Understanding the Effect of Interethnic Ideology on Motivation to Learn from Diversity Training: An Examination of Cynicism, Prejudice, and Threat
Advisor Information
Carey S. Ryan
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
2-3-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
2-3-2018 9:15 AM
Abstract
The purpose of my research was to examine one reason why workplace diversity training produces mixed outcomes, namely, the ideological basis of the training. I examined three ideologies: colorblind, multicultural, and polycultural. Colorblindness represents the belief that people should explicitly focus on similarities with others (Wolsko, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2000); multiculturalism refers to the belief that people should acknowledge and celebrate differences between groups (Park & Judd, 2005); and polyculturalism is the belief that cultures are interdependent and continuously influence one another (Rosenthal & Levy, 2010). Participants, were recruited via MTurk, were randomly assigned to read a training description that promoted colorblind, multicultural, or polycultural views of interethnic relations. They completed measures of prejudice, cynicism, identity threat, and outcome expectancy prior to reading the descriptions and motivation to learn after reading the descriptions. Measurement models were examined via Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Moderating and mediating effects were assessed using the PROCESS analysis. Results indicated that: a) motivation to learn did not differ by interethnic ideology condition; b) neither identity threat nor expected utility mediated the relationship between interethnic ideology and motivation to learn; c) neither prejudice nor ethnicity moderated the effect of interethnic ideology on identity threat; expected utility differed by interethnic ideology condition only when cynicism moderated the relationship; and d) ethnicity did not moderate the effect of interethnic ideology on expected utility. Implications and future directs are discussed.
Understanding the Effect of Interethnic Ideology on Motivation to Learn from Diversity Training: An Examination of Cynicism, Prejudice, and Threat
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
The purpose of my research was to examine one reason why workplace diversity training produces mixed outcomes, namely, the ideological basis of the training. I examined three ideologies: colorblind, multicultural, and polycultural. Colorblindness represents the belief that people should explicitly focus on similarities with others (Wolsko, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2000); multiculturalism refers to the belief that people should acknowledge and celebrate differences between groups (Park & Judd, 2005); and polyculturalism is the belief that cultures are interdependent and continuously influence one another (Rosenthal & Levy, 2010). Participants, were recruited via MTurk, were randomly assigned to read a training description that promoted colorblind, multicultural, or polycultural views of interethnic relations. They completed measures of prejudice, cynicism, identity threat, and outcome expectancy prior to reading the descriptions and motivation to learn after reading the descriptions. Measurement models were examined via Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Moderating and mediating effects were assessed using the PROCESS analysis. Results indicated that: a) motivation to learn did not differ by interethnic ideology condition; b) neither identity threat nor expected utility mediated the relationship between interethnic ideology and motivation to learn; c) neither prejudice nor ethnicity moderated the effect of interethnic ideology on identity threat; expected utility differed by interethnic ideology condition only when cynicism moderated the relationship; and d) ethnicity did not moderate the effect of interethnic ideology on expected utility. Implications and future directs are discussed.