Implicit Black identification among White non-Hispanic respondents and support for Black reparations
研究提出关系认同理论,通过反应时实验发现非西班牙裔白人的内隐黑人认同是支持黑人赔偿的最强预测因素,表明多数统治下可能实现种族正义。
Abstract Theories of self-interest and ingroup-favouritism dominate Western thought. They give Black reparations in the US little chance of electoral success while African Americans remain a minority. Could Black reparations become feasible despite this limitation? I propose ‘relational identity theory’, a combination of Simon’s (1993) utility theory as well as Aron and Aron’s (1986) self-expansion theory, as an alternative to theories of self-interest and ingroup-favouritism. The theory allows for the inclusion of an outgroup in the self-concept. An online reaction-time procedure (n = 1,341) suggests that among White non-Hispanic respondents, implicit Black identification is the strongest predictor of support for Black reparations. Pooled reaction-time data from three studies involving 1,594 White non-Hispanic respondents suggests that implicit Black identification is based on feelings of closeness, warmth, and empathic concern for African Americans resembling Black group attachment. Significant implicit Black identifiers among White non-Hispanic respondents fall between Black non-Hispanic and other White non-Hispanic respondents in their race-related political opinions. ‘Relational identity theory’ can help economists, political scientists, and psychologists explain how majority domination (e.g. slavery and Jim Crow in the United States) could be overcome despite the democratic principle of majority rule. The theory suggests that Black reparations might become politically feasible one day.