Browsing by Author "Hebl, Michelle"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Allies as Intermediaries: Strategies that Promote Hiring People with Intellectual Disabilities
    (2019-04-18) Nittrouer, Christine L.; Hebl, Michelle
    The current study explores the research-based stereotypes that exist toward individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Individuals with ID typically have significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, but many still have the ability to perform well in a variety of entry-level, low-skilled positions. Further, they are a growing proportion of the adult population with disabilities but have among the lowest employment rate. The current research focuses on the influence that allies can have on hiring managers when they consider individuals with ID for entry-level job positions. Using the Stereotype-Content Model (SCM; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002) and theories regarding economic and normative language (Sonenshein, 2006), three ally strategies (stereotype reduction, making the business case, and making the moral case, respectively) are tested for their effectiveness. Results reveal that allies who use the moral case are particularly effective (relative to other strategies) in influencing ratings of hiring intentions and admiration. Results further reveal that perceptions of admiration partially mediate this relationship for the moral condition. The current field study extends previous research on target strategies by showing that remediation strategies can be effective when allies use them during selection. Additionally, this research illuminates the critical power that others can have in helping those with ID contribute effectively to the workplace.
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    Effects of Diversity, Ideology, and Economic Threat on "Anti-White" Discrimination Claims
    (2022-04-12) Silver, Elisabeth; Hebl, Michelle
    Research suggests that white people respond to increased racial diversity with heightened concerns about their social status and anti-white discrimination, particularly among those who endorse conservative beliefs and live in areas with high white unemployment. However, research has not yet assessed whether these variables similarly predict formal anti-white discrimination claiming behavior. Drawing from integrated threat theory (Stephan & Stephan, 2000) and social ecology theory (Oishi & Graham, 2010), I explore how three factors influence the prevalence of formal anti-white discrimination claims at the U.S. county level. I test (1) whether there is a positive relationship between racial diversity and anti-white discrimination claim prevalence, (2) whether the positive effect of racial diversity on claim prevalence is stronger in more conservative (versus less conservative) counties, and (3) whether high levels of white unemployment exacerbate the effects of racial diversity and conservatism on claim prevalence. I combine a geocoded dataset of employment discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with county-level data on racial diversity, white unemployment rates, and conservatism. Results reveal the expected positive relationship between county-level racial diversity and the proportion of claims filed for anti-white discrimination, and further show that this positive effect is significantly stronger in counties with higher conservatism than those with lower conservatism. The magnifying effect of conservatism on the relationship between racial diversity and claim prevalence is also stronger amid higher levels of white unemployment. This study provides the first large-scale support for the hypothesis that conservatism and material threat amplify the association between racial diversity and white people’s tendency to engage in status-legitimizing behavior.
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    Lacking a Voice: Bias against Women as Academic Speakers at Top Universities
    (2015-12-04) Nittrouer, Christine Lynn; Hebl, Michelle; Oswald, Fred; Beier, Margaret
    Across a wide range of settings, women still face disparities in the workplace relative to men, even in seemingly equitable professions like academia (Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, & Handelsman, 2012). In the current research, I conduct five studies focusing on academia in more detail and specifically examining how gatekeeping or gender biases might influence the research presentations that are heard throughout top academic institutions. Specifically, Study 1 uses archival data to examine colloquia speakers who gave talks in six academic disciplines within the top 50 U.S. colleges and universities. Results shows that women are significantly less likely to be colloquia speakers than are men, even after taking into account the differential number of men and women who get their PhDs and hold academic positions. To eliminate alternative explanations (e.g., women are declining invitations more often than are men), Study 2 is conducted (with a faculty sample). Results reveal no gender preferences. Then, Study 3 (with a convenience sample) and Study 4 (with a faculty sample) examine individuals’ ratings of manipulated “potential speakers.” Results from Study 3 demonstrate a preference for women when they talk about communal topics and a denigration of women when they talk about agentic topics. Results from Study 4 indicate no preference for women or men. Finally, Study 5 examines whether such differences arise from individual or group decisions, and are more likely when women are present in gatekeeping roles (help decide speakers). As a whole, this research strongly shows that those who invite and schedule speakers are gatekeepers and can create (or avoid) gender bias, and I discuss strategies to make them more aware and vigilant about ensuring more equal distributions of speakers by gender.
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    Male Allies and Gender Equity: Exploring the Explanatory Mechanisms
    (2019-08-08) Trump, Rachel Christina Elizabeth; Hebl, Michelle
    This research examines three potential theories that might explain why men respond more favorably to men (than women) who advocate for women’s equal rights: Attributional Analysis of Persuasion (Petty, Fleming, Priester, & Feinstein, 2001; Priester & Petty, 1995), Status Characteristics (Berger, Cohen, & Zelditch, 1972; Ridgeway & Berger, 1986; Wagner & Berger, 1997), and Social Norm theories (Cialdini, Kallgren, & Reno, 1991). Using an experimental approach, 267 male participants read an article calling for gender equity written by either a male or female author and then indicated their a) attitudes towards women, b) attitudes towards the article, and c) behavioral intentions to act in gender equitable ways. To test potential mediating mechanisms, participants also indicated the extent to which they perceived the author had self-interest, the author had high status, the extant social norms, and their surprise at the author’s position. Consistent with our own past findings, the results showed that men (compared to women) were more influential when talking to other men about gender equity. More specifically, male participants indicated more gender equitable attitudes and more favorable attitudes about male (versus female) allies. No support, however, was shown for men expressing intentions to act in more gender equitable ways after interacting with a male versus female ally. The different article strategies did not show statistically significant differences; however, a pattern of results provide direction for future research. Surprise and lack of perceived self-interest both approached statistical significance as mediating mechanisms explaining the impact of the author of the gender on men’s attitudes toward gender equity and ratings of author favorability. That is, when men wrote articles about gender equity, other men viewed the author as less self-interested and more surprised by the author’s position, leading them to be more persuaded by the article to support gender equity. This explanation is most in line with the Attributional Analysis of Persuasion explanation or that of the unexpected communicator. Results are discussed in terms of needed future directions and implications for the display of ally behaviors.
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    The Effects of Interpersonal Discrimination on Older Adults’ Pill Sorting Task Performance and Interactions
    (2020-04-23) Ng, Linnea C; Hebl, Michelle
    Previous research has shown that negative stereotypes against older adults exist and lead to discrimination across a wide variety of contexts. The current study examined the effects of discrimination on health-related task performance on a pill sorting task. A sample of 63 older adults interacted with a confederate who either behaved with interpersonal discrimination or neutrality. Participants reported their psychological state at three timepoints. They completed health-related tasks. Lastly, they evaluated the confederate and their intentions to return for future interactions. Contrary to hypotheses, participants in the discrimination condition performed better than participants in the control condition on a pill sorting task. This was not mediated by their psychological state. Participants evaluated the confederate in the discrimination condition more negatively than in the control condition. There are implications for the effects of discrimination on health-related outcomes, including task performance, subjective experience, and engagement.
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    The effects of manifest ethnic identification on applicant discrimination
    (2008) Barron, Laura Gerbasio; Hebl, Michelle
    In this field experiment, Black, Hispanic, Arab, Asian, and Irish individuals applied for retail jobs with or without visible display of their ethnic identification. Applicants followed a standardized script in which they were blind to condition. Indicators of formal discrimination and interpersonal discrimination were analyzed in interactions with White, Black, and Hispanic store personnel. Contrary to hypotheses, we found that when interacting with store personnel of different races, the display of ethnic identification resulted in greater positivity and longer interactions when applicants' ethnic identification was displayed than when no ethnic identification was displayed. In contrast, for Black and Hispanic applicants, when interacting with store personnel of the same race, the display of ethnic identification resulted in lesser positivity. Implications for recruiting and selection are discussed.
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    The Impact of Trainer and Trainee Race on Diversity Training Outcomes: Are the Differences Black and White?
    (2021-04-30) Woods, Amanda; Hebl, Michelle
    The efficacy of diversity training is one of the most debated topics in organizational psychology. On one hand, some scholars suggest that diversity training has limited impact and is not generally effective at leading to behavioral or workplace changes (Dobbin & Kalev, 2018; Forscher et al., 2019). On the other hand, other scholars conclude diversity training can be quite successful under the right circumstances (Bezrukova et al., 2016; Kalinoski et al., 2013). There seems to be universal agreement in the literature, however, that more empirical research on this topic is needed. The current study serves this purpose by focusing on one often overlooked aspect of diversity training – trainer characteristics. Given that training is often delivered online (a trend that is particularly on the rise with the historic COVID-19 pandemic-related transition to remote meetings) and several trainers often appear within a training module, this dissertation tests the impact that various race combinations of two trainers could have on trainees’ diversity training-related reactions, learning, and transfer of training, specifically through perceptions of legitimacy and psychological safety. As predicted, trainer race was significantly associated with perceptions of legitimacy; that is, mixed-race trainer pairs were perceived as higher in legitimacy than White-trainer pairs. There was also partial support for the indirect and conditional indirect effects of legitimacy, psychological safety, and trainee race on the relationship between trainer race and diversity training outcomes but only under certain conditions. Implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.