Conflicted but Aware: Emotional Ambivalence Buffers Defensive Responding to Implicit Bias Feedback

Abstract

In the present article, we introduce emotional ambivalence - the simultaneous experience of positive and negative emotions – as a buffer against defensive responding to implicit bias feedback (IAT). Three studies (N=926) demonstrate that emotional ambivalence reduces defensive responding to implicit bias feedback and, in turn, yields greater awareness of bias in the self and others. In study 1 and 2, we manipulated implicit bias feedback and find that defensive responding is moderated by self-reported emotional ambivalence. Bias feedback increased defensive responding among individuals low in emotional ambivalence, but this effect is attenuated for individuals high in emotional ambivalence. Further, the interaction between implicit bias feedback and emotional ambivalence has an indirect effect on bias awareness through its direct impact on defensive responding. We replicate these findings in study 3, in which we experimentally manipulate emotional ambivalence before providing participants with accurate feedback based on their performance on an implicit measure of racial bias. Across all 3 studies defensive responding mediates the effect of emotional ambivalence on bias awareness. Results suggest that emotional ambivalence increases bias awareness by rendering individuals more receptive to potentially threatening information about their own unconscious racial bias. These findings have important implications for research on stereotyping and prejudice, emotional ambivalence, and defensiveness.