A hiring manager genuinely believes they are unbiased but consistently rates candidates from one ethnic group lower during ambiguous, time-pressured interviews. This pattern is best described as:
AExplicit prejudice driving overt discrimination
BAversive racism expressed in an ambiguous context
CStereotyping with no affective component
DInstitutional discrimination caused by written policy
Aversive racism describes the pattern where individuals who consciously endorse egalitarian values nonetheless harbor implicit biases that emerge in ambiguous situations where bias is not blatant. The ambiguity of interview contexts provides cover: the manager can attribute the lower rating to 'fit' or 'confidence' rather than group membership, maintaining a self-image of fairness.
Question 2 True / False
If a person holds no consciously prejudiced attitudes, they cannot engage in or perpetuate discriminatory behavior.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Discrimination can occur through implicit biases that operate below conscious awareness, and through institutional structures (policies, norms, historical patterns) that produce differential outcomes without requiring individual prejudiced intent. Implicit measures routinely detect bias in self-described egalitarians, and structural discrimination persists even after individual attitudes improve.
Question 3 Short Answer
Explain why the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of intergroup bias can operate independently of one another.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Social norms can suppress discriminatory behavior even when prejudiced attitudes and stereotypes remain active (a prejudiced person behaves equitably in public to avoid social sanction). Institutional processes can produce discriminatory outcomes without individual prejudice. And stereotypes can be held with little emotional valence — as descriptive beliefs rather than hostile attitudes. Because different mechanisms control each component, they can diverge.
The tripartite model's key insight is that attitude-behavior consistency is not automatic. Social context, monitoring, and structural factors all modulate which component becomes expressed. This explains why measuring only one component (e.g., explicit attitude surveys) underestimates the full pattern of bias.