October 22, 2020: Emily Balcetis

(New York University)

https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/faculty/emily-balcetis.html

Perceiving Leadership: Psychological factors that affect support for underrepresented candidates

Why does American leadership continue to suffer from a lack of diversity in politics, business, and our communities? While bias and discrimination continue to perpetuate underrepresentation, I will share research examining our own perceptions of minority leaders and the impact on decisions to support them. I present data investigating the relationship between American’s support for Obama and the visual representations they formed of him prior to the 2008 election—data which I corroborate with experimental studies. Moreover, I present evidence for the situational factors that give rise to motivational orientations that shape White and Black decision-makers’ representations of minority candidates and intentions to support them. Finally, I will share a preliminary look at new research assessing the beliefs that racial minority middle and high school students hold regarding the leadership potential of underrepresented racial groups.

The colloquium will be held on zoom. Please contact slagell.2@osu.edu for the zoom link.