Not in my group: Protecting group reputation by excluding stereotypical targets

Across many societies, there are racial minority groups that are negatively stereotyped. In the US and Brazil, for instance, Black individuals are unjustifiably stereotyped with criminality by non-Black individuals. Consequently, in situations where this negative stereotype could apply, Black individuals may be more motivated to protect their group's reputation than individuals from non-stereotyped groups. This research extended the literature on racial categorization processes and stereotype threat by identifying a novel mechanism that increases the exclusion of undesirable potential ingroup targets. Across four experiments with Black and non-Black Brazilians and Americans (n = 1202), we show that when perceivers from negatively stereotyped groups (e.g., Black individuals) can exclude targets who reinforce negative stereotypes of the ingroup, they will do so to avoid further threats to their group's public reputation. We also explore cross-cultural variability (Brazilians vs. Americans) in the level of impact of group reputation threats in shaping racial categorization.