By: Ian McKay
Have you ever seen someone wearing a shirt with a political candidate you don’t like, and automatically assumed the worst about him or her? Or perhaps, you’ve been at a sporting event and felt a strong connection towards fans cheering for your team. Why do we make negative or positive judgments about people because they simply belong to another group?
Broadly speaking, intergroup conflict can be defined as disagreement or confrontation between two or more groups and their members. This may involve physical violence, interpersonal discord, and psychological tension. To date, theorists have proposed that intergroup conflict emerges for many reasons (e.g., intergroup anxiety, negative stereotypes, group esteem threat, competitiveness for resources, etc.) (e.g., Sritharan and Gaworski, 2010, Spears, 2011, Riek, Mania and Gaertner, 2006)
In the context of the criminal justice system, intergroup conflict has had a substantial impact on the outcomes of many interactions between the police and minorities in the United States. Due to historical artifacts, it is not shocking that police tend to be perceived differently by various cultural, political, and ethnic groups (See Figure 1 below). Though such differences in perceptions likely stem from the mistreatment of minority groups that have occurred over many centuries, efforts should be made to reduce the influence of these explicit and implicit biases help by both groups, which may help to strengthen relationships between police and minorities.
Broadly speaking, intergroup conflict can be defined as disagreement or confrontation between two or more groups and their members. This may involve physical violence, interpersonal discord, and psychological tension. To date, theorists have proposed that intergroup conflict emerges for many reasons (e.g., intergroup anxiety, negative stereotypes, group esteem threat, competitiveness for resources, etc.) (e.g., Sritharan and Gaworski, 2010, Spears, 2011, Riek, Mania and Gaertner, 2006)
In the context of the criminal justice system, intergroup conflict has had a substantial impact on the outcomes of many interactions between the police and minorities in the United States. Due to historical artifacts, it is not shocking that police tend to be perceived differently by various cultural, political, and ethnic groups (See Figure 1 below). Though such differences in perceptions likely stem from the mistreatment of minority groups that have occurred over many centuries, efforts should be made to reduce the influence of these explicit and implicit biases help by both groups, which may help to strengthen relationships between police and minorities.
Figure 1. Percentage of Police Officers on a “Feeling Thermometer” from “0” (coldest rating) to “100” (warmest rating) by race. Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/15/deep-racial-partisan-divisions-in-americans-views-of-police-officers/ |
For this blog, I decided to interview my good friend Chris, who is an African-American policeman here in Starkville, MS. After spending hours talking about politics, his experience in the workforce, and his interest in this topic, we began to make progress in addressing possible means of reducing the palpable intergroup conflict existing between police and minorities.
Interview
To begin, Chris noted that there is a lack of positive exposure for police. Whether or not it reflects the media, Chris noted that positive stories are frequently left out of the media’s “line-up.” Further, he noted that positive behaviors of the police should receive as much, or even more media attention than negative behaviors. Chris makes a strong point, in that when positive portrayals emerge concerning the efforts of police, individuals are likely to be viewed as “exemplars.” According to research by Sritharan and Gawronski (2010), this form of subtyping is not likely to have any impact on the representation of policemen as a whole, as those engaging in positive behaviors are likely to be viewed as “exceptions to the rule” (2010).
In a study conducted by Olson and Fazio (2006), researchers found that pairing positive information with pictures of Black community members tended to decrease an implicit preference for White over Black faces (2006). Similarly, by increasing associations between policemen and positive communal behaviors (e.g., positive community engagement and selfless acts) a reduction in implicit biases may follow. Furthermore, such efforts may also help limit the harmful effects of group polarization.
In addition to increasing positive exposure, Chris stated that though not always the case, stereotyped groups may not understand a policeman’s innate need for safety. Further, he noted that individuals are sometimes given incorrect information about a citizen’s behavior that might have resulted in a policeman needing to act, which he reported, “makes [him] feel very frustrated.” Moreover, he stated, “I do not get paid enough to risk getting killed or seriously injured on the job; If it is me or them, it’s going to be me.” When asked what action could be taken to address this concern, he noted that media sources should engender feelings of guilt and shame with regards to instances in which family dynamics were forever changed as a result of an officer or citizen being killed or seriously injured when a citizen refused to comply, or an officer used inappropriate force when a citizen was indeed complying. In research conducted by Monteith and Mark (2006), researchers found that confronting individuals about stereotypical beliefs reduced the endorsement of such beliefs by means of guilt. Chris’s suggestion to engender feelings of guilt or disappointment towards the self (i.e., the individual holding the belief), may be an effective form of reducing this intergroup conflict.
Chris also mentioned the importance of police either living in, or participating in fun, and family-friendly activities within the communities that they patrol. When asked to elaborate, he noted that seeing officers in other contexts such as family gatherings, recreational centers, fundraising events, and sporting events in the community, may not only change the community’s perception of the officer but change the officer’s perception of the community members. The suggestion of increasing positive experiences with stigmatized groups across many contexts may help to avoid specific contextualization of these experiences (Sritharan and Gawronski, 2010).
Lastly, Chris proposed that increasing the number of hired policemen belonging to minority groups may reduce unnecessary violence between police and citizens. After processing this suggestion, I felt that such efforts may not only help police to better represent their communities but appease citizens’ concerns. After some searching, I came across an article by Crotty and Fernandez that examined this effect. Interestingly, opposing findings emerged. Researchers found that higher percentages of black police officers were associated with increases in fatal encounters between police and black citizens in the vast majority of the largest U.S. cities (Cotty and Fernandez, 2017).
Conclusion
The relationships between police and ethnic and racial minorities present some of the more lasting and complex problems society is currently facing. Due to such high levels of intergroup conflict, individuals belonging to minority groups may feel scared, angry, confused, and unable to talk to police about important matters that may pertain to their safety. Though the mistreatment of minorities by police has played a pivotal role in the development of deeply held biases, efforts should be focused on reducing the dissemination of overgeneralized beliefs to younger generations. Aside from the empirically supported strategies shown to reduce levels of intergroup conflict, the prevention, mitigation, and negotiation of intergroup conduct in communities must also become a fundamental part of police practice moving forward.
Interview
To begin, Chris noted that there is a lack of positive exposure for police. Whether or not it reflects the media, Chris noted that positive stories are frequently left out of the media’s “line-up.” Further, he noted that positive behaviors of the police should receive as much, or even more media attention than negative behaviors. Chris makes a strong point, in that when positive portrayals emerge concerning the efforts of police, individuals are likely to be viewed as “exemplars.” According to research by Sritharan and Gawronski (2010), this form of subtyping is not likely to have any impact on the representation of policemen as a whole, as those engaging in positive behaviors are likely to be viewed as “exceptions to the rule” (2010).
In a study conducted by Olson and Fazio (2006), researchers found that pairing positive information with pictures of Black community members tended to decrease an implicit preference for White over Black faces (2006). Similarly, by increasing associations between policemen and positive communal behaviors (e.g., positive community engagement and selfless acts) a reduction in implicit biases may follow. Furthermore, such efforts may also help limit the harmful effects of group polarization.
In addition to increasing positive exposure, Chris stated that though not always the case, stereotyped groups may not understand a policeman’s innate need for safety. Further, he noted that individuals are sometimes given incorrect information about a citizen’s behavior that might have resulted in a policeman needing to act, which he reported, “makes [him] feel very frustrated.” Moreover, he stated, “I do not get paid enough to risk getting killed or seriously injured on the job; If it is me or them, it’s going to be me.” When asked what action could be taken to address this concern, he noted that media sources should engender feelings of guilt and shame with regards to instances in which family dynamics were forever changed as a result of an officer or citizen being killed or seriously injured when a citizen refused to comply, or an officer used inappropriate force when a citizen was indeed complying. In research conducted by Monteith and Mark (2006), researchers found that confronting individuals about stereotypical beliefs reduced the endorsement of such beliefs by means of guilt. Chris’s suggestion to engender feelings of guilt or disappointment towards the self (i.e., the individual holding the belief), may be an effective form of reducing this intergroup conflict.
Chris also mentioned the importance of police either living in, or participating in fun, and family-friendly activities within the communities that they patrol. When asked to elaborate, he noted that seeing officers in other contexts such as family gatherings, recreational centers, fundraising events, and sporting events in the community, may not only change the community’s perception of the officer but change the officer’s perception of the community members. The suggestion of increasing positive experiences with stigmatized groups across many contexts may help to avoid specific contextualization of these experiences (Sritharan and Gawronski, 2010).
Lastly, Chris proposed that increasing the number of hired policemen belonging to minority groups may reduce unnecessary violence between police and citizens. After processing this suggestion, I felt that such efforts may not only help police to better represent their communities but appease citizens’ concerns. After some searching, I came across an article by Crotty and Fernandez that examined this effect. Interestingly, opposing findings emerged. Researchers found that higher percentages of black police officers were associated with increases in fatal encounters between police and black citizens in the vast majority of the largest U.S. cities (Cotty and Fernandez, 2017).
Conclusion
The relationships between police and ethnic and racial minorities present some of the more lasting and complex problems society is currently facing. Due to such high levels of intergroup conflict, individuals belonging to minority groups may feel scared, angry, confused, and unable to talk to police about important matters that may pertain to their safety. Though the mistreatment of minorities by police has played a pivotal role in the development of deeply held biases, efforts should be focused on reducing the dissemination of overgeneralized beliefs to younger generations. Aside from the empirically supported strategies shown to reduce levels of intergroup conflict, the prevention, mitigation, and negotiation of intergroup conduct in communities must also become a fundamental part of police practice moving forward.
References
- Czopp, A. M., Monteith, M. J., & Mark, A. Y. (2006). Standing up for a change: Reducing bias through interpersonal confrontation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 784-803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.784
- Fingerhut, H. (2017). Deep racial, partisan divisions in Americans’ views of police officers. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
- Nicholson‐Crotty, Sean , Jill Nicholson‐Crotty , and Sergio Fernandez . 2017. Will More Black Cops Matter? Officer Race and Police‐Involved Homicides of Black Citizens. Public Administration Review77(2): 206–16.
- N., Pam M.S., "INTERGROUP CONFLICT," in PsychologyDictionary.org, May 11, 2013, https://psychologydictionary.org/intergroup-conflict/ (accessed February 24, 2019)
- Olson, M. A., & Fazio, R. H. (2006). Reducing automatically activated racial prejudice through implicit evaluative conditioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(4), 421-433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167205284004
- Photograph of Officer Norman (Top left) with a group of kids on a porch in Little Rock, AK (2016). Retrieved from http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mzoptimizmspeakz/2015/09/24/officer-norman-the-cop-that-cares-positive-policing-exists-in-little-rock
- Photograph of Azuza Police officer (Top right) (2019). Retrieved from http://www.nattybongo.tv/united-voices-youth/
- Riek, B. M., Mania, E. W., & Gaertner, S. L. (2006). Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes: A Meta-Analytic Review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(4), 336–353. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr1004_4
- Spears, R. (2011). Group identities: The social identity perspective. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 201-224). New York, NY, US: Springer Science + Business Media. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_9
- Sritharan, R., & Gawronski, B. (2010). Changing implicit and explicit prejudice: Insights from the associative-propositional evaluation model. Social Psychology, 41(3), 113-123
- Stephan, W. G. (2014). Intergroup anxiety: Theory, research, and practice. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18(3), 239-255.
- Sunstein, Cass R., The Law of Group Polarization (December 1999). University of Chicago Law School, John M. Olin Law & Economics Working Paper No. 91. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=199668 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.199668