Team colors
A Fair Game? Racial Bias and Repeated Interaction between NBA Coaches and Players
Letian Zhang
Administrative Science Quarterly, forthcoming
Abstract:
There is strong evidence of racial bias in organizations but little understanding of how it changes with repeated interaction. This study proposes that repeated interaction has the potential to reduce racial bias, but its moderating effects may be limited to the treatment of individuals rather than of entire racial groups. Using data from 2,360 National Basketball Association (NBA) players and 163 coaches from 1955 to 2000, I find that players receive more playing time under coaches of the same race, even though there is no difference in their performance. This racial bias is greatly reduced, however, as the player and the coach spend more time on the same team, suggesting that repeated interaction minimizes coaches' biases toward their players. But it does not reduce coaches' racial biases in general. Even after years of coaching other-race players, coaches still exhibit the same levels of racial bias as they did upon first entering the league. These results suggest that repeated workplace interaction is effective in reducing racial bias toward individuals but not toward groups, making an important contribution to the literature on organizational inequality.
Mere Membership in Racially Diverse Groups Reduces Conformity
Sarah Gaither et al.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Three studies assessed the impact of White individuals' mere membership in racially diverse or homogeneous groups on conformity. In Study 1, White participants were randomly assigned to four-person groups that were racially diverse or homogeneous in which three confederates routinely endorsed clearly inferior college applicants for admission. Participants in diverse groups were significantly less likely to conform than those in homogeneous groups. Study 2 replicated these results using an online conformity paradigm, thereby isolating the effects of racial group composition from concomitant social cues in face-to-face settings. Study 3 presented a third condition - a diverse group that included one other White member. Individuals conformed less in both types of diverse groups as compared with the homogeneous group. Evidence suggests this was because Whites in homogeneous (vs. diverse) settings were more likely to reconsider their original decision after learning how other group members responded.
Who Will Fight? The All-Volunteer Army after 9/11
Susan Payne Carter, Alexander Smith & Carl Wojtaszek
American Economic Review, May 2017, Pages 415-419
Abstract:
Who fought the War on Terror? We find that as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan progressed, there was an increase in the fraction of active-duty Army enlistees who were white or from high-income neighborhoods and that these two groups selected combat occupations more often. Among men, we find an increase in deployment and combat injuries for white and Hispanic soldiers relative to black soldiers and for soldiers from high-income neighborhoods relative to those from low-income neighborhoods. This finding suggests that an all-volunteer force does not compel a disproportionate number of non-white and low socio-economic men to fight America's wars.
Admitting Students to Selective Education Programs: Merit, Profiling, and Affirmative Action
Dario Cestau, Dennis Epple & Holger Sieg
Journal of Political Economy, June 2017, Pages 761-797
Abstract:
Minority and disadvantaged students are typically underrepresented in selective programs that use merit-based admission. Urban school districts may set different referral and admission thresholds based on income and race (affirmative action), and they may exploit differences in achievement relative to ability across race and income groups (profiling). We develop and estimate a model that provides a unified treatment of affirmative action and profiling. We find profiling by race and income and affirmative action for low-income students. Counterfactual analysis reveals that these policies achieve more than 80 percent of African American enrollment that could be attained by race-based affirmative action.
If They Think I Can: Teacher Bias and Minority Student Expectations and Achievement
Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng
Social Science Research, forthcoming
"I use nationally representative data on high school sophomores to first examine whether teachers have similar perceptions of the academic abilities of students belonging to different racial/ethnic groups after considering factors such as standardized test scores and homework completion...Second, I investigate whether teacher underestimates - beliefs that students are struggling in class when student test scores are average or higher - are associated with student expectations and GPA, and whether these relationships are more or less important for minority students...Results show that on average, teachers are more likely to perceive that their class is too difficult for minority students compared to White students...Both math and English teacher's underestimation of student academic ability in the 10th grade is associated with lower 12th grade expectations and 10th grade GPAs."
Differences in STEM doctoral publication by ethnicity, gender and academic field at a large public research university
Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton et al.
PLoS ONE, April 2017
Abstract:
Two independent surveys of PhD students in STEM fields at the University of California, Berkeley, indicate that underrepresented minorities (URMs) publish at significantly lower rates than non-URM males, placing the former at a significant disadvantage as they compete for postdoctoral and faculty positions. Differences as a function of gender reveal a similar, though less consistent, pattern. A conspicuous exception is Berkeley's College of Chemistry, where publication rates are tightly clustered as a function of ethnicity and gender, and where PhD students experience a highly structured program that includes early and systematic involvement in research, as well as clear expectations for publishing. Social science research supports the hypothesis that this more structured environment hastens the successful induction of diverse groups into the high-performance STEM academic track.
Racially Differentiated Language in NFL Scouting Reports
Christopher Boylan, Ryan McMahon & Burt Monroe
Pennsylvania State University Working Paper, August 2016
Abstract:
Do NFL scouts describe white quarterback prospects and minority quarterback prospects differently? Does racially differentiated discussion of prospects affect their draft stock? In this paper, we identify systematic differences in how scouts describe white and minority quarterback prospects. Reports on white quarterbacks emphasize positive intangibles such as leadership skills and intelligence, while reports on minority quarterbacks focus more on physical attributes and negative intangibles. Supplementary analyses indicate that these differences are driven by the race of prospects and that minority quarterbacks are undervalued in the draft. We also show that discussion of intangible character qualities associated with reports on white prospects is predictive of improved draft position. Our findings suggest that racially framed perceptions, as reflected in the differentiated language of scouting reports, continue to influence the draft stock of NFL quarterback prospects.
Interactive Effects of Obvious and Ambiguous Social Categories on Perceptions of Leadership: When Double-Minority Status May Be Beneficial
John Paul Wilson, Jessica Remedios & Nicholas Rule
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, June 2017, Pages 888-900
Abstract:
Easily perceived identities (e.g., race) may interact with perceptually ambiguous identities (e.g., sexual orientation) in meaningful but elusive ways. Here, we investigated how intersecting identities impact impressions of leadership. People perceived gay Black men as better leaders than members of either single-minority group (i.e., gay or Black). Yet, different traits supported judgments of the leadership abilities of Black and White targets; for instance, warmth positively predicted leadership judgments for Black men but dominance positively predicted leadership judgments for White men. These differences partly occurred because of different perceptions of masculinity across the intersection of race and sexual orientation. Indeed, both categorical (race and sex) and noncategorical (trait) social information contributed to leadership judgments. These findings highlight differences in the traits associated with leadership in Black and White men, as well as the importance of considering how intersecting cues associated with obvious and ambiguous groups moderate perceptions.
Racial double standards and applicant selection
Sharon Clemens Doerer, Murray Webster & Lisa Slattery Walker
Social Science Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using double standards to judge job applicants can prevent the selection of qualified candidates who possess disadvantaged status characteristics. Experimental studies have shown that when assessors compare equally qualified women and men for jobs, the men are more likely to be recommended for hiring. We propose that the theoretical processes affecting choices by gender also will apply with candidates differentiated by race. We test that and other predictions by adapting an established research design (Foschi 2006). We found that double standards affected job recommendations and judged suitability of candidates, but not their judged competence. We believe that the process operates outside of conscious choice of candidates, and we used that insight to test an intervention to overcome using double standards in situations of race-differentiated candidates.
Homophily in Entrepreneurial Team Formation
Paul Gompers, Kevin Huang & Sophie Wang
NBER Working Paper, May 2017
Abstract:
We study the role of homophily in group formation. Using a unique dataset of MBA students, we observe homophily in ethnicity and gender increases the probability of forming teams by 25%. Homophily in education and past working experience increases the probability of forming teams by 17% and 11 % respectively. Homophily in education and working experience is stronger among males than females. Further, we examine the causal impact of homophily on team performance. Homophily in ethnicity increases team performance by lifting teams in bottom quantiles to median performance quantiles, but it does not increase the chance of being top performers. Our findings have implications for understanding the lack of diversity in entrepreneurship and venture capital industry.
From Passive to Active Representation - Experimental Evidence on the Role of Normative Values in Shaping White and Minority Bureaucrats' Policy Attitudes
Simon Calmar Andersen
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, July 2017, Pages 400-414
Abstract:
Studies of representative bureaucracy have shown how minority groups are often underrepresented in public agencies (passive representation) and that the match between bureaucrats' and clients' racial background has important impacts on minority groups (active representation). Much less attention has been devoted to the question of what influences this link from passive to active representation, and, in this case, what factors moderate how bureaucrats' demographic background transforms into attitudes toward multicultural policies. A survey experiment among Texas school principals shows how emphasizing the normative value of ethnic and cultural differences increases the discrepancy between white and minority bureaucrats' attitudes toward a minority-supportive policy. However, emphasizing that research-based evidence supports the policy makes all bureaucrats more positive. These results increase our understanding of how the link between passive and active representation can be moderated.
Minority threat and school security: Assessing the impact of Black and Hispanic student representation on school security measures
Thomas Mowen & Karen Parker
Security Journal, May 2017, Pages 504-522
Abstract:
The use of security measures has drastically increased in the hallways of US schools over the past three decades. Although previous studies have assessed the impact of school security measures on student outcomes, little attention has been given to understanding what factors lead schools to adopt such measures. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study data and guided by minority threat hypotheses, the current research assesses the impact of school racial composition on the use of security measures. Findings indicate the size of the Black student population is related to schools utilizing metal detectors, security guards, surveillance cameras, required 'check-in' areas and fencing around the entire school, while a null effect was found between Hispanic student representation and the majority of security measures. On the other hand, both Black and Hispanic student representation significantly related to the overall number of security measures utilized within schools. The differential impact of race and ethnicity is addressed.
The Right to Be Racist in College: Racist Speech, White Institutional Space, and the First Amendment
Wendy Leo Moore & Joyce Bell
Law & Policy, April 2017, Pages 99-120
Abstract:
Throughout the post-civil rights era, colleges and universities across the United States have periodically experienced explicitly racist incidents on their campuses. From the hurling of racial slurs at students of color, to the hanging of nooses on campus, to students donning Ku Klux Klan outfits or throwing "ghetto" parties that caricaturize communities of color, these incidents challenge the notion that modern racism has changed to a more subtle form, referred to as color-blind racism. We place these incidents within a broader context of race and institutions, suggesting a connection between overt racist expressions and the more covert elements of neoliberal color-blind racism. Through a critical discourse analysis of news stories about these incidents, the website of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and the controlling legal cases involving racist expression on campuses, we suggest that explicitly racist incidents operate in tandem with neoliberal educational policies and color-blind racism to mark and reinscribe colleges and universities as white institutional spaces.
Why Do(n't) they leave?: Motherhood and women's job mobility
Jessica Looze
Social Science Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although the relationship between motherhood and women's labor market exits has received a great deal of popular and empirical attention in recent years, far less is known about the relationship between motherhood and women's job changes. In this paper, I use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) (NLSY79) and Cox regression models to examine how motherhood influences the types of job changes and employment exits women make and how this varies by racial-ethnic group. I find preschool-age children are largely immobilizing for white women, as they discourage these women from making the types of voluntary job changes that are often associated with wage growth. No such effects were found for Black or Hispanic women.