Framing, Context, and the Misperception of Black-White Wealth Inequality

Abstract

In one large-scale experiment using respondents on MTurk (N = 2,899), we studied how subtle differences in framing and context impact estimates of the Black-White wealth gap. Across our 10 different experimental manipulations of framing and context respondents overestimated Black family wealth relative to White family wealth and these estimates were compared to benchmark data measuring actual median family wealth from the survey of consumer finances. There was substantial variation in the magnitude with which respondents estimated Black-White family wealth equality which ranged from a low of 35 to a high of over 60 percentage points above the benchmark data. Overestimates were largest when respondents were asked about the Black-White wealth gap at two time points and closest to accuracy when respondents used images of gold coins as pictorial comparisons for White and Black wealth. As well, a monetary incentives condition also increased accuracy in estimates of Black-White wealth inequality. Estimates of general wealth inequality and political conservatism were associated with estimates of Black-White wealth equality as in prior work. Overall, the present research highlights how framing and context shift perceptions of racial inequality and suggests a few domains of future research where these framing effects are largest.

White (but Not Black) Americans Continue to See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game; White Conservatives (but Not Moderates or Liberals) See Themselves as Losing

“…Subsequent research has corroborated this zero-sum view. White Americans consistently underestimate the Black-White wealth gap (Kraus et al, 2020), and tend to identify perceived gains by Black people as a threat to their status (Dover et al, 2016). In fact, many White people see themselves as members of an oppressed racial group (King, 2015).…”

Testing the efficacy of three informational interventions for reducing misperceptions of the Black–White wealth gap

“…While ample evidence indicates that narratives can shift people’s beliefs about racial inequality, messages that present concrete data may be necessary to penetrate what appears to be a profound ignorance of the Black–White wealth gap. In particular, the magnitude of the Black–White wealth gap and its associated misperceptions suggest that more detailed data on its magnitude might be needed to help respondents fundamentally recalibrate what they believe to be true ( 2 , 4 ). For instance, general reminders, without data, of the persistence of structural racial inequality do not increase the accuracy of estimates of the Black–White wealth gap relative to a control condition without these reminders ( 30 ).…”

“…The mean estimates generated by respondents in this and other studies were between 40 and 80 percentage points higher for Black family wealth than median statistics collected using the federal government’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), where at the time of this writing, Black families hold $12.81 US in wealth relative to White families ( 3 ). The magnitude of this misperception is vast ( 4 , 5 ). Reducing this perceptual gap, with the larger aim of reducing racial inequality through policy, is the focus of this research.…”

“…For instance, belief in a just world predicts the extent that Americans underestimate racial inequality ( 5 ). In more recent experimental work, efforts to incentivize accuracy through monetary compensation were successful in eliciting more accurate perceptions of racial wealth inequality ( 4 ), suggesting that these misperceptions are, at least in part, motivated by a desire to uphold beliefs in contemporary racial equality ( 21 ). In the following section, we compare the ability of different messaging strategies, based on personal narratives or data, to elicit more realistic perceptions of the Black–White wealth gap.…”

How narratives of racial progress create barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations

“…Evidence indicates that this narrative governs judgments of societal and organizational racial equity. American respondents across surveys tend to believe that society has progressed Narratives of Racial Progress and Organizational Diversity 5 toward greater racial equality across financial outcomes that include employer-provided health benefits, wages, income, and wealth at a pace that far exceeds trends measured by federal government data [8,[12][13][14]. This tendency to adhere to the narrative of racial progress is widespread in American society according to recent surveys: In the largest survey of these misperceptions of progress toward racial equality, a nationally representative sample of American adults estimated Black family wealth for every $100 US held by White families across 12 time points.…”