The shame of implicit racial bias

Abstract

This study provides support for the theory that individual shame prevents individuals from recognizing their implicit racial biases. Participants across two studies in multiple conditions took the Race IAT, received feedback about their implicit racial bias, and then completed the Shame IAT. We created various conditions either to attribute their implicit racial bias to the self or to create an alternative explanation. The results demonstrated that when individuals attributed their implicit racial bias to themselves vs. an alternative attribution, they subsequently expressed higher levels of interpersonal shame, through increased associations between self-referential and shameful words. The need for positive self-esteem or the avoidance of a negative emotion such as shame may lead participants to avoid examining their own implicit racial biases.

Keywords: Racism; cognitive dissonance; implicit attitudes; racial bias; shame.