Expectations of bias : does it matter why?

1. Expectations of bias : does it matter why? Jasia Pietrzak Warsaw University Rudy Mendoza-Denton UC-Berkeley Geraldine Downey Columbia University

2. Where I’m coming from Two basic assumptions • Expectations of bias lead to negative outcomes in academic settings • e.g., attitudes towards & interactions with professors • Fairness is a social identity issue • not a personal identity issue

3. Group Value Theory(Lind & Tyler, 1988) • Group Value Theory posits that • treatment • bias expectations • trust affect interactions with authorities and consequences of such interactions because these variables speak to one’s standing within a valued group (and standing is important to people) • these relational variables weigh in more heavily than outcome in predicting • fairness ratings • satisfaction • affect • trust in and obligation to authority • studies mainly in judicial settings

4. Cognitive-affective processing dynamic TRIGGER SITUATIONS Anxious expectations of rejection Ready perceptions of rejection General Rejection Sensitivity (RS) Model Cognitive-social learning history • Prior experiences of rejection • personal • group-based Intense (hot) reactions to perceived rejection

5. In conjunction • GVT doesn’t speak of different kinds of bias leading to differential outcomes • We think bias can be based on • personal characteristics (personality, looks, je ne sais quoi) (“RS-personal”) • group characteristics (race, age, gender) (“RS-group”) • And outcomes will differ accordingly • RS-personal • dissatisfaction in relationships • relationship breakups • low self-esteem • RS-group • mistrust of the majority and its institutions • difficulties in pursuit of valued goals in those institutions • underachievement

6. expectations about bias institutional engagement fairness ratings affect perceptions of treatment trust personal disengagement low self-esteem affect trust outcome RS’s view of interactions with authorities GVT’s view of interactions with authorities expectations about g-bias institutional engagement fairness ratings affect trust perceptions of treatment expectations about p-bias

7. Nasty treatment confirmation of bias expectations Nice treatment disconfirmation of bias expectations only for group-based bias So we did a study • How do expectations of (personal vs. gender) bias affect perceptions of and reactions to treatment by an educator? • Treatment can be seen as evidence of bias: • Will disconfirmation of bias expectations reduce the negative impact of expectations?

8. Here’s the study design So we did a study • expectations (unbiased, personal bias, gender bias) • Tara on campus walk, paid people $2 or a soda to fill out 2-page questionnaire • 240 participants read a scenario, answered questions about it • scenarios differed by • treatment (nice, nasty) • outcome (goal met, goal not met)

9. Example Scenario imbuing the thing with importance Imagine that you are taking a special summer session at your university before your junior year. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the field you are majoring in from local and visiting scholars, some of whom are famous. It is sure to be challenging, and you're very excited about it. On the first day of class, you meet the professor. You had a professor last semester who didn’t seem to like you, and this one is giving you a similar vibe. You remember how awful it was to interact with that professor. The experience you had last semester comes flooding back into your head. You aren’t comfortable with the situation, but you’re stuck. Two weeks later, a few days before the first assignment for the class is due, you realize you’re really invested in the work and you’re spending a lot of time on it. You want to get a better idea of how it’s going to be graded. You approach the professor at the end of a lecture to ask for a grading handout that you know is available to students. “Excuse me,” you say. “I have a couple of questions about grading, I was hoping you could give me a copy of the handout.” The professor, shuffling through some papers, says, “Sure, hold on a sec…” then finds it, and hands it to you. manipulation of expectations manipulation of treatment and outcome

10. Example Scenario imbuing the thing with importance Imagine that you are taking a special summer session at your university before your junior year. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the field you are majoring in from local and visiting scholars, some of whom are famous. It is sure to be challenging, and you're very excited about it. On the first day of class, you meet the professor. You had a professor last semester who didn’t like men, and this one is giving you a similar vibe. You remember how that professor was less helpful to the men in your class than to the women. The experience you had last semester comes flooding back into your head. You aren’t comfortable with the situation, but you’re stuck. Two weeks later, a few days before the first assignment for the class is due, you realize you’re really invested in the work and you’re spending a lot of time on it. You want to get a better idea of how it’s going to be graded. You approach the professor at the end of a lecture to ask for a grading handout that you know is available to students. “Excuse me,” you say. “I have a couple of questions about grading, I was hoping you could give me a copy of the handout.” The professor, shuffling through some papers, snaps, “Fine, if you have to, take my last copy,” and hands it to you. manipulation of expectations manipulation of treatment and outcome

11. Manipulations manipulation of expectations On the first day of class, you meet the professor. You had a professor last semester who didn’t like men, and this one is giving you a similar vibe. You remember how that professor was less helpful to the men in your class than to the women. The experience you had last semester comes flooding back into your head. You aren’t comfortable with the situation, but you’re stuck. On the first day of class you meet the professor. You had a professor last semester who didn't seem to like you, and this one is giving you a similar vibe. You remember how awful it was to interact with that professor. The experience you had last semester comes flooding back into your head. You aren't comfortable with the situation, but you're stuck. On the first day of class, you meet the professor. You had a professor last semester who seemed to like you, and this one is giving you a similar vibe. You remember that that professor was constructive and gave the students a lot of help. The experience you had last semester comes flooding back into your head. You are comfortable with the situation. The professor, shuffling through some papers, says, “Sure, hold on a sec…” then finds it, and hands it to you. The professor, shuffling through some papers, snaps, “Make an appointment!” and turns away. The professor, shuffling through some papers, says, “I’m sorry, I just gave away my last copy. Why don’t you try to get it from another student in the class.” The professor, shuffling through some papers, snaps, “Fine, if you have to, take my last copy,” and hands it to you. manipulation of treatment and outcome

12. Dependent Measures affect confident nervous rejected sad calm tense disrespected anxious angry irritable happy comfortable enthusiastic relaxed perceptions of treatment How fair do you consider the outcome of your interaction? How fair do you consider the process leading up to the outcome? How satisfied are you with the outcome of the interaction? To what extent do you think the professor treated you politely? To what extent do you think the professor treated you respectfully? How likely are you to complain about the professor to your friends? How likely are you to complain about the professor to the administration? How would you rate the professor on a course evaluation? How sincere/intelligent/cold/snobby/pleasant/unfair is the professor? How much do you trust the professor? How much do you respect the professor? perceptions of professor motivational consequences How likely would you be to drop the class? What would your feelings be after this interaction about your major?

13. RESULTS • Main effects from GVT: • Does procedure outweigh outcome in an academic context? • Main effects from RS: • Do bias expectations matter? • Do kinds of bias expectations matter? • Interaction hypothesis: • Do group expectations interact with treatment? • Do these interactions depend on type of bias?

14. First thing: does GVT hold? • yes: treatment affects DVs much more than outcome does • treatment  >> outcome  • and it’s qualified by an interaction • when treatment bad, outcome doesn’t matter • when treatment good, outcome matters

15. How angry do you feel? outcome (0-5) treatment Similar for irritable, disrespected, nervous… F(1, 235)=10.12, p<.01

16. How unfair is the professor? outcome (1-7) treatment similar for snob, unfair, overall rating of prof F(1, 235)=4.75, p<.05

17. How fair was the outcome? outcome (1-7) treatment similar for respect, happy, relaxed, comfortable.. F(1, 235)=20.95, p<.001

18. RESULTS • Main effects from GVT: • Treatment does matter in an academic context • Main effects from RS: • Do bias expectations matter? • Do kinds of bias expectations matter? • Interaction hypothesis: • Do group expectations interact with treatment? • Do these interactions depend on type of bias?

19. Second thing: Do expectations matter? well, almost. but not as much as treatment does. or as much as outcome. • expectations of no bias lead to different effects than expectations of bias for • attributions (manipulation check) • perceptions of treatment • affect • perceptions of professor • does kind of bias matter?

20. Attributions to self (MC) expectations F(2, 237)=5.39, p<.01

21. Attributions to gender (MC) expectations F(2,137)=36.93, p<.001

22. Attributions to prof’s personality (MC) expectations F(2, 237)=5.34, p<.01

23. How fair was the process? expectation F(2, 236)=10.85, p<.001 similar for most percept of treatment vbs

24. How angry do you feel? expectation F(2, 236)= 4.67, p<.01 similar for relaxed, nervous, rejected, anxious…

25. Overall rating of professor expectation F(2, 236)=17.84, p<.001

26. How unfair is the professor? expectation similar for cold, snobby, pleasant, sincere F(2, 236)=14.19, p<.001

27. Second thing: Do expectations matter? well, almost. but not as much as treatment does. or as much as outcome. • expectations of no bias lead to different effects than expectations of bias for • attributions (manipulation check) • perceptions of treatment • affect • perceptions of professor • does kind of bias matter?

28. Does the kind of bias matter? How politely were you treated? • not really, some marginal effects How calm do you feel? How happy do you feel? overall F(2, 236)=2.28, p<.10 bias conds F(1, 237)=1.80, p<.10 overall F(2, 236)=6.16, p<.01 bias conds F(1, 237)=1.66, p<.10 overall F(2, 236)=4.72, p<.01 bias conds F(1, 237)=1.97, p=.05

29. RESULTS • Main effects from GVT: • Treatment does matter in an academic context • Main effects from RS: • Bias expectations (vs no-bias expectations) affect • attributions, perceptions of treatment, perceptions of professor, affect… • Type for bias expectation does not have a direct effect • Consistent with the moderation hypothesis: • Do expectations interact with treatment? • Do these interactions depend on type of bias?

30. Third thing: Moderation • the effect of treatment is moderated by expectations for • perceptions of treatment • affect • perceptions of professor • academic motivation

31. How politely were you treated? treatment expectations overall F(1, 236)=2.72, p<.10 bias conds F(1, 155)=4.28, p<.05 similar for respectful treatment

32. How confident do you feel? treatment expectations overall F(1, 228)=2.93, p=.05 bias conds F(1, 156)=5.16, p<.05 similar for comfortable, irritable, nervous

33. How likely are you to complain about the prof to your friends? treatment expectations overall F(1, 236)=4.12, p<.05 bias conds F(1, 156)=5.16, p<.05 similar for respect the prof

34. How do you feel about your major? better (1-9) treatment no change worse overall F(1, 235)=2.98, p=.05 bias conds F(1, 155)=3.93, p<.05

35. RESULTS • Main effects from GVT: • Treatment does matter in an academic context • Main effects from RS: • Bias expectations (vs no-bias expectations) affect • attributions, perceptions of treatment, perceptions of professor, affect… • Type for bias expectation has not as much effect as we hypothesized • Consistent with the moderation hypothesis: • Group-based bias expectations follow the pattern predicted by GVT, personal bias expectations do not • Expectations of bias based on gender •  can be counteracted by disconfirmation • Expectations of bias based on personal characteristics •  less affected by disconfirmation

36. Next study If disconfirmation of gender-bias expectations can reverse effects of those expectations… well, disconfirmation can come in various guises. Seeing the professor treat an ingroup member politely should have similar effects. (disconfirmation of personal bias expectations, though, has to occur personally)

37. Vicarious study • Tara on campus walk, paid people $2 or a soda to fill out 2-page questionnaire • 234 participants read a scenario, answered questions about it • scenarios differed by • treatment (nice, nasty) • outcome (goal met, goal not met) • expectations (unbiased, personal bias, gender bias) Here’s the study design

38. Example vicarious scenario imbuing the thing with importance Imagine that you are taking a lecture series course at your university before your junior year. The lecture series is only organizes once every few years, so you’re really lucky to be taking it. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the field you are majoring in from local and visiting scholars, some of whom are famous. It is sure to be challenging, and you're very excited about it. On the first day of class, you meet the professor who will be leading the series. You had a professor last semester who didn’t like women, and this one is giving you a similar vibe. You remember how that professor was less helpful to the women in your class than to the men. The experience you had last semester comes flooding back into your head. You aren’t comfortable with the situation, but you’re stuck. Two weeks later, a few days before the first assignment for the class is due, you realize you’re really invested in the work and you’re spending a lot of time on it. You want to get a better idea of how it’s going to be graded. You approach the professor at the end of a lecture. The professor is speaking to another student, who is asking for the grading handout that is available to students. “Excuse me,” the student says. “I have a couple of questions about grading, I was hoping you could give me a copy of the handout.” The professor, shuffling through some papers, says, “Sure, hold on a sec…” then finds it, and hands it over. manipulation of bias expectations vicarious manipulation of treatment and outcome

39. Results • Main effects from GVT: • Again, treatment is the best predictor of the DVs • Main effects RS: • Bias expectations (vs no-bias expectations) affect • attributions, perceptions of treatment, perceptions of professor, affect… • Consistent with the vicarious moderation hypothesis: • are group-based expectations overcome by vicarious experience?

40. Perceptions of treatment outcome (1-7) treatment (similar for evaluation of & avoidance of prof)

41. Affect expectation

42. Evaluations of prof Overall (1-9) Trust in professor

43. Results • Main effects from GVT: • Again, treatment is the best predictor of the DVs • Main effects RS: • Bias expectations (vs no-bias expectations) affect • attributions, perceptions of treatment, perceptions of professor, affect… • Consistent with the vicarious moderation hypothesis: • Interestingly…. • Expectations of bias based on gender •  ARE NOT counteracted by disconfirmation • Expectations of bias based on personal characteristics •  ARE affected by disconfirmation

44. Feel about yourself “no change” treatment expectations

45. Anxious (0-5) treatment

46. Overall rating of prof treatment expectations

47. Perception of treatment outcome irrelevant for gender bias, not for personal bias treatment gender personal nobias interaction for bias conditions significant

48. Exciting conclusions • Some indication that expectations interact with treatment to influence perceptions of social interactions • Vicarious experiences lead to unexpected (complex) results

49. Ideas for continuation • Group-bias manipulation: • ‘liking’ not as effective as ‘competence’ (for women?) • scenario not conducive to expressing bias • Personal-bias manipulation • For overcoming personal-bias • “nice” treatment could be a façade • “warm” treatment could be more effective • RS model suggests mediation • expectations--> perceptions--> outcomes • this turned out a little bit messy here, though • for men,for attributions to gender: • a constellation of nervous-anxious emotions • intent to drop the class

50. Other interesting things to think about?