Aversive racism

Aversive racism is a social scientific theory proposed by Samuel L. Gaertner & John F. Dovidio (1986), according to which negative evaluations of racial/ethnic minorities are realized by a persistent avoidance of interaction with other racial and ethnic groups. As opposed to traditional, overt racism, which is characterized by overt hatred for and discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities, aversive racism is characterized by more complex, ambivalent expressions and attitudes nonetheless with prejudicial views towards other races.[1][2] Aversive racism arises from unconscious personal beliefs taught during childhood. Subtle racist behaviors are usually targeted towards African Americans.[3] Workplace discrimination is one of the best examples of aversive racism.[4] Biased beliefs on how minorities act and think affect how individuals interact with minority members.[4]

Aversive racism was coined by Joel Kovel to describe the subtle racial behaviors of any ethnic or racial group who rationalize their aversion to a particular group by appeal to rules or stereotypes (Dovidio & Gaertner, p. 62).[1] People who behave in an aversively racist way may profess egalitarian beliefs, and will often deny their racially motivated behavior; nevertheless they may change their behavior when dealing with a member of a minority group. The motivation for the change is thought to be implicit or subconscious. Though Kovel coined the term, most of the research has been done by John F. Dovidio and Samuel L. Gaertner.[5]

  1. ^ a b Dovidio, John F.; Gaertner, Samuel L., eds. (1986). "The aversive form of racism". Prejudice, Discrimination and Racism. Academic Press. pp. 61–89. ISBN 978-0-12-221425-7.
  2. ^ Crisp, R. J. & Turner, R. N. (2007). Essential Social Psychology. London: Sage.[page needed]
  3. ^ França, Dalila Xavier de; Monteiro, Maria Benedicta (2013). "Social norms and the expression of prejudice: The development of aversive racism in childhood". European Journal of Social Psychology. 43 (4): 263–271. doi:10.1002/ejsp.1965. ISSN 1099-0992.
  4. ^ a b Noon, Mike (1 February 2018). "Pointless Diversity Training: Unconscious Bias, New Racism and Agency". Work, Employment and Society. 32 (1): 198–209. doi:10.1177/0950017017719841. ISSN 0950-0170. S2CID 73666289.
  5. ^ Kovel, Joel (1970). White Racism: A Psychohistory. New York: Pantheon. ISBN 0-231-05796-2.[page needed]