The Nature of Contemporary Prejudice: Insights from Aversive Racism

Within the United States, declines in the overt expression of racial prejudice over several decades have given way to near universal endorsement of the principles of racial equality as a core cultural value. Yet, evidence of persistent and substantial disparities between Blacks and Whites remain. Here, we review research that demonstrates how the actions of even well-intentioned and ostensibly non-prejudiced individuals can inadvertently contribute to these disparities through subtle biases in decision making and social interactions. We argue that current racial attitudes of Whites toward Blacks in the United States are fundamentally ambivalent, characterized by a widespread contemporary form of racial prejudice, aversive racism, that is manifested in subtle and indirect ways, and illustrate its operation across a wide range of settings, from employment and legal decisions, to group problem-solving and everyday helping behavior. We conclude by describing research aimed at combating these biases and identify new avenues for future research. More than four decades after the Civil Rights Act was signed into US law granting Blacks and Whites equal access to public settings and institutions, racial and ethnic divisions continue to permeate American society. At the heart of these divisions is a fundamental paradox of the American identity. It is a society at once founded on the principles of justice and equality on the one hand, and built upon racist traditions and marred by a legacy of slavery on the other. Although this paradox may in part reflect a unique cultural and political history (an ‘American dilemma’, as first described in 1944 by Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal), the psychological forces that shape this conflict are pervasive and enduring. Both within and outside the United States, unprecedented global immigration creates new challenges psychologically as well as socially and economically for host societies. As recent waves of ethnic conflict in Europe and East Asia attest, the perception of differences in values, beliefs, and customs among immigrants and citizens can trigger open conflict and violence (Stephan, Renfro, Esses, Stephan, & Martin, 2005). However, in countries that have historical traditions or contemporary norms of egalitarianism that discourage not only the expression 2 Contemporary Prejudice © 2009 The Authors Social and Personality Psychology Compass 3 (2009): 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2009.00183.x Journal Compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd but also the personal acknowledgement of bias, prejudice may not be expressed blatantly but often in more subtle, yet equally pernicious, ways (see Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). Here, we describe one psychological legacy of the American dilemma – ‘aversive racism’ – a form of prejudice characterizing the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the majority of well-intentioned and ostensibly non-prejudiced White Americans. Although we focus on race relations within the United States, we note that similar processes have been observed within members of dominant groups in other nations, such as Canada (Son Hing, Chung-Yan, Hamilton, & Zanna, 2008), England (Hodson, Hooper, Dovidio, & Gaertner, 2005), and the Netherlands (Kleinpenning & Hagendoorn, 1993), in which overt forms of prejudice are similarly recognized as inappropriate. We begin by describing the historical origins and psychological underpinnings of aversive racism and consider its consequences for Whites treatment of Blacks, the quality and nature of interracial interactions, and race relations more generally. We then discuss research aimed at combating aversive racism and conclude by describing recent developments and new directions for future research. Racial Attitudes: Historical Trends and Group Perspectives Over the past 40 years, public opinion polls have revealed substantial declines in Whites’ endorsement of prejudiced views toward minority groups, and Blacks in particular, in the United States (Devine & Elliot, 1995; Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986; Madon et al., 2001; Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, & Krysan, 1997). In part due to the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, Whites increasingly support integration in schools, housing, jobs, and public transportation, as well as interracial marriage (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2004). Consistent with these trends toward greater endorsement of racial equality, national observances promoting greater cultural awareness and acknowledging historic social and political struggles of racial and ethnic minority groups have become a ubiquitous part of American culture. Despite these declines in overt prejudice, however, evidence of substantial racial disparities and discrimination remain – from important health indices, such as infant mortality, to disparities in medical treatment, earned wages, and access to and quality of a range of basic services, from health care and job training, to employment, housing, and education (Dovidio, Penner, Albrecht, Norton, Gaertner, & Shelton, 2008; Elvira & Zatzick, 2002; Geiger, 2003; Rosenfeld, 1998; Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003; see also Smelser, Wilson, & Mitchell, 2001). Moreover, the different experiences of Blacks and Whites shape differing perceptions of the importance of race in US society. In recent national surveys, nearly three fourths of Blacks and only one third of Whites reported that racial discrimination is a major factor accounting for disparities in income and education levels (USA Today/Gallup, 2008). Whereas a vast majority of Whites (71%) reported that they were satisfied with the way