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A step too far? Leader racism inhibits transgression credit
Author(s) -
Abrams Dominic,
Travaglino Giovanni A.,
Randsley de Moura Georgina,
May Philip J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2063
Subject(s) - marine transgression , transgressive , connotation , commit , psychology , ingroups and outgroups , social psychology , racism , wrongdoing , criminology , sociology , law , gender studies , political science , sedimentary depositional environment , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , structural basin , database , computer science , biology
Prior research established that when in‐group leaders commit serious transgressions, such as breaking enforceable rules or engaging in bribery, people treat them leniently compared with similarly transgressive regular group members or out‐group leaders (‘transgression credit’). The present studies test a boundary condition of this phenomenon, specifically the hypothesis that transgression credit will be lost if a leader's action implies racist motivation. In study 1, in a corporate scenario, a transgressive in‐group leader did or did not express racism. In study 2, in a sports scenario, an in‐group or out‐group leader or member transgressed rules with or without a racist connotation. Both studies showed that in‐group transgressive leaders lost their transgression credit if their transgression included a racial connotation. Wider implications for constraining leaders' transgressions are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.