The positive feedback bias as a response to self-image threat

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 autho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of social psychology 2010-03, Vol.49 (1), p.207-218
Main Authors: Harber, Kent D., Stafford, Reshma, Kennedy, Kathleen A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
African Americans - ethnology
African Americans - psychology
Bias
Biological and medical sciences
Defense Mechanisms
Egalitarianism
European Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology
European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology
Feedback, Psychological
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Minority Groups
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self
Self Concept
Self-esteem
Self-evaluation
Self-perception
Social Identification
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social Perception
Social psychology
Students - psychology
Teachers
Threat
Whites
Young Adult
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0144-6665
2044-8309
DOI:10.1348/014466609X473956