Conflicted but Aware: Emotional Ambivalence Buffers Defensive Responding to Implicit Bias Feedback

We introduce emotional ambivalence - the simultaneous experience of positive and negative emotions – as a buffer against defensiveness to implicit bias feedback (IAT). Emotional ambivalence reduces defensiveness to the IAT and, in turn, yields greater awareness of bias in the self and others. In study 1, we manipulate implicit bias feedback and find that defensiveness is moderated by self-reported emotional ambivalence. Bias feedback increased defensiveness among individuals low in emotional ambivalence, but this effect is attenuated for individuals high in emotional ambivalence. Study 2 replicates these effects but manipulates emotional ambivalence before providing participants with accurate IAT feedback. In both studies, defensiveness mediates the effect of emotional ambivalence on bias awareness. Results suggest that emotional ambivalence increases bias awareness by rendering individuals more receptive to potentially threatening information about their own unconscious racial bias. Implications for research on stereotyping and prejudice, emotional ambivalence, and defensiveness are discussed.