Prejudice in person memory: Self-threat biases memories of stigmatized group members

Gennaro Pica, Jocelyn J. Bélanger, Giuseppe Pantaleo, Antonio Pierro, Arie W. Kruglanski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The present research investigated whether self-threat biases memory via retrieval-induced forgetting. Results show that people under self-threat whose goal is to restore their self-worth by making prejudicial judgments that deprecate others are more likely to exhibit an enhanced RIF effect for positive items and a reduced RIF for negative items ascribed to a stereotyped target (i.e., homosexual). Overall, the present findings are consistent with the view that motivation can affect the magnitude of RIF effects in person memory and that, in turn, they can serve as mechanisms for justifying desired conclusions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)124-131
Number of pages8
JournalEuropean Journal of Social Psychology
Volume46
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2016

Keywords

  • Motivated cognition
  • Person memory
  • Prejudice
  • Self-threat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology

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