Despite the well-documented harmful effects of Native-themed mascots, Native-themed mascots have many supporters who decry the politically correct efforts to remove these mascots. Although ostensibly unrelated to race/racism, we reasoned that invoking anti-PC attitudes allow prejudiced people to indirectly support Native-themed mascots while minimizing the appearance of being biased. Three studies (N = 587) found that anti-Native bias predicted anti-PC attitudes and, in turn, Native-themed mascot support. In Studies 2 and 3, participants varying in anti-PC attitudes considered a university changing their Native-themed mascot for PC or non-PC reasons. Anti-PC attitudes predicted opposition to changing Native-themed mascots in both conditions. However, the effect of anti-PC attitudes was stronger in the PC condition where social justice norms were salient. These results suggest that, for many, anti-PC attitudes reflect more than just opposition to political correctness and are used by prejudiced people to indirectly defend controversial mascots without appearing prejudiced.
BurkleyM.BurkleyE.AndradeA.BellA., C. (2017). Symbols of pride or prejudice? Examining the impact of Native American sports mascots on stereotype activation. The Journal of Social Psychology, 157(2), 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2016.1208142
3.
ChowR. M.KnowlesE. D. (2016). Taking race off the table: Agenda setting and support for color-blind public policy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167215611637
4.
ConwayL. G.RepkeM. A.HouckS. C. (2017). Donald Trump as a cultural revolt against perceived communication restriction: Priming political correctness norms causes more Trump support. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 244–259. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.732
CrandallC. S.EshlemanA.O’BrienL. T. (2002). Social norms and the expression and suppression of prejudice: The struggle for internalization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(3), 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.3.359
7.
CrandallC. S.EshlemanA. (2003). A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin, 129(3), 414–446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.414
8.
DaiJ. D.LopezJ. J.BradyL. M.EasonA. E.FrybergS. A. (2021). Erasing and dehumanizing Natives to protect positive national identity: The Native mascot example. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(9), e12632. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12632
9.
DanboldF.OnyeadorI. N.UnzuetaM. M. (2022). Dominant groups support digressive victimhood claims to counter accusations of discrimination. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 98, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104233
10.
DevineP. G.MonteithM. J.ZuwerinkJ. R.ElliotA. J. (1991). Prejudice with and without compunction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(6), 817–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.817
11.
DicksonJ. (2017). “What did you just say?”: Defining and measuring political correctness [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Texas Arlington.
12.
DovidioJ. F.GaertnerS. L. (1991). Changes in the expression of racial prejudice. In KnopkeH. J.NorrellR. J.RogersR. W. (Eds.), Opening doors: Perspectives on race relations in contemporary America (pp. 119–148). University of Alabama Press.
13.
DuntonB. C.FazioF. H. (1997). An individual difference measure of motivation to control prejudiced reactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(3), 316–326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297233009
14.
EasonA. E.PopeT.BecentiK. M.FrybergS. A. (2021). Sanitizing history: National identification, negative stereotypes, and support for eliminating Columbus Day and adopting Indigenous Peoples Day. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000345
FaulF.ErdfelderE.BuchnerA.LangA. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149
17.
ForscherP. S.CoxW. T. L.GraetzN.DevineP. G. (2015). The motivation to express prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(5), 791–912. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000030
18.
FrengS.Willis-EsquedaC. (2011). A question of honor: Chief Wahoo and American Indian stereotype activation among a university based sample. The Journal of Social Psychology, 151(5), 577–591. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2010.507265
FrybergS. A.EasonA. E. (2017). Making the invisible visible: Acts of commission and omission. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(6), 554–559. https://doi.org/10.1177/0063721417720059
21.
FrybergS. A.EasonA. E.BradyL. M.JessopN.LopezJ. J. (2020). Unpacking the mascot debate: Native American identification predicts opposition to Native mascots. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 12(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619898556
22.
FrybergS. A.MarkusH. R.OysermanD.StoneJ. M. (2008). Of warrior chiefs and Indian princesses: The psychological consequences of American Indian mascots. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30(3), 208–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973530802375003
23.
FrybergS. A.StephensN. M. (2010). When the world is colorblind, American Indians are invisible: A diversity science approach. Psychological Inquiry, 21(2), 115–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X
HayesA. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.
27.
JimenezT.ArndtJ.HelmP. J. (2021). Prejudicial reactions to the removal of Native American mascots. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. 26(1), 140–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302211040865
KayA. C.JostJ. T. (2003). Complementary justice: Effects of “poor but happy” and “poor but honest” stereotype exemplars on system justification and implicit activation of the justice motive. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(5), 823–837. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.823
30.
KrausM. W.BrownX.SwobodaH. (2019). Dog whistle mascots: Native American mascots as normative expressions of prejudice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 84, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.04.008
31.
LalondeR. N.DoanL.PattersonL. A. (2000). Political correctness beliefs, threatened identities, and social attitudes. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 3(3), 317–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430200033006
32.
LevinO. A. (2003). To be PC or not to be: The impact of political correctness pressures on implicit and explicit measures of prejudice [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Miami University.
33.
LopezJ.EasonA.FrybergS. (2021). The same, yet different: Understanding the perceived acceptability of Redface and Blackface. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 13(3), 698–709. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211039906
34.
MajorB.BlodornA.BlascovichG. M. (2018). The threat of increasing diversity: Why many White Americans support Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(6), 931–940. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216677304
35.
MazzoccoP. J.CooperL. W.FlintM. (2012). Different shades of racial colorblindness: The role of prejudice. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 15(2), 167–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430211424763
36.
McConahayJ. B. (1986). Modern racism, ambivalence, and the Modern Racism Scale. In DovidioJ. F.GaertnerS. L. (Eds.), Prejudice, discrimination, and racism (pp. 91–125). Academic Press.
37.
MeertensR. W.PettigrewT. F. (1997). Is subtle prejudice really prejudice?The Public Opinion Quarterly, 61(1), 54–71. https://doi.org/10.1086/297786
38.
MoninB.MillerD. T. (2001). Moral credential and the expression of prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.1.33
39.
MonteithM. J. (1993). Self-regulation of prejudiced responses: Implications for progress in prejudice-reduction efforts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(3), 469–485. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.3.469
40.
NevilleH. A.YeungJ. G.ToddN. R.SpaniermanL. B.ReedT. D. (2011). Color-blind racial ideology and beliefs about a racialized university mascot. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 4(4), 236–249. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024334
41.
O’BrienL. T.CrandallC. S.Horstman-ReserA.WarnerR.AlsbrooksA.BlodornA. (2010). But I’m no bigot: How prejudiced White Americans maintain unprejudiced self-images. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(4), 917–946. https://doi.org/10.1111/j1559-1816.2010.00604.x
42.
PlantE. A.DevineP. G. (1998). Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(3), 811–832. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.3.811
43.
RiosK.MischkowskiD.StephensonN. B. (2021). White people problems? White privilege beliefs predict attitudes toward Confederate symbols. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 13(7), 1105–1113. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211051913
44.
RosenblumM.SchroederJ.FrancescaG. (2020). Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(1), 75–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000206
45.
RoussosG.DovidioJ. F. (2018). Hate speech is in the eye of the beholder: The influence of racial attitudes and freedom of speech beliefs on perceptions of racially motivated threats of violence. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(2), 176–185. https://doi.org10.1177/1948550617748728
46.
RoussosG.DovidioJ. F. (2019). Enhancing the salience of free speech rights increases differential perceived free speech protections for criminal acts against Black versus White targets. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 49(8), 519–533. https://doi.org/10.111/jasp.12601
47.
RychlakR. J. (1992). Civil rights, Confederate flags, and political correctness: Free speech and race relations on campus. Tulane Law Review, 66, 1411–1426.
48.
SainzM.MartínezR.SuttonR. M.Rodríguez-BailónR.MoyaM. (2020). Less human, more to blame: Animalizing poor people increases blame and decreases support for wealth redistribution. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 23(4), 546–559. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430219841135
49.
SteinfeldtJ. A.FoltzB. D.KaladowJ. K.CarlsonT. N.PaganoL. A.Jr.BentonE.SteinfeldtM. C. (2010). Racism in the electronic age: Role of online forums in expressing real attitudes about American Indians. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(3), 362–371. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018692
50.
SteinfeldtJ. A.FoltzB. D.LaFolletteJ. R.WhiteM. R.WongY. J.SteinfeldtM. C. (2012). Perspectives of social justice activists: Advocating against Native-theme mascots, nicknames, and logos. The Counseling Psychologist, 40(3), 326–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000011411736
51.
SteinfeldtJ. A.WongY. J. (2010). Multicultural training on American Indian issues: Testing the effectiveness of an intervention to change attitudes toward Native-themed mascots. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(2), 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018633
StrautsE.BlantonH. (2015). That’s not funny: Instrument validation of the concern for political correctness scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 80, 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.012
54.
StrotherL.PistonS.OgorzalekT. (2017). Pride or prejudice? Racial prejudice, Southern heritage, and White support for the Confederate battle flag. Du Bois Review, 14, 295–323. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1742058x17000017
WalkerR.JussimL. (2002). Do people lie to appear unprejudiced. The Rutgers Scholar, 4, 1–19.
57.
WhiteM. H.IICrandallC. S. (2017). Freedom of racist speech: Ego and expressive threats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(3), 413–429. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000095
58.
WhiteM. H.IICrandallC. S.DavisN. T. (2022). Vicarious justifications for prejudice in the application of democratic values. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(3), 758–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211040700
WrightJ. D.EssesV. M. (2017). Support for the Confederate battle flag in the Southern United States: Racism or Southern pride?Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 224–243. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.687
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
