PERSONAL RELEVANCE MATTERS: REDUCING RACIAL PRIMING ON DISCUSSION BOARDS ABOUT RACIAL ISSUES IN MARKETING COURSES

Abstract

ABSTRACT The job market puts pressure on marketing educators to adapt the content of their courses to current business events impacted by race, diversity, and gender issues. However, students may experience discomfort when learning about and discussing controversial topics that are not normally discussed in class. To provide tools for educators to tackle this problem, we conducted an experiment using online discussion boards, manipulating the sequence order of the questions asked to the students. A sentiment analysis offered evidence that a specific set of questions can trigger students’ personal relevance, reducing their racial priming. This will increase the students’ willingness to participate in an open discussion about race, diversity, and gender issues with their peers. The main contribution is a specific educational design that allows instructors to incorporate sensitive topics into their marketing courses without jeopardizing the classroom dynamic.