Assessing Bayesian Racism Scale: Measuring Endorsement of Racial Stereotypes

Abstract

Bayesian racism is the belief that it is rational to discriminate against people based on existing racial stereotypes. The presence of Bayesian racism is strongly associated with negative feelings about minoritized groups and the desire to maintain racially inequitable social hierarchies. A confirmatory factor analysis on the Bayesian Racism Scale (BRS) yielded a unidimensional measure for assessing prejudicial attitudes that endorse stereotypes based on racial and ethnic groups. Findings from the study have important implications for multicultural and social justice research.

Stereotyping Among Graduate Students in Mental Health Fields: An EEG Study

“…Specifically, priming of therapists with stereotypes of black people was subsequently associated with their assessing a fictional client as being more hostile (Abreu, 1999). The use of an explicit measure assessing a construct called Bayesian racism has recently been proposed by scholars for use in the counseling field (Litam et al, 2022;Litam & Balkin, 2021). The proposed Bayesian Racism Scale is a measure of one's belief in the rationality of discriminating based on racial stereotypes (Uhlmann et al, 2010).…”

“…The proposed Bayesian Racism Scale is a measure of one's belief in the rationality of discriminating based on racial stereotypes (Uhlmann et al, 2010). Researchers have suggested that counselors may use their results on this scale to reflect on their own possible tendencies towards stereotyping (Litam & Balkin, 2021).…”