Multiculturalism, Colorblindness, and Prejudice: Examining How Diversity Ideologies Impact Intergroup Attitudes

The present research examined an underlying psychological process of the effect of diversity ideologies on prejudice among Whites. In one study, I tested whether colorblindness vs. multiculturalism affected perceptions of similarity vs. difference, outgroup perspective taking, and, in turn, prejudice. Using an experimental design, 341 total White participants from both an undergraduate (n = 151) and non-student adult sample (n = 190) were randomly assigned to a standard colorblind or multicultural condition. Participants then completed various measures of perceived similarities vs. differences (visual, interpersonal), outgroup perspective taking (egocentrism, perspective-taking scenario), and prejudice (explicit racial bias, symbolic racism). Results suggest the diversity ideology manipulation only had a significant effect on the outgroup perspective-taking scenario, but the direction of this effect was contrary to hypotheses and previous findings. Compared to colorblindness, multiculturalism significantly reduced participants’ likelihood of taking the perspective of a racial outgroup member, with additional mediation evidence suggesting this effect on reduced outgroup perspective taking, in turn, indirectly increased explicit racial bias and symbolic racism. Alternative explanations and additional research considerations are discussed