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Infectious disease prevalence, not race exposure, predicts implicit and explicit racial prejudice across the USA

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O'Shea, Brian A., Watson, Derrick G. , Brown, G. D. A. (Gordon D. A.) and Fincher, Corey L. (2020) Infectious disease prevalence, not race exposure, predicts implicit and explicit racial prejudice across the USA. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11 (3). pp. 345-355. doi:10.1177/1948550619862319 ISSN 1948-5506.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619862319

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Abstract

What factors increase racial prejudice? Across the US, increased exposure to Black Americans has been hypothesized to increase White Americans’ prejudicial attitudes towards Black Americans. Here we test an alternative explanation: People living in regions with higher infectious disease rates have a greater tendency to avoid out-groups because such avoidance reduces their perceived likelihood of contracting illnesses. Consistent with this parasite-stress hypothesis, we show that both White and Black individuals (N >77,000) living in US states in which disease rates are higher, display increased implicit (automatic) and explicit (conscious) racial prejudice. These results survived the inclusion of several individual and state level controls previously used to explain variability in prejudice. Furthermore, showing disease-related primes to White individuals with strong germ aversion increased their explicit, but not implicit, anti-Black/pro-White prejudice. Domestic out-groups, not just foreigners, may therefore experience increased overt forms of prejudice when disease rates are high.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Engineering > WMG (Formerly the Warwick Manufacturing Group)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Racism -- United States, Prejudices -- United States, Communicable diseases -- United States
Journal or Publication Title: Social Psychological and Personality Science
Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.
ISSN: 1948-5506
Official Date: 1 April 2020
Dates:
DateEvent
1 April 2020Published
15 July 2019Available
27 May 2019Accepted
Volume: 11
Number: 3
Page Range: pp. 345-355
DOI: 10.1177/1948550619862319
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): Posted ahead of print.O'Shea, Brian A., Watson, Derrick G. , Brown, G. D. A. (Gordon D. A.) and Fincher, Corey L. Infectious disease prevalence, not race exposure, predicts implicit and explicit racial prejudice across the USA. Social Psychological and Personality Science . (In Press) Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. DOI: [DOI]
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 28 May 2019
Date of first compliant Open Access: 30 May 2019
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
UNSPECIFIEDUniversity of Warwickhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000741
794913H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actionshttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010665
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