock & McPartland,
1987; Reskin, 1998). Managers who make such ascriptions tend to disre­
gard inconsistent information and lower their expectations for members of
the negatively stereotyped group (e.g., Foschi, Lai, & Sigerson, 1994; Heil­
man, 1984; Nieva & Gutek, 1980), resulting, for instance, in White work­
ers being evaluated more positively than equally performing Blacks (e.g.,
Greenhaus, Parasuraman, & Wormley, 1990; Kraiger & Ford, 1985; but also
see Roberson & Block, 2001). In addition, it is known that biased perceivers
(e.g., managers endorsing a negative stereotype of Blacks) unknowingly
can elicit confirmatory behaviors from members of the stigmatized group
(e.g., Black job applicants) through such very subtle cues as nonverbal
displays and gestures (Operario & Fiske, 2001); and these elicited behav­
iors can diminish interviewee performance (e.g., Word, Zanna, & Cooper,
1974).
The picture painted above is bleak, but, how accurate is it to assert that
many managers act on negative racial stereotypes unless inhibited from do­
ing so? Generalizing from studies examining how stereotypes might affect
housing segregation, it appears the problem is real (e.g., Massey & Denton,
1993). Farley, Steeh, Krysan, Jackson, and Reeves (1994), for instance, found
that Whites have a strong overall aversion toward living among Blacks and
"a substantial minority of Whites mention stereotypes when asked direct
questions about living with Blacks on their block" (p. 776). Damning proof
of the reality of the problem is supplied by several recent studies document­
ing that employers' stereotypes about Blacks prompt them to discriminate
against Black job applicants (e.g., Kasinitz & Rosenberg, 1996; Kirschenman
& Neckerman, 1991; Moss & Tilly, 1996; Neckerman & Kirschenman, 1991).