From confronted to confronter? Examining the enduring effects of prejudice confrontations

Abstract

Prejudice confrontations are an interpersonal strategy to reduce bias in perpetrators, including up to 1 week later. Despite confrontations serving as an effective method to reduce bias, it is unclear if being confronted also motivates active allyship by becoming a confronter of prejudice. Replicating past research, White participants who were confronted for using negative Black stereotypes immediately reported greater negative self-directed affect and used fewer stereotypes 1 week later compared to participants who were not confronted. Novel to the present research, confronted White participants were more likely to confront prejudice in a hypothetical scenario, but not in self-reports of behaviors, and were more likely to indicate ruminating on their biases 1 month later compared to participants who were not confronted. Critically, the initial negative self-directed affect and prolonged rumination mediated the effect of confrontation on participants’ becoming confronters in a hypothetical scenario and self-reported monitoring of themselves and others for bias. Thus, our findings suggest that prejudice confrontation may not be limited to just a tool for encouraging stereotype inhibition in White people, but rather an ideological shift toward thinking and behaving in egalitarian ways.