Investigating the Relationship Between Identity Salience and Attitudes About Groups

A person’s political views are largely dependent on who they are, meaning a person’s identities may inform their political attitudes. The extent to which a person is made aware of an identity may influence how they view certain issues. For example, a White woman may view the same issue in two different ways depending on whether her racial or gender identity is activated. It is hypothesized that when participants are made aware of their racial identity, White participants will hold more conservative views, while non-White participants will hold more liberal views. Additionally, when made aware of a gender identity, White women may view issues the same way as non-White women (i.e., more liberally). The participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions to make a racial, gender, or neutral identity salient. Participants completed the Collective Self-Esteem Scale (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992) to measure their self-esteem in a social group they belong to. This was followed by questions relating to political attitudes and measures of internalized sexism. Internalized sexism is being examined to determine the role it may play in political attitudes, specifically when activated with a gender identity.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stander_posters/3590/thumbnail.jp