Stereotypes and emotions as moderators of risk and race in judgments about juvenile probationers.

Abstract

Little research has explored the psychological mechanisms underlying racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. In Phase 1, of our mock officer paradigm, participants completed a stereotype content model survey comparing ratings of warmth and competence between juvenile delinquents and other social categories. In Phase 2, participants reviewed a predisposition investigation and made predictions about offender dangerousness and adherence to probation. Randomly assigned to experience fear, anger, or a neutral emotion, participants reviewed either a Black or White juvenile with no risk information versus low-, moderate-, or high-risk information. Participants stereotyped juvenile delinquents as low in warmth and competence and found those individuals extreme on these dimensions more dangerous. However, in some situations, stereotypical warmth interacted with emotions, risk, and race to exert a protective influence; in other situations, it was neutral, and in still others it was detrimental to the youth. For example, fearful participants provided lower dangerousness ratings to a White, high-risk offender as stereotypic warmth increased but this protective effect disappeared for high-risk Black offenders. Furthermore, irrespective of race, increases in warmth predicted higher dangerousness for low-and moderate-risk youth supporting the activation of a less "cold" stereotype that makes youthful offenders appear more dangerous. Public Significance StatementParticipants who stereotyped juvenile delinquents as low in warmth and competence judged a specific juvenile probationer as more dangerous. Furthermore, participants with induced fearfulness about a White, high-risk offender assigned lower dangerousness ratings as stereotypic warmth increased but this protective effect disappeared for ratings of feared high-risk Black offenders. In addition, irrespective of race, increases in warmth predicted higher dangerousness ratings for low-and moderate-risk youth showing that stereotypic warmth can activate a less cold "dangerous youth" stereotype. The results suggest that training in emotion regulation and stereotype debiasing could help reduce racial disparities in the juvenile justice system.