title: Perceived control qualifies the effects of threat on prejudice.
abstract: People sometimes show a tendency to lash out in a prejudiced manner when they feel threatened. This research shows that the relationship between threat and prejudice is moderated by people's levels of perceived control: Threat leads to prejudice only when people feel concurrently low in control. In two studies, terrorist threat was associated with heightened prejudice among people who were low in perceived control over the threat (Study 1; N = 87) or over their lives in general (Study 2; N = 2,394), but was not associated with prejudice among people who were high in perceived control. Study 3 (N = 139) replicated this finding experimentally in the context of the Global Financial Crisis. The research identifies control as an important ingredient in threatening contexts that, if bolstered, can reduce general tendencies to lash out under threat.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Katharine H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Greenaway
authors.forename: Winnifred R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hornsey
authors.forename: Janelle M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001315:Australia; D057172:Economic Recession; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: intergroup attitudes; perceived control; prejudice; threat