The Politics of Minority Representation: Perceptions of Stereotype Portrayal Depend On Ideology

Authors:

Abstract: The two trends of widening political divide and increasing attention given to social justice-related issues in the U.S. have implications for social progress. These forces converge to affect perceptions of minorities in general and stereotype endorsement in particular. In this working paper, we seek to understand how political ideology affects the way Americans evaluate minority representations that are either stereotype congruent or incongruent. Specifically, we predict that perceptions will depend on political ideology, such that conservative-minded individuals will prefer congruent portrayals, while liberal-minded individuals will prefer incongruent portrayals. Further, we test competing affective manipulations that may be effective at mitigating conservatives’ negative perceptions of incongruent representations. Across three pre-registered experiments (N = 1,557) that measure attitudes, financial evaluations, and downstream behavioral choices, we find evidence in support of our hypotheses that, firstly, political ideology moderates minority perceptions and, secondly, that a positive mood priming changes conservatives’ perceptions of incongruent representations.

Track: POLI

Keywords: Person perception; minority representation; stereotypes; political ideology; affect manipulation and emotional priming; visual advertisements and portrayals