Confronting—or speaking out against biases directed toward people from marginalized backgrounds—has been identified as a practical and effective prejudice reduction tool, yet many people avoid confronting, doubting its effectiveness and fearing social repercussions. To counter this avoidance, the present symposium highlights novel research showing the many (and sometimes surprisingly) positive consequences of challenging bias. Across the presentations, we present evidence that people underestimate how effectively confronting reduces prejudice expression, particularly when prejudice seems socially acceptable. In fact, confronting prejudice in one domain reduces prejudice towards a broad array of marginalized groups and increases support for policies and programs that promote equality. Further, we demonstrate that confrontation serves as an identity-safety cue for members of marginalized groups and, in the context of friendships, alleviates tension and increases friendship satisfaction. Taken together, these presentations build a strong case for rejecting the impulse to ignore bias and, instead, speaking up and challenging prejudice expression.
Katie Kroeper, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
The Ohio State University
Pronouns: she/her
Email: kroeper.1@osu.edu
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/kathrynkroeper<https://sites.google.com/view/kathrynkroeper><https://sites.google.com/view/kathrynkroeper>
<https://sites.google.com/view/kathrynkroeper>