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Is Promoting an African American Unfair? The Triple Interaction of Participant Ethnicity, Target Ethnicity, and Ethnic Identity 1
Author(s) -
Konrad Alison M.,
Ross Gerald,
Linnehan Frank
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00039.x
Subject(s) - ethnic group , psychology , social psychology , promotion (chess) , perception , white (mutation) , test (biology) , sociology , political science , anthropology , paleontology , biochemistry , chemistry , neuroscience , politics , biology , law , gene
This research examined the effect of manipulating a hypothetical candidate's ethnicity on the perceived fairness of promotions. In an experimental study, 142 undergraduates were assigned randomly to rate the fairness of promotions going to either a White or an African American candidate. Findings indicated that a significant three‐way interaction between participant's ethnicity, candidate's ethnicity, and scores on Phinney's (1992) multigroup ethnic identification index associated with perceptions of promotion decisions. Both White and African American participants with a strong ethnic identity gave higher fairness ratings when a member of their own ethnic group was promoted. These results demonstrate the importance of assessing the extent to which people identify with their ethnic group in addition to assessing their demographic categories.