Confronting Perpetrators of Prejudice: The Inhibitory Effects of Social Costs

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the extent to which social costs influence whether or not targets of prejudice confront individuals who behave in a prejudiced manner during interpersonal interactions. Consistent with our predictions, we found that although women believe they will confront perpetrators of prejudice regardless of the social costs, in reality, they are less likely to confront male perpetrators in high social cost situations. Implications for how targets cope with prejudice and discrimination are discussed.