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The positive feedback bias as a response to self-image threat
Kent D Harber1, Reshma Stafford, Kathleen A Kennedy
1Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA. kharber@psychology.rutgers.edu
Abstract:
This research examined whether Whites favourably bias their feedback to minorities in order to see themselves as egalitarian. White teacher trainees first had their egalitarian self-images affirmed, left unchanged, or threatened. They then provided feedback on a poorly written essay supposedly authored by either a Black or a White student. As predicted, trainees in the Black writer/self-image threat condition selectively rated essay content more favourably, recommended less time for skill development, provided more favourable copy-editing comments, and generated more equivocating 'buffers'. In contrast, trainees in the Black writer/self-image boost condition supplied feedback indistinguishable from feedback provided by trainees in the White writer conditions, which was unaffected by the self-image conditions. The implications for minority education and intergroup communication are discussed.
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