Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2019, Volume 10, Issue 1
Racial Biases Towards Homeless Individuals
Racial Biases Towards Homeless Individuals and the Propensity to Help Anastasia Knight
Homelessness, defined as lacking a “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD; 2016, p. 2), is a pervasive issue in the United States. Emerging as a social epidemic in the 1870s, over half a million individuals today are homeless (HUD, 2016). Despite an indicated increase in the support of homeless rights, negative stigma targeting homeless individuals in individual interactions persists (Agans et al., 2011; Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2008; Tsai, Yun See Lee, Pietrzak, & Southwick, 2017). Perceptions of homeless individuals include negative and skewed interpretations of their honesty, responsibility, and intelligence (Agans et al., 2011; Boster et al., 2016; Cuddy et al., 2008). Research suggests that public displays of panhandling, sleeping on the street, and other survival behaviors intensify negative stigmas by triggering the emotional reactions of guilt, shame, and disgust on the part of the observer. Thus, in an attempt to avoid these emotions, the general public often increases their social distance from homeless individuals (Boster et al., 2016; Phelan, Link, Moore, & Stueve, 1997). Negative stigmas and perceptions of the homeless population are further impacted by the disproportionate homelessness rates of Black and African-American individuals since the 1980s (Carter, 2011; Whaley & Link, 1998). In the United States, 41% of the national homeless population identifies as Black or African-American, despite being only 14% of the country’s population (Carter, 2011; HUD, 2016). Racial biases, therefore, play a major role in the explicit beliefs and actions taken towards homeless individuals, including increased social distance and differences in stereotypes (Parrillo & Donoghue, 2005; Whaley & Link, 1998). For example, White individuals who believe that the homeless population has a higher representation of Black individuals are more likely to perceive the homeless as dangerous, and subsequently homeless individuals report high rates of racial discrimination (Whaley & Link, 1998; Zerger et al., 2014). Additionally, Black homeless individuals who perceive racial bias from others tend to have worse physical and mental health outcomes than their White counterparts (Weisz & Quinn, 2018). Negative health outcomes can often lead to social avoidance on the part of the marginalized individual, increasing isolation and feelings of subhuman status (Torino & Sisselman-Borgia, 2016; Zerger et al., 2014). As homeless individuals continue to report that they experience racial bias, as portrayed through looks and comments from nonhomeless individuals, the negative consequences may continue to snowball, and homeless individuals may even place blame on
non-homeless individuals for their housing context (Torino & Sisselman-Borgia, 2016; Zerger et al., 2014). Furthermore, regardless of how racial bias is portrayed, perceived racial biases by the homeless remains the same, which may be due to implicit bias theory (Greenwald & Kreiger, 2006; Torino & Sisselman-Borgia, 2016; Weisz & Quinn, 2018; Zerger et al., 2014). Implicit biases, or unconscious beliefs, have become a popular subject in psychological research and have been shown to impact human behavior regardless of explicit, or conscious, beliefs (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006; Holroyd, Scaife, & Stafford, 2017). In particular, implicit racial biases (i.e., implicit biases that target people of color) have a strong effect on social interactions (Dovidio, Kawakami, & Gaertner, 2002; McConnell & Leibold, 2001). While implicit racial bias has been studied in various work environments and has been shown to impact the outcomes of legal treatment and health care (Hall et al., 2015; Kang et al., 2011), it has not yet been investigated in the context of homelessness. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore how implicit racial bias affects one’s propensity to help homeless individuals, since actions are often driven by implicit bias, rather than explicit beliefs (Dovidio et al., 2002; Wilson, Lindsey, & Schooler, 2000). Consideration to this topic is important given the direct implications it has for Black homeless individuals in particular. In fact, implicit racial bias could significantly decrease one’s inclination to support and assist Black homeless individuals, compared to their White counterparts, since perceptions of their ability to contribute to society are negatively skewed (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006; Torino & SisselmanBorgia, 2016; Weisz & Quinn, 2018). Furthermore, as racial and homeless biases increase social distance between non-homeless and Black homeless individuals, a lack of action taken to help them may cause further separation, thus increasing isolation and social avoidance on the part of the marginalized individuals (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006; Parrillo & Donoghue, 2005; Torino & Sisselman-Borgia, 2016). Consequently, the current study addressed the following three-part question: Does making the race of homeless individuals more salient lead individuals to respond less positively in their a) stated beliefs, b) implicit biases, c) actions towards homeless individuals? Method Participants This study consists of 51 participants, all of whom were Research Studies and Briefs | 21
