Understanding attitudes toward affirmative action programs in employment: Summary and meta-analysis of 35 years of research.

Abstract

Affirmative action programs (AAPs) are controversial employment policies in the United States and elsewhere. A large body of evidence about attitudinal reactions to AAPs in employment has accumulated over 35 years: at least 126 independent samples involving 29,000 people. However, findings are not firmly established or integrated. In the current article, the authors summarize and meta-analytically estimate relationships of AAP attitudes with (a) structural features of such programs, (b) perceiver demographic and psychological characteristics, (c) interactions of structural features with perceiver characteristics, and (d) presentation of AAP details to perceivers, including justification of the AAP. Results are generally consistent with predictions derived from self-interest considerations, organizational justice theory, and racism theories. They also suggest practical ways in which AAPs might be designed and communicated to employees to reduce attitudinal resistance.

Managing discrimination in selection: The influence of directives from an authority and social dominance orientation.

“…Because we wished to motivate participants to take the selection task seriously, participants were told that in Phase 3 they would participate in a face-to-face group exercise with the people they selected to work with in Phase 2 and that the highest performing group in the laboratory exercise would receive a monetary reward ($100 for each of the four group members). However, Phase 2 was the last component of the study; none of the participants would 1 We choose to focus on job qualifications rather than implement preferential selection criteria because previous research demonstrated that job candidates as well as their coworkers react more positively to situations in which qualifications are explicitly used in selection decisions rather than ambiguous or preferential selection (Harrison, Kravitz, Mayer, Leslie, & Lev-Arey, 2006;Heilman, Battle, Keller, & Lee, 1998). Therefore, we sought to determine if a selection strategy (i.e., focusing on qualifications) that generates positive views from job candidates and coworkers would also lead to less discriminatory responses from those making selection decisions.…”

Measuring employee perception on the effects of cultural diversity at work: development of the Benefits and Threats of Diversity Scale

“…Also, like any type of organizational change, implementing new diversity policies may cause resistance (Thomas and Plaut 2008). Harrison et al (2006) provide a meta-analysis showing how affirmative action programs, some of the most widely used diversity interventions, may have negative impact on majority members' acceptance of diversity. They also mention, however, that these effects may be reduced by the way diversity policies are communicated and justified within the organization.…”

“…Jehn et al 1999;McLeod and Lobel 1992;Van Knippenberg et al 2004). However, successfully managing diversity appears to be difficult, as it is also associated with negative team outcomes (Jehn et al 1999;Mannix and Neale 2005;Van Knippenberg and Schippers 2007) and resistance among employees (Thomas and Plaut 2008;Harrison et al 2006;Antwi-Boasiako 2008).…”

Psychological predictors of cultural diversity support at work.

“…The strongest driver of intentions, for both managers and employees, was attitude towards cultural diversity management promotion. Attitudes are known to be relatively stable and difficult to change (Harrison et al, 2006). Organizations trying to build a cultural inclusive organization may want to focus on attitude, especially when selecting managers.…”

“…They showed that individuals evaluated affirmative action more negatively when they perceived it as employing preferential treatment. Harrison et al (2006) conducted a meta-analysis of studies on attitudes towards affirmative action and showed that the fairer a practice was perceived to be, the more positively it was evaluated. This meta-analysis also revealed that ethnic minorities were more positive than ethnic majority group members towards affirmative action.…”