Inducing Anger, Increasing Ethnic Bias

Emotions carry information about our environment and therefore influence information processing. Happy moods, for instance, tell us that the situation is not threatening and - concerning information processing - that relying on general-knowledge-structures is sufficient (e.g. heuristic cues, stereotypes). Sad moods, however, tell us that there is a problem and - concerning information processing - that we need to use more systematic information processing in order to understand the problem. Applying these mechanisms to intergroup attitudes shows that the processes do not seem to be universal and that induced emotions only affect intergroup attitudes if they are relevant to stereotypes. According to research findings, generally, both disgust and anger increase intergroup bias. But, for instance, only disgust increases anti-homosexuality bias and only anger increases bias against Arabs. In other words, induced emotions only have an effect when the "informational value of the emotion" fits the stereotype.



Intergroup processes need to be differentiated. For instance, intergroup processes for gender groups differ from those for ethnic groups. So does the effect of anger. The authors of the study presented here predict that induced anger will increase ethnic but not gender intergroup bias since anger is associated with conflicts for resources, and "ethnic groups typically compete for resources, whereas gender groups typically engage in relations of positive interdependence". In addition, they predict that "this increased ethnic intergroup bias should only be observed among men because men show more groupbased reactions to intergroup conflict than women do."



First, intergroup attitudes were measured (one ethnic, one gender for men, one gender for women). Then, participants were randomly assigned to the anger condition (writing about anger life events) or the control condition (writing about a normal day in life).
The results of the study support the prediction that anger induction increases ethnic but not gender intergroup bias and only for men. These results highlight that gender groups differ on a crucial point from ethnic groups and "call for more attention to the effect of people’s gender in intergroup relations research."



- Kuppens, T., Pollet, T. V., Teixeira, C. P., Demoulin, S., Roberts, S. C. & Little, A. C. (2012) Emotions in context: Anger causes ethnic bias but not gender bias in men but not women. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 432-441
- all photographs by Willy Rizzo (1966), of Jane Fonda via and of Géorgia Quental via and of Virna Lisi via

This (slightly modified) posting was originally published on Science on Google+ on 10th of October 2013

Harvey Milk Day

“It's not my victory, it's yours and yours and yours. If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope.”
Harvey Milk



Harvey Bernard Milk (1930-1978) was the first openly gay US-American politician elected to public office in California and "the most famous and most significant open LGBT offical ever elected in the United States" (via). Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 (via). This year, he will be featured on a stamp (via) which will be released today. The Postal Service said that his achievements "gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination" (via).
Harvey Milk Day is celebrated around the anniversary of Milk's birthday, i.e. 22 May, to promote human equality. "Senate Bill 572" was passed by the California State Legislature and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009 to designate 22 May as "Harvey Milk Day" (via). It is recognised as "a day of special significance for public schools" in California (via). The group "Save California" warns parents to protect their children from "Harvey Milk Gay Day", from the "homosexual brainwashing" (via), and to "rescue" them by boycotting the day that is "indoctrinating children in classrooms and assemblies" (via).



“The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up. And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone. So if there is a message I have to give, it is that if I've found one overriding thing about my personal election, it's the fact that if a gay person can be elected, it's a green light. And you and you and you, you have to give people hope....”
Harvey Milk



On 27 November 1978 - after ten months in office - Milk was shot dead (via).

“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”
Harvey Milk



photos via and via and via and via

Quoting Jane Fonda

"It's hard for women at my age in Hollywood, but I'm not discouraged."
Jane Fonda



"Real love and intimacy can be much more possible when you're older."
Jane Fonda



"Feminism is not just about women; it's about letting all people lead fuller lives."
Jane Fonda



"I see many more men who are feminist, or at least who have learned about life in the context of feminism."
Jane Fonda



"I don't want my wrinkles taken away - I don't want to look like everyone else."
Jane Fonda


photos by Milton Hawthorne Greene (1922-1985) via