Hungarian Roma and musical talent: Minority group members’ experiences of an apparently positive stereotype

Abstract

Minorities do not always welcome apparently positive stereotypes of their group. At first sight, this may appear churlish. However, we show that minority group members’ theorizing on the production and operation of apparently positive stereotypes helps explain such a negative reaction. Reporting interview data (N = 30) gathered with Hungarian Roma, we differentiated several bases for a negative response to the popular stereotype of Roma as possessing a distinctive musical talent. Although participants recognized the stereotype had instrumental value in easing everyday intergroup encounters, they also reported that the stereotype reflected the majority group’s power to define Roma identity; constrained recognition of qualities that they themselves valued; limited their abilities to act on terms that were their own; and could facilitate the reproduction of more negative Roma stereotypes. Taken together, these findings imply our participants saw this apparently positive stereotype as speaking volumes about the majority’s power to define Roma identity without reference to how they themselves defined their identity. We conclude with a discussion of the analytic value of the concept of ‘misrecognition’ in explaining negative responses to a positive stereotype. We also discuss the potential for such an apparently positive stereotype to facilitate improvements in intergroup relations.

The psychology of diversity and its implications for workplace (in)equality: Looking back at the last decade and forward to the next

“…Despite this, they found that these efforts could also lead to paradoxical career outcomes, for example narrowing attention on roles/career opportunities that reflect only those characteristics, for example, specialist roles, and evaluations that they may not be suitable for other roles requiring a broader skillset, for example, leadership positions. A key element differentiating Dobai and Hopkins (2021) and Fernando and Kenny (2018) is that the Roma people in the former study are considered a much lower socio‐economic class than British Sri Lankans in the latter study, who were found to exercise the advantages that a higher class allowed them, for example, higher levels of autonomy and stronger affiliation with dominant group. Therefore, socio‐economic status is also worth considering here.…”

“…These coalesce around a few broader insights, which we revisit in our suggestions for future research in the following section. One of these relates to the nuances of different forms of stereotypes, for example, how ‘positive’ stereotypes can be strategically harnessed yet are also reflective of a minority group's subordinate position and lack of autonomy (cf., Dobai & Hopkins, 2021; Fernando & Kenny, 2018), and how specific organizational roles and practices elicit prescriptive stereotypes that guide expectations and behavior within that context (e.g., Burmeister et al, 2018). Another broad insight gained is in relation to the role of the wider social context in signalling a discriminatory versus inclusive climate, and in generating threats versus safety cues, as particularly salient for how individuals navigate their identities and behaved to others (cf.…”

“…Similar to RIT, contextualization is key; individuals interpret their multiple identities within the broader structures and institutions in which they are located, and thus power and inequality are dynamic and fluid within interpersonal, organizational, and societal contexts (Hwang & Beauregard, 2021). Working together with sociologists and organizational studies scholars, psychologists are uniquely qualified to extend the insights produced by our review regarding different forms of stereotypes and how these can be linked to organizational roles and practices (Burmeister et al, 2018; Dobai & Hopkins, 2021; Fernando & Kenny, 2018) by assessing individuals’ understanding of their social identities and helping to situate these in a wider context, drawing together multiple levels of analysis in one integrated framework. Future research could also gain a deeper understanding of the psychology of socially dominant groups and of privileged employees and supervisors, who may not perceive their privileges as such.…”

“…The nuanced effects of positive stereotypes and positive distinctiveness Dobai and Hopkins's (2021) study of Roma people highlights that from the minority group's perspective, what may appear to be a positive distinctive stereotype about their group may be a misrecognition or misrepresentation, which signals the minority group's subordinate position and may limit their opportunities for autonomy. Importantly, positive stereotypes may be problematic when they illustrate the power and instrumentality of the dominant in-group to define the bounds within which the minority group are valued and can be successful.…”

Ethnic identity concealment and disclosure: Contexts and strategies

“…Most obviously, it can result in one having to orient to others’ assumptions about one's identity which limits one's autonomy in self‐definition. Indeed, to the degree that one is defined by others in terms that are not one's own, there is enormous potential for the misrecognition of one's other (valued) social identifications (Dobai & Hopkins, 2021; Hopkins, 2011; Hopkins & Blackwood, 2011). Our own data hint at participants’ desire to experience the world without the limitation of always having just one of their identities foregrounded without regard to their own wishes.…”