When Private Reporting Is More Positive Than Public Reporting
Pluralistic Ignorance Towards Atheists
Abstract
Abstract. Across three studies, we assessed the impact of perceived social norms on attitudes and positive behavioral intentions towards atheists and religious believers. Reported attitudes, reported acceptability of expressing positive and negative attitudes, and reported positive behavioral intentions disproportionately favored religious believers over atheists. However, participants reported a higher likelihood of engaging in positive behaviors towards atheists when the threat of public scrutiny was limited, indicating that the social norm in the US may be suppressing privately held, positive behavioral intentions that would otherwise support atheists, creating a state of pluralistic ignorance. Individuals also reported having more positive attitudes and a higher level of positive behavioral intentions towards religious believers relative to others. Finally, estimates of the prevalence of religious believers in the population also tied directly to one’s perception of the acceptability of expressing positive and negative attitudes towards these groups.
References
1985).
(From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior . In J. KuhlJ. BeckmanEds., Action-control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.2012).
(The theory of planned behavior . In P. A. M. LangeA. W. KruglanskiE. T. HigginsEds., Handbook of theories of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 438–459). London, UK: Sage.2008).
(Attitudes and the prediction of behavior . In W. D. CranoR. PrislinEds., Attitudes and attitude change (pp. 289–311). New York, NY: Psychology Press.1970). The prediction of behavior from attitudinal and normative variables. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 466–487.
(2005).
(The influence of attitudes on behavior . In D. AlbarracínB. T. JohnsonM. P. ZannaEds., The handbook of attitudes (pp. 173–221). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.1924). Social psychology. Boston, MD: Houghton Mifflin.
(1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.
(1955). Opinions and social pressure. Scientific American, 193, 31–35.
(1957).
(An experimental investigation of group influence . In Walter Reed Army Institute of ResearchEds., Symposium on preventative and social psychiatry (pp. 15–17). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.2012). Atheism in America. Financial Times, Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/d2239780-4d4e-11e1-8741-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mgDICVBu
(1996). The forgotten variable in conformity research: Impact of task importance on social influence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 915–927.
(2002). We think you agree: The detrimental impact of the false consensus effect on behavior. Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social, 21, 293–318.
(1994). Condemning and condoning racism: A social context approach to interracial settings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 993–997.
(2006). A public versus private administration of the Implicit Association Test. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 845–856.
(1986). Evaluations of self and others: Self-enhancement biases in social judgments. Social Cognition, 4, 353–376.
(2015). What if they’re right about the afterlife? Evidence of the role of existential threat on anti-atheist prejudice. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6, 840–846.
(2014). No good without God: Antiatheist prejudice as a function of threats to morals and values. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 7, 217–226.
(2002). Social norms and the expression and suppression of prejudice: The struggle for internalization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 359–378.
(2006). The God delusion. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
(2006). Atheists as “other”: Moral boundaries and cultural membership in American society. American Sociological Review, 71, 211–234.
(1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.
(1988). Trends in anti-black prejudice, 1972–1984: Region and cohort effects. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 251–272.
(1974). Attitudes towards objects as predictors of single and multiple behavioral criteria. Psychological Review, 81, 59–74.
(1987). Errors and mistakes: Evaluating the accuracy of social judgment. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 75–90.
(2011). Finding the faithless: Perceived atheist prevalence reduces anti-atheist prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 543–556.
(2012). Reminders of secular authority reduce believers’ distrust of atheists. Psychological Science, 23, 483–491.
(2011). Do you believe in atheists? Distrust is central to anti-atheists prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1189–1206.
(1977).
(Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations . In H. GilesEd., Language, ethnicity, and intergroup relations (pp. 307–348). London, UK: Academic.2007). Agreeableness, empathy, and helping: A person situation × perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 583–599.
(1978/1850). The scarlet letter. Boston, MA: Norton.
(2003). On being loud and proud: Non-conformity and counter-conformity to group norms. British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 319–335.
(2000). Jeer pressure: The behavioral effects of observing ridicule of others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 474–485.
(2012). Atheists, Muslims See Most Bias as Presidential Candidates: Two-thirds would Vote for Gay or Lesbian. Based on June 7–10, 2012 Gallup poll. Gallup News Service, Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/atheists-muslims-bias-presidential-candidates.aspx
(1996). Private vs public expressions of racial prejudice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 32, 437–459.
(1981). Ranking social stigma: Would you want one for a friend. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 53, 353–354.
(2001). Social influence effects on automatic racial prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 842–855.
(2005). Attitude change and the public-private attitude distinction. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 15–28.
(2004). Perspectives on racial phenotypicality bias. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 383–401.
(2002). Cognitive representations of Black Americans: Reexploring the role of skin tone. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 250–259.
(1990). Judgments of self-other similarity: Just like other people only more so. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 475–484.
(1979). Group decision rules and the rejection of deviates. Social Psychology Quarterly, 42, 354–363.
(1991).
(When social comparison goes awry: The case of pluralistic ignorance . In J. SulsT. WillsEds., Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 287–313). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.2004). Gaydar: Eye-gaze as identity recognition among gay men and lesbians. Sexuality & Culture, 8, 60–86.
(1991).
(The theory of public opinion: The concept of the Spiral of Silence . In J. A. AndersonEd., Communication Yearbook 14 (pp. 256–287). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.2008). The origin and evolution of religious prosociality. Science, 322, 58–62.
(1975). Pluralistic ignorance and White estimates of White support for racial segregation. Public Opinion Quarterly, 39, 313–330.
(2003). Generalized eta and omega squared statistics: Measures of effect size for some common research designs. Psychological Methods, 8, 434–447.
(2012). “Nones” on the Rise, Retrieved August 19, 2015, from http://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/
. (1998). Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 811–832.
(1993). Pluralistic ignorance and alcohol use on campus: Some consequences of misperceiving the social norm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 243–256.
(2005).
(Social influence: The role of social consensus in attitudes and attitude change . In D. AlbaraccínB. T. JohnsonM. P. ZannaEds., Handbook of attitudes and attitude change (pp. 671–706). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.2010). Dissecting “gaydar”: Accuracy and the role of masculinity-femininity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 124–140.
(1977). The “false consensus effect”: An egocentric bias in social perception and attribution processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 279–301.
(1951). Deviation, rejection, and communication. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 46, 190–207.
(1985). Cohorts, education, and the evolution of tolerance. Social Science Research, 14, 205–225.
(1998). How White attitudes vary with the racial composition of local populations: Numbers count. American Sociological Review, 63, 512–535.
(1996). Group norms and the attitude-behavior relationship: A role for group identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 776–793.
(1994). Minority influence: A meta-analytic review of social influence processes. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 323–345.
(