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11. PERSONALITY-BASED UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION
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stereotypes are often highly negative in nature (Katz & Braly, 1933; Pious
& Williams, 1995; Stone-Romero, Stone, & Hartman, 2002). In addition, they
often are a function of illusory correlation, i.e., unfounded beliefs about the
degree of association between the attributes of category members (Brewer
& Kramer, 1985; Hamilton, 1981b). Once a target has been categorized in
terms of one or more attributes, the observer generates inferences about
his or her standing on a host of other attributes. These inferences are typi
cally based on beliefs about the characteristics that are common to category
members; that is, they stem from stereotypes about category members. For
example, because a person manifests anxiety during a job interview, the
interviewer may infer that he or she lacks emotionally stability, is prone
to depression, has low self-esteem, and has low job-related ability. Note
that illusory correlation-based inferences about individuals can lead to a
number of problems, several of which are considered below.
Closely related to stereotypes are expectation effects (Hamilton, 1976,
1981 a; Higgins & Bargh, 1987; Jones et al., 1984; Miller & Turnbull, 1986).
More specifically, once individuals have been categorized, observers may
generate a host of stereotype-consistent expectations about them, includ
ing their behaviors, behavioral tendencies, and abilities. For example, an
interviewer may assume that because a job applicant seemed anxious dur
ing a job interview, he or she was not suitable for a job.
The expectations that observers have about targets bias the way that
targets are treated by the observers and others. Regrettably, when expec
tations about a target are negative, the consequences for him or her can
often be quite damaging. For instance, negative expectations about an ap-
plicant's ability to perform suitably on a job may lead a decision maker
(e.g., job interviewer) to not offer him or her a job. Moreover, even if he or
she were offered a job and accepted it, negative expectations about the ap-
plicant's performance may lead to a number of undesirable consequences.
For example, the target may be placed on a job that the decision maker
believes to be "appropriate for a person with his or her abilities and traits"
(e.g., personality). Unfortunately, the same job may be less desirable than
others on which the individual might have been placed.
In addition, note that the observer's expectations about the target may
lead to behaviors on the part of the target that serve to confirm the same
expectations (Jones et al., 1984; Merton, 1948; Miller & Turnbull, 1986;
Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968). For example, to the degree that a supervisor
viewed a job incumbent as emotionally unstable, his or her interactions
with the incumbent might be strained. This might lead the incumbent to
believe that he or she was not well-regarded by the supervisor and others
(e.g., coworkers) and would be treated poorly by them. And to the ex
tent that the incumbent had such beliefs, his or her interactions with the