Economic Conditions and Racial Prejudice: A Regional Perspective
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
2025
End Date
2027
Status
ongoing
Keywords
Regional Intergroup Bias
Geographical Psychology
Racial Prejudice
Regional Differences
Economic Disparities
Description
People differ in their racial prejudices, and so do places. In recent years, an emerging stream of research has demonstrated that regions within countries differ in the levels of racial prejudice among their populations. These investigations into regional differences in racial prejudice are important because they can inform solutions to societally pressing problems. For example, previous studies have found that regional differences in racial prejudice can shed new light on why Black people in some regions are more likely to be killed by police, achieve worse educational outcomes, or suffer from poor health. Importantly, while previous research suggests that regional differences in racial prejudice exist and are consequential, little is known about how this regional variation comes about. Building on existing individual-level research, we propose that regional economic conditions may be a highly relevant, but so far overlooked, driver of regional differences in racial prejudice. In three work packages (WPs), we provide a comprehensive test of the link between regional economic conditions and racial prejudice. Across all three WPs, we will combine large-scale geolocated information on implicit and explicit racial prejudice (US: N ~ 2,373,000; UK: N ~ 126,000) with archival information on regional economic conditions. WP1 seeks to establish the link between regional economic conditions and racial prejudice. To do so, we employ a spatial cross-sectional design that allows testing this link across multiple levels of spatial aggregation in the US and the UK. WP2 seeks to clarify the direction of the regional economic-prejudice link. To do so, we employ a spatial longitudinal design that allows testing the temporal dynamics between regional economic conditions and racial prejudice for 212 US regions across 13 years. WP3 seeks to illuminate the cognitive processes underlying the link between regional economic conditions and regional implicit racial prejudice. To do so, we will use Multinomial Process Tree (MPT) modeling to assess regional differences in controlled and automatic cognitive processes of racially prejudiced responding within the US and the UK. Throughout all WPs, we will (a) test the regional economic-prejudice link as comprehensively as possible (i.e., considering multiple measures of prejudice and economic conditions), (b) carve out the unique relevance of economic conditions for regional racial prejudice (i.e., testing against previously suggested predictors of regional racial prejudice), and (c) make methodological contributions (i.e., combining state-of-the-art spatial and cognitive modeling). Establishing a link between economic conditions and racial prejudice at the regional level has far-reaching scientific and societal implications. To illustrate, from a psychological perspective, the project extends previous theorizing to a new level of analysis, thereby identifying a previously overlooked source of regional differences in racial prejudice. From a broader social scientific perspective, the project builds new bridges between psychology and those disciplines typically concerned with regional economic disparities (e.g., regional economics, economic geography, sociology). From a societal perspective, the project demonstrates that regional economic development policies can reduce racial prejudice in regions, hence strongly emphasizing the need to combat regional economic disparities.
Leader contributor(s)
Member contributor(s)
Jana Berkessel, Thomas Brenner, Jimmy Calanchini, Friedrich Götz, Peter Jason Rentfrow
Funder
Division(s)