A two-dimensional model that employs explicit and implicit attitudes to characterize prejudice

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Attitude Measurement

Background:

• Prejudice is complex, involving both conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) attitudes.
• Existing models may not fully capture the nuances of different prejudice profiles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a 2-dimensional model of prejudice.
• To differentiate individuals into four profiles: truly low prejudiced (TLP), aversive racists (AR), principled conservatives (PC), and modern racists (MR).
• To examine the relationship between these profiles, their ideologies, and discriminatory behavior.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 2-dimensional model incorporating explicit and implicit attitudes.
• Administered the Asian Modern Racism Scale and an Asian/White Implicit Association Test.
• Conducted three studies (N=132, N=65, N=143) comparing group ideologies and responses under varying attributional ambiguity.

Main Results:

• TLP showed no prejudice-related ideologies or discrimination.
• AR exhibited low conservatism and the attributional-ambiguity effect.
• PC did not strongly endorse prejudice-related ideologies and did not discriminate.
• MR strongly endorsed prejudice-related ideologies, were conservative, and showed the attributional-ambiguity effect.

Conclusions:

• The 4-profile model effectively distinguishes individuals based on explicit/implicit prejudice.
• Findings support the model's utility in understanding the interplay of ideology, conservatism, and discriminatory behavior.
• The study offers implications for operationalizing and conceptualizing the multifaceted nature of prejudice.