Effects of Exposure to Alcohol-related Cues on Racial Discrimination

Effects of Exposure to Alcohol-related Cues on Racial Discrimination. Elena Stepanova et al.
European Journal of Social Psychology, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.2325/full

Abstract: Prior research has shown that exposure to alcohol-related images exacerbates expression of implicit racial biases, and that brief exposure to alcohol-related words increases aggressive responses. However, the potential for alcohol cue exposure to elicit differential aggression against a Black (outgroup) relative to a White (ingroup) target — that is, racial discrimination — has never been investigated. Here, we found that White participants (N = 92) exposed to alcohol-related words made harsher judgments of a Black experimenter who had frustrated them than participants who were exposed to nonalcohol words. These findings suggest that exposure to alcohol cues increases discriminatory behaviors toward Blacks.