title: Enhancing majority members' pro-diversity beliefs in small teams: the facilitating effect of self-anchoring.
abstract: Majority members often react negatively to efforts to stimulate diversity. An important reason for this is that in diverse groups, majority members' own group bond is typically based on perceived prototypicality, which serves to disregard those who are different. In the present research we investigate how majority members' pro-diversity beliefs may be enhanced, by experimentally manipulating how the self is cognitively defined in relation to a diverse group. Specifically, we hypothesize that majority members' focus on the personal self (i.e., self-anchoring) rather than the social self (i.e., self-stereotyping) when creating a group bond may facilitate their pro-diversity beliefs and positive attitudes toward minority members. In two experiments we manipulated self-anchoring and self-stereotyping via mindset priming among ethnic majority members in diverse teams. As expected, results showed that relative to self-stereotyping, majority members' self-anchoring enhanced pro-diversity beliefs and positive attitudes toward minority members.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, <location>The Netherlands</location>
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Veelen
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, <location>The Netherlands</location>
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, <location>The Netherlands</location>
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D012649:Self Concept; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: attitudes; majority; pro-diversity beliefs; self-anchoring; self-stereotyping