General Discussion
The current studies partially supported my hypotheses. As predicted, White individuals felt more betrayed by low SES plaintiffs than high SES plaintiffs, but only when the plaintiff also had a counter-stereotypical job (i.e., a rap musician). In the case of low SES White rappers, perceptions of racial ingroup betrayal led to a shorter suspension length, by a week, for the policeman involved in an altercation with the plaintiff, compared to high SES White rappers. This result suggests that incidents between the police and low SES White people who have counter-stereotypical jobs might be more likely to occur in the future. The reduced suspension length for the policeman might send an implicit message that it is acceptable to …show more content…
This effect was demonstrated with a White but not racial minority sample. It is possible that Whites feel relatively less protective of other Whites that are counter-stereotypical, compared to racial minority groups feeling protective of racial ingroup members that are counter-stereotypical, given Whites’ superior standing in society. The reduced punishment towards policemen who mistreat plaintiffs that are perceived as counter-stereotypical racial ingroup members to stereotypical racial ingroup members could have several possible consequences. Additionally, with more lenient consequences for policemen involved in such incidents, it may implicitly send the message that violence against counter-stereotypical Whites is more acceptable than violence against stereotypical Whites. As a result of more lenient consequences, incidents with counter-stereotypical Whites might be more likely to occur in the future. Ultimately, this may serve to continue, and possibly exacerbate negative relations between the police and counter-stereotypical …show more content…
The unexpected results from when I analyzed African American and Hispanic students from Study 2 might be explained by the fact our sample was made up of educated and affluent individuals. In the context of previous and current research, this sample would be considered counter-stereotypical. It seems unlikely that counter-stereotypical racial ingroup members would feel betrayed by other counter-stereotypical racial ingroup members. If we collected a sample of more stereotypical African Americans and Hispanics, who are less educated and affluent, our results might have been different and could have supported my hypotheses. Thus, testing different samples of individuals beyond a college sample might be necessary to understand the dynamics of racial ingroup betrayal. Further research on the racial ingroup betrayal I created could be done to differentiate racial ingroup betrayal from trust, conducting additional tests with different racial samples to see if it generalizes beyond African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites, as well as adding or deleting items to more accurately reflect the construct of racial ingroup betrayal. Arguably, a lot of the scale correlates with trust, as some of the items on the racial ingroup betrayal measure pertain to whether or not the plaintiff would help other individuals
The current studies partially supported my hypotheses. As predicted, White individuals felt more betrayed by low SES plaintiffs than high SES plaintiffs, but only when the plaintiff also had a counter-stereotypical job (i.e., a rap musician). In the case of low SES White rappers, perceptions of racial ingroup betrayal led to a shorter suspension length, by a week, for the policeman involved in an altercation with the plaintiff, compared to high SES White rappers. This result suggests that incidents between the police and low SES White people who have counter-stereotypical jobs might be more likely to occur in the future. The reduced suspension length for the policeman might send an implicit message that it is acceptable to …show more content…
This effect was demonstrated with a White but not racial minority sample. It is possible that Whites feel relatively less protective of other Whites that are counter-stereotypical, compared to racial minority groups feeling protective of racial ingroup members that are counter-stereotypical, given Whites’ superior standing in society. The reduced punishment towards policemen who mistreat plaintiffs that are perceived as counter-stereotypical racial ingroup members to stereotypical racial ingroup members could have several possible consequences. Additionally, with more lenient consequences for policemen involved in such incidents, it may implicitly send the message that violence against counter-stereotypical Whites is more acceptable than violence against stereotypical Whites. As a result of more lenient consequences, incidents with counter-stereotypical Whites might be more likely to occur in the future. Ultimately, this may serve to continue, and possibly exacerbate negative relations between the police and counter-stereotypical …show more content…
The unexpected results from when I analyzed African American and Hispanic students from Study 2 might be explained by the fact our sample was made up of educated and affluent individuals. In the context of previous and current research, this sample would be considered counter-stereotypical. It seems unlikely that counter-stereotypical racial ingroup members would feel betrayed by other counter-stereotypical racial ingroup members. If we collected a sample of more stereotypical African Americans and Hispanics, who are less educated and affluent, our results might have been different and could have supported my hypotheses. Thus, testing different samples of individuals beyond a college sample might be necessary to understand the dynamics of racial ingroup betrayal. Further research on the racial ingroup betrayal I created could be done to differentiate racial ingroup betrayal from trust, conducting additional tests with different racial samples to see if it generalizes beyond African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites, as well as adding or deleting items to more accurately reflect the construct of racial ingroup betrayal. Arguably, a lot of the scale correlates with trust, as some of the items on the racial ingroup betrayal measure pertain to whether or not the plaintiff would help other individuals