EFFECTS OF CONFRONTATION SELF-EFFICACY AND PERCEIVED CONFRONTATION OUTCOMES ON PREJUDICE CONFRONTATION IN AN ONLINE CHAT ROOM

Abstract

Previous research has shown that prejudice confrontation, defined as expressing verbal or nonverbal disapproval of another’s discriminatory actions, is effective at reducing bias (Czopp, Monteith, & Mark, 2006). The goal of the present study was to determine whether confrontation self-efficacy (CSE) and perceived confrontation outcomes promote or discourage prejudice confrontation. Participants (P=110) were led to believe they would be working with a fellow participant in an online chat session reviewing articles about IUPUI’s response (positive, negative, or neutral) to protests of discrimination by the Black Student Union. During the chat session, the computer-generated partner made a prejudiced comment about the BSU. As part of a supposed separate study, participants were asked to rate themselves on how prepared they felt to respond to a prejudiced comment (CSE). We hypothesized that participants who are low in CSE will be less likely to confront, regardless of the perceived outcome and participants high in CSE should vary as a function of perceived outcome with increased confrontation in the positive. Preliminary data analysis indicates that individuals who were high in CSE were almost twice as likely to actually confront the other participant than were those who rated themselves lower in CSE. Thus far, results do not vary by perceived outcome. This may suggest that perceived outcome has no effect on a person’s decision to confront prejudice, or, alternatively, the perceived outcomes may have to suggest greater difference to have an effect.