Bea V. Larsen . . . .Commentaries |
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Bea V. Larsen is a Senior Mediator at the Center for Resolution of Disputes in |
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The New Black This entry was posted on 11/15/2008 9:39 AM and is filed under Generally Speaking. Champagne corks popped. The mood was festive in my home when we gathered last Saturday evening to celebrate a friend’s retirement and the election of Obama. The invitations went out three weeks ago, when only one of these events was certain, the other nervously hoped for. We were eleven in all, ranging in age from mid-fifties to late seventies, black and white, some friendships of long-standing, some new. After a time, the conversation grew serious and this question was posed: One year ago, how many of us would have believed the election of an African American as President possible? None of us. Even when the polls turned positive, there was the looming threat of the “Bradley effect” to narrow or erase the point spread. Bias was a reality even if denied, hidden. Then, overnight that fear became a fiction. New York Times science reporter, John Tierney, asked: Where have all the bigots gone? Theories abound. Most often heard is that the downturn in the economy aroused a self-interest that trumped prejudice. The war. Some (I among them) choose to believe that McCain’s cynical choice of Palin alienated many, men and women. So, what seemed impossible happened. Along with the political pundits, social psychologists offer enlightening data. Here’s one recent research design: Two strangers, diverse pairs, black and white, Latino and Asian, black and Latino, come together in four sessions, each an hour long. Scripted questions are asked that invite self-disclosure, such as: would you like to be famous? If you could change anything about how you were raised, what would it be? In the second session, the pair competes in a timed parlor game. In the third, they talk about why they are proud to be part of their ethnic group. And finally, one helps the other, who is wearing a blindfold, navigate a maze. The new relationship formed, which often becomes a lasting one, almost immediately results in a lowered score of prejudice, using a number of programmed measures. But this is not the surprise. Professor Art Aron, a social psychologist at Stony Brook University, who developed this study with his wife Elaine Aron, reported that these instant relationships not only built trust between the experimenting pair, but also significantly reduced anxiety during encounters with other members of the second group, as gauged by stress hormone levels in saliva. Building on what is referred to as this “extended-contact effect”, Aron studied some 1000 new students at Stony Brook and found that simply being in the same class with interracial pairs who are interacting, can reduce levels of prejudice in those who are merely bystanders. And another heartwarming result: awareness of these extended-contact test relationships significantly diminished negative bias toward the other group among each test individual’s close friends. Quoting Aron: it travels like a benign virus through an entire peer group, counteracting subtle or not so subtle mistrust. Multiply that response by all of those who made connections in the campaign, person to person or online. It became a wave across the nation. Lest you would now like to wipe the Pollyanna smile from my face, I'm well aware that all the bigots are not gone. And I’ll add another quote, without attribution, for I’ve forgotten where I read it: gay and Latino is the new black. |
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