Color blindness and interracial interaction: playing the political correctness game.
Two experiments explored the ramifications of endorsing color blindness as a strategy for appearing unprejudiced. In Study 1, Whites proved adept at categorizing faces on the basis of race, but understated their ability to do so. In Study 2, Whites playing the Political Correctness Game--a matching task that requires describing other individuals--were less likely to use race as a descriptor when paired with a Black partner than when paired with a White partner, a strategy that impaired communication and performance. In addition, avoidance of race was associated with Whites making less eye contact with and appearing less friendly toward Black partners.
Norton
Michael I
MI
Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163, USA. mnorton@hbs.edu
Sommers
Samuel R
SR
Apfelbaum
Evan P
EP
Pura
Natassia
N
Ariely
Dan
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011057:Politics; D011287:Prejudice; D011822:Race Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012737:Sex Factors; D012945:Social Values; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*