Reassuring whites that status will persist can blunt the threat of demographic shift.

Evidence

Participants were then randomly assigned to read an article about the growing geographic mobility of the United States (control condition), an article about the projected majority-minority shift in the United States (status-threat condition), or the latter article with an extra paragraph designed to reduce status threat (assuaged-threat condition; see Experimental Stimuli in the Supplemental Material). Thus, the article in the assuaged-threat condition included the same information about the impending racial demographic shift as the article in the status-threat condition, but also indicated that “despite the shift in the demographic make-up, the relative societal status of different racial groups is likely to remain steady” and “White Americans are expected to continue to have higher average incomes and wealth compared to members of other racial groups.” — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 49

Categorization

• XREF: Connects directly to the threatened-privilege mobilization reading purpose — this is the causal test distinguishing perceived loss of status as the mechanism, rather than mere demographic contact change. — 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; Reminding White Americans of shifting racial demographics raises their group status threat. — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity: Why…, 36; Exposure to information about racial demographic change raises Whites’ status threat and conservatism — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity: Why…, 16 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: Does reducing threat shift attitudes even when the same demographic facts are present? Worth chasing the actual effect sizes reported in Study 3.

Related

• Removing anticipatory status threat eliminates the conservative reaction to demographic shift. (similarity 0.91)
• Reminding White Americans of shifting racial demographics raises their group status threat. (similarity 0.90)
• Exposure to information about racial demographic change raises Whites’ status threat and conservatism (similarity 0.89)
• Perceived demographic shift causal threat to White status shifts policy conservatism (similarity 0.89)
• Perceived racial demographic shifts cause a conservative shift in White Americans through group-status threat. (similarity 0.89)
• Demographic threat generalizes conservative shift to race-neutral policy (similarity 0.88)
• Racial status threat may drive conservative shifts even among minorities (similarity 0.86)
• Perceived racial demographic shift may push White Americans toward conservatism. (similarity 0.86)
• Perceived threat to in-group status evokes greater political conservatism. (similarity 0.84)
• Status-threat alleviation should cancel the shift-conservatism effect, isolating threat as the mediator. (similarity 0.83)
• Group-status threat is the proposed causal mediator of shift-induced conservatism. (similarity 0.83)
• Perceived racial demographic shift raises White group status threat that drives Trump support. (similarity 0.81)
• Status threat from diversity shifts whites rightward regardless of party affiliation. (similarity 0.81)
• Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson — On the Precipice of a Majority-Minority America Perceived Status Threat From the Racial Demographic Shift Affects White Americans’ Political Ideology (similarity 0.81)
• Racial demographic shift threatens Whites only when they identify strongly with their ethnic group. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Removing anticipatory status threat eliminates the conservative reaction to demographic shift. #corroborates (0.92) — Maureen A. Craig and Jennifer A. Richeson, On the Precipice of a…, 86
• Reminding White Americans of shifting racial demographics raises their group status threat. #contradicts (0.90) — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity, 36
• Exposure to information about racial demographic change raises Whites’ status threat and conservatism #qualifies (0.85) — Brenda Major and Alison Blodorn and Gregory Major Blascovich, The threat of increasing diversity, 16