A new study from Yale suggests white people who consider themselves politically liberal use language that makes them sound less competent when they talk with people of color.
There’s decades of research on how white people with racially biased views conduct themselves around people of color. Not so much, though, on people who consider themselves tolerant and progressive. Yale Professor Cydney Dupree wanted to look at how well-intentioned white people try to connect with racial minorities.
“Even if you don’t necessarily agree with stereotypes, it’s possible you find yourself drawing on them when trying to get along.”
Dupree and her colleagues looked at how white people of different political stripes spoke to other white people versus how they spoke to people of color. They compared the kinds of words they used – words related to competence like “competitive” or warm words like “compassionate.”
“People who are more likely to identify as liberal end up downshifting their competence when responding to black interaction partners or mostly minority audiences, selecting words that would make them appear less competent.”
Meanwhile, self-identified conservatives tended to use pretty much the same kind of words, no matter who they were addressing.
“And so it’s possible that white liberals are trying to get along with racial minorities and do so by perhaps unintentionally using stereotypes, but they’re the ones who are more likely to actually try to forge these connections.”
Dupree said she hopes the work can show white people who want to be allies how to help fight inequality without being excluded from the conversation.
