the competence downshift by white liberals a yale study

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White liberals may indirectly express a patronizing form of bias in their responses to outgroup members by drawing on negative status/competence stereotypes about Blacks. That is, with the best of intentions—seeking to affiliate with a Black interaction partner—White liberals may unwittingly draw on negative stereotypes, dumbing themselves down in a likely well-meaning, “folksy,” but ultimately patronizing, attempt to connect with the outgroup.

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Five studies used archival and experimental methodologies to explore White liberals’ self-presentation of competence and warmth with a Black (versus White) interaction partner. In an initial archival demonstration of the competence downshift, Study 1 examined the content of White Republican and Democratic presidential candidates’ campaign speeches. Archival data demonstrated that Democratic—versus Republican—White presidential candidates have displayed a competence downshift over recent decades, using significantly fewer words related to agency or power (and more words related to affiliation and communality) to audiences composed mostly of minorities than to mostly-White audiences (Study 1). Initial experimental investigations used hypothetical vignettes that measure self-presentation through word selection, including competence- or warmth-focused scenarios (Studies 2 – 4). The final study moved to a more ecologically valid test in which White participants introduced themselves to ostensibly real interaction partners, measuring self-presentation through text-based analysis of participants’ open-ended responses (Study 5). See Table 1 for a summary of all studie

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Five studies found preliminary evidence that White liberals (but not conservatives) present less competence to a Black (versus White) interaction partner. The competence downshift emerged among self-identified Democrats in Study 1, self-reported liberals in Studies 2 and 3, values-based liberals (i.e., low-RWA Whites) in Study 3, and hierarchy-based liberals (i.e., low-SDO Whites) in Study 5. These liberal Whites presented significantly less competence to a Black interaction partner than they did to a White interaction partner. Specifically, these White liberals presented less competence (Studies 2 and 3) and used fewer competence-related words (Studies 1 and 5) when responding with a Black interaction partner than with a White one. While liberals also tended to describe themselves as less competent in Study 4, though this effect did not reach significance (ps > .115). Across all studies, shifts in White conservatives’ self-presentation of competence did not reach significance (see Study S1 for an exception, wherein conservatives engaged in a competence upshift). Ultimately, White liberals were more likely than White conservatives to present less competence to a Black (versus White) interaction partner.

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The competence downshift is a subtle, but persistent effect that is unique to White liberals. The authors tend to subscribe to the notion that, while no single study can provide a conclusive answer to the “realness” of a phenomenon, a series of replications can do so more successfully. In all studies but one (Study 4), at least one indicator of conservatism revealed a significant competence downshift among liberal respondents (an exception is found in Study S1, see the Supplemental Materials for details). An internal meta-analysis revealed that, across studies, the competence downshift was significant among self-reported liberals and hierarchy-based liberals. Separate examination of the effects found within each study (see Table 6) reveals that, importantly, the pattern of results is consistent across studies for each indicator of conservatism. However, no one indicator of conservatism significantly predicted a competence downshift for each study. The competence downshift reached significance among self-reported liberals in 3 out of 6 studies, among values-based liberals in 1 out of 3 studies, and among hierarchy-based liberals in 1 out of 4 studies

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