Threat of increasing national racial diversity
In light of the proliferation of articles, news reports, and press releases detailing the march towards a “majority-minority” nation, we began an exploration of White Americans’ reactions to this information. This research consistently finds that White individuals find this anticipated demographic change as threatening to their current status as the dominant racial group in the US (Craig & Richeson, 2014a, 2014b). For example, the perceived status threat that is triggered by considering a “majority-minority” future leads White Americans to express more negative attitudes toward racial minorities in both an explicit self-report measures and reaction time measures (Craig & Richeson, 2014b). Status threat also leads to greater identification with conservative ideology and conservative policy positions (Craig & Richeson, 2014b). The cultural threat that is triggered by the increasing racial/ethnic diversity information results in greater support for cultural assimilation and greater concern about anti-White discrimination (Craig & Richeson, 2017a, 2018a). Parallel work is examining how different racial minorities respond to this and similar information, especially groups that are not growing in number (Blacks) compared with those that are (Latinos & Asians; Craig & Richeson, 2017b). Our ongoing work in this area is examining ways to attenuate these threats and their implications for political behavior, perceptions of citizenship, and feelings of national belonging (see Craig, Rucker, & Richeson, 2018a, 2018b).
Dynamics of interracial interactions
One longstanding line of research in the lab considers the dynamics of interracial contact. These interactions are one, often overlooked, space in which individuals directly experience the diversity of their environments, and they are often heralded as an important route to prejudice reduction. Our early work revealed the troubling finding that interracial interactions often impair performance on cognitive tasks, particularly ones that require response inhibition or other forms of self-control (Richeson & Shelton, 2003, 2007; Richeson, Trawalter, & Shelton, 2005). To examine the mechanisms underlying this effect, we conducted a series of studies using both behavioral and neuroimaging methodologies. This work offered compelling evidence that interracial contact impairs inhibitory task performance because individuals engage in self-control during the interaction, largely in order to manage concerns about appearing prejudiced (White individuals) or being the target of prejudice (racial minorities). These acts of self-control leave individuals temporarily unable or unwilling to engage is subsequent tasks that also require self-control.
These studies suggest that self-regulatory efforts to avoid the expression of prejudice may unwittingly leave individuals less capable of successfully completing a multitude of important cognitive tasks. So, does this mean that individuals should not attempt to regulate the expression of prejudice during interracial interactions? Contrary to this idea, our research finds that self-control efforts, while cognitively costly, can be effective in creating positive interracial interactions (Shelton, Richeson, Salvatore, & Trawalter, 2005). We are currently exploring whether different mindsets can foster positive interactions without the accompanying cognitive costs.