Racial stereotypes serve the dominant group’s identity needs

Evidence

Americans. In the aggregate, acting on these psychological inclinations can create worlds characterized by disparities between groups that mirror what is implicitly in our minds, even when those images are counter to our explicit goals and values. As a society, we build systems and structures that reflect and reinforce these biases. Ironically, when these disparities and the inequality that characterizes various systems are brought to the public’s attention, people can seize upon the disparities, potentially as “evidence” of the underlying stereotypes, and use them to double down on and rationalize the inequality (Hetey & Eberhardt, 2014; Peffley & Hurwitz, 2007). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 415 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: In-group familial identity is built on negating the racial other — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 68; Multiple distinct motives drive racial-ethnic group identification. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 68; Interracial interaction motives mirror identity needs triggered by historical transgressions. — Nurit Shnabel and Johannes Ullrich, Identity Needs in Intergroup Relations:…, 44 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Highlighting group disparities can reinforce the stereotypes they stem from #complicates (0.72) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 415