You ve got mail: Using e-mail to examine the effect of prejudiced attitudes on discrimination against Arabs

This study examined subtle forms of discrimination directed towards Arabs. Participants were sent a ‘‘lost’’ e-mail intended for someone else. The surname of the intended recipient was either of Arab or European descent. The e-mail stated the recipient was or was not awarded a prestigious 4-year scholarship, and that a response was required within 48 h. Participants had completed a measure of prejudiced attitudes toward Arab-Americans two weeks before they received the lost e-mail. In comparison to less prejudiced individuals, more prejudiced individuals were less likely to return a lost e-mail stating that an Arab had won a scholarship and were more likely to return a lost e-mail stating that an Arab had not won a scholarship. 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. On September 11, 2001, four airplanes were hijacked. Two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City; one plane hit the Pentagon inWashington, DC; and one plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field. In the end, over 3000 people had died (CNN News, 2002). Once the identity of the hijackers was learned, 19 males of Arab descent residing in the United States, Arabs residing in the United States feared they would be targets of retaliatory attacks. Almost immediately, the media and government officials urged Americans to act with tolerance and restraint towards Arabs. Former New York City mayor Rudolf Giuliani informed the public ‘‘. . . hatred, prejudice, and anger is what caused this [terrorist attacks]. We should act bravely and in a tolerant way’’ (American Civil Liberties, 2001). Despite such appeals, there was strong backlash against Arabs in the United States (American Civil Liberties, 2001; CNN News, 2001). For example, Arabs were removed from airplanes without probable cause, out of fear they might be terWe would like to thank Jim Jaccard and Doug Bonett for their help with the statistical analyses and plots. We also would like to thank Sam Gaertner and Rick Gibbons for their helpful feedback on the manuscript. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (B.J. Bushman). 0022-1031/$ see front matter 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2004.02.001 rorists. Women in headscarves were jeered and insulted. Mosques were sprayed with graffiti and with bullets. Prejudice and discrimination against Arabs living in the United States has increased dramatically since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Highly visible forms of discrimination (e.g., vandalism, assault) are still relatively rare. The pleas from the government, civil liberties groups, and others imply that such acts are socially, and legally, unacceptable. However, less visible forms of discrimination persist. For example, in the year following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission received over 706 complaints of workplace discrimination against ArabAmericans, 383 more than the year before the attacks (Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, 2001). In workplace discrimination cases, it is often unclear if the disputed action (e.g., job termination) is motivated by prejudiced or by non-prejudiced causes (e.g., poor job performance). The present research focuses on less visible forms of discrimination against Arabs. Origins of prejudice and discrimination Prejudice directed towards minority group members is one of the most studied topics in social psychology 754 B.J. Bushman, A.M. Bonacci / Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 40 (2004) 753–759 (Fiske, 1998). As such, there are numerous theories about its origins. Categorization of individuals is the foundation of prejudice. Social categorization theory posits that people place others into ingroups (‘‘us’’) and outgroups (‘‘them’’) (Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994; Turner & Oakes, 1989). Once social categorization occurs, prejudice, and discrimination are more likely to follow. Prejudice might enhance personal self esteem by creating positive associations with the ingroup and negative associations with the outgroup (Tajfel, 1981). Threats to an ingroup (e.g., loss of resources) also creates feelings of prejudice (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995; Tyler & Smith, 1998). When the ingroup, and ultimately the self, is threatened, people direct feelings of anger, fear, and anxiety towards outgroup members (Smith, 1993). Certainly, the September 11th attacks presented a direct threat to Americans: lives were lost, a booming economy slid, and Americans lost a sense of personal security and safety. Thus, we hypothesized that people with strong prejudiced feelings towards Arabs would more likely to discriminate against them. Prejudice against individuals of Arab descent Very few studies have addressed discrimination against individuals of Arab descent. A few studies (BarTal, 1996; Bar-Tal &Labin, 2001; Eshel, 1999; Teichman, 2001) have examined Jewish-Israeli prejudice and aggression towards Arabs who live in the Middle East, where there is strong Anti-Arab sentiment. However, there is a dearth of research examining prejudice and discrimination towards Arabs who live in the United States. In light of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the apparent backlash against Arabs, such research is desperately needed. Moreover, research must focus on less visible forms of discrimination against Arabs, because more visible forms of discrimination are unlikely to be exhibited (Crosby, Bromley, & Saxe, 1980). 1 For simplicity, we use the term ‘‘Arab’’ to refer to individuals of Middle-Eastern descent. Present research Milgram (1977) used the ‘‘lost e-mail’’ technique to examine prejudice towards socially undesirable groups. Milgram dropped self-addressed, stamped envelopes around a college campus, and counted the number of lost letters that were mailed. People mailed more letters addressed to socially desirable groups (e.g., a medical research group) than to socially undesirable groups (e.g., a communist organization). Stern and Faber (1997) modified the lost letter technique to capitalize on a new means of communication— e-mail. Participants received an e-mail meant for another individual. The dependent measure was whether or not participants returned the e-mail message to the original sender, pointing out the error. The lost e-mail technique can subtly assess the effect of racist attitudes on behaviors. Demand characteristics and socially desirable responding are minimized by moving the study out of the lab. The technique is also high in face validity. E-mail is a popular means of communication, and receiving a misaddressed e-mail is not uncommon. In the present study, participants (all EuropeanAmericans) received an e-mail message addressed to a person with an Arab surname (e.g., Mohammed or Hassan Hameed) or a European-American surname (e.g., Peter or Jullianne Brice). The e-mail stated that the intended recipient either had or had not received a prestigious 4-year college scholarship (positive and negative feedback, respectively). The e-mail requested a reply within 48 h. The lost e-mail technique was used to measure discrimination. Failing to return the e-mail stating that an Arab had won a scholarship would prevent him or her from getting the scholarship. This could cost the Arab tens of thousands of dollars. Failing to offer help has been used to assess racism in past research (Crosby et al., 1980; Gaertner & Bickman, 1974). Also, returning an e-mail stating that an Arab had not received a scholarship would ensure that he or she would receive this unpleasant news. Participants completed a measure of prejudiced attitudes toward Arabs two weeks before they received the email message. In comparison to less prejudiced individuals, we expected more prejudiced individuals to be less likely to return a lost e-mail stating that an Arab had won a scholarship and to be more likely to return a lost email stating that an Arab had not won a scholarship.