Psychology Commons^™

An Ideal Approach To Prejudice: An Investigation Of Promotion-Oriented Motivators Underlying Interracial Interactions, Rachael Waldrop

WWU Graduate School Collection

Avoidant-based processes motivate the inhibition of prejudiced responding; however, approach-based responding can lead to more positive experiences within interracial interactions. Research has delineated the intrapersonal mechanisms that influence avoidant behavior in relation to prejudice and nonprejudiced values, yet the same exploration has not been observed among the psychological motivators of approach-oriented behaviors. As such, the purpose of the current research was to test the intrapersonal mechanisms that influence Whites’ use of approach behaviors during interracial interactions. Drawing upon regulatory focus theory and prejudice-discrepancy based models, we hypothesized that (1) chronic motivations to avoid negative outcomes (prevention focus) would stimulate avoidant …