Exposure to information about racial demographic change raises Whites’ status threat and conservatism

Evidence

Accumulating evidence indicates that the racial demographic shift does pose a threat to Whites. After reading about increasing demographic diversity (vs. a control article), Whites show greater fear and anger toward minority groups (Outten, Schmitt, Miller, & Garcia, 2012), greater implicit and explicit bias against racial/ ethnic minorities (Craig & Richeson, 2014a), decreased endorsement of diversity (Outten et al., 2012), and increased concern with their own group’s position in society (Danbold & Huo, 2014). Furthermore, Craig and Richeson (2014b) showed that reading that racial minority groups would make up a majority of the U.S. population by 2042 (vs. a control article) led White Americans to be more concerned about Whites’ loss of social status (i.e., experience group status threat), which in turn led them to endorse more conservative political views and policies. — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity, 16

Categorization

• XREF: Directly extends the reader’s threatened-privilege mechanism thesis across identity axes — this is the core status-threat-to-conservatism causal chain anchoring her cross-axis replication question. — connects to: Perceived racial demographic shift may push White Americans toward conservatism. — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 1; Perceived racial demographic shifts cause a conservative shift in White Americans through group-status threat. — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 8; Perceived demographic shift causal threat to White status shifts policy conservatism — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 40 (+14 more)
• QUESTION: Craig and Richeson’s design activates anticipatory threat via a demographic-forecast prime; worth chasing whether the same prime mechanism replicates when applied to gender (e.g., forecast of women’s gains) rather than race.

Related

• Perceived racial demographic shifts cause a conservative shift in White Americans through group-status threat. (similarity 0.94)
• Perceived demographic shift causal threat to White status shifts policy conservatism (similarity 0.93)
• Reminding White Americans of shifting racial demographics raises their group status threat. (similarity 0.93)
• Perceived racial demographic shift may push White Americans toward conservatism. (similarity 0.92)
• Racial status threat may drive conservative shifts even among minorities (similarity 0.92)
• Demographic threat generalizes conservative shift to race-neutral policy (similarity 0.91)
• Removing anticipatory status threat eliminates the conservative reaction to demographic shift. (similarity 0.90)
• Reassuring whites that status will persist can blunt the threat of demographic shift. (similarity 0.89)
• Perceived racial demographic shift raises White group status threat that drives Trump support. (similarity 0.88)
• Status threat from diversity shifts whites rightward regardless of party affiliation. (similarity 0.88)
• Perceived threat to in-group status evokes greater political conservatism. (similarity 0.88)
• Racial demographic shift threatens Whites only when they identify strongly with their ethnic group. (similarity 0.87)
• Group-status threat is the proposed causal mediator of shift-induced conservatism. (similarity 0.86)
• Ethnic identification, not party affiliation, moderates Whites’ threat response. (similarity 0.86)
• Racial-shift reminders shift highly identified Whites toward Trump and against Sanders via status threat. (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Reminding White Americans of shifting racial demographics raises their group status threat. #corroborates (0.95) — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity, 36
• Group-status threat is the proposed causal mediator of shift-induced conservatism. #expands (0.95) — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 22
• Ethnic identification, not party affiliation, moderates Whites’ threat response. #qualifies (0.80) — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity, 21
• Racial-shift reminders shift highly identified Whites toward Trump and against Sanders via status threat. #expands (0.78) — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity, 53
• Perceived threat to White privilege poorly predicts racial policy views. #complicates (0.75) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2174