Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Diversity, threat, stress

From the Harvard Business Review:
We put young white men through a hiring simulation for an entry-level job at a fictional technology firm. For half of the “applicants,” the firm’s recruitment materials briefly mentioned its pro-diversity values. For the other half, the materials did not mention diversity. In all other ways, the firm was described identically. All of the applicants then underwent a standardized job interview while we videotaped their performance and measured their cardiovascular stress responses.

Compared to white men interviewing at the company that did not mention diversity, white men interviewing for the pro-diversity company expected more unfair treatment and discrimination against whites. They also performed more poorly in the job interview, as judged by independent raters. And their cardiovascular responses during the interview revealed that they were more stressed.

Thus, pro-diversity messages signaled to these white men that they might be undervalued and discriminated against. These concerns interfered with their interview performance and caused their bodies to respond as if they were under threat. Importantly, diversity messages led to these effects regardless of these men’s political ideology, attitudes toward minority groups, beliefs about the prevalence of discrimination against whites, or beliefs about the fairness of the world. This suggests just how widespread negative responses to diversity may be among white men: the responses exist even among those who endorse the tenets of diversity and inclusion.

So even leftist white men feel an environment to be more hostile and threatening, to the point that their cardiovascular condition is negatively affected, when diversity materials are promoted.

6 comments:

  1. So leftist men clearly no the score, and no what 'diversity' really means.

    But are lying to themselves and others about if for status signalling.

    The body tells the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "So even leftist white men feel an environment to be more hostile and threatening, to the point that their cardiovascular condition is negatively affected, when diversity materials are promoted."

    My guess is that leftist white men probably feel more stress in such situations than conservative white men. Leftists are under enormous pressure to conform absolutely, and they are the ones who will be the prime targets if they fail to conform to even the slightest degree. Even the minutest hint of heresy will be mercilessly punished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point. If you don't give any credence to the whole thing it's probably easier to dissociate from it. Also, it's less likely that your friendship circles are bound by it.

      Delete
  3. It seems natural. Anyone who feels somewhat threatened at the outset, for any reason; will have a physical reaction, some measure of stress. White modern liberals have long argued that the long-term health of black men has been negatively affected by their minority status. Whites, being only ten percent of our world's shifting populations - and soon a minority here in the U.S. - will increasingly experience different sorts of physical threats.

    ReplyDelete