Abstract:
Extant monoracial identity frameworks fail to capture the experiences of
biracial people, whose racial identity may depend on the social context.
Biracial people can vary their racial identity, but the social consequences
of context-dependent racial self-presentation remain underexplored. Five
studies examined how contextual racial presentation among biracials is
perceived by high status groups. White participants read vignettes
describing a biracial person contextually presenting in an academic
situation and evaluated the target's character and behavior. Asian/White or
Black/White biracial students who contextually presented as monoracial
(compared to biracial presentation) were evaluated more negatively because
they were seen as less trustworthy. The effect of presenting as White was
mediated by endorsement of stereotypes that biracial people are confused
about their racial identity. The results suggest contextually choosing an
identity carries social repercussions because it can activate explicit
negative stereotypes about biracial people.