Description

Prior research documents that the ethnic diversity of people’s environment predicts implicit biases (Sadler et al., 2021). People reared in areas characterized by a higher proportion of Asian Americans (minority representation) have been shown to display a weaker tendency to implicitly view Asian Americans as less American than European Americans (implicit American = White effect) (Devos & Sadler, 2019). We expanded on these findings by integrating the concept of right-wing authoritarianism, that is the degree to which conformity and traditional norms or values are supported (Duckitt & Sibley, 2017). The present study explored the extent to which right-wing authoritarianism mediated and moderated the negative relationship between minority representation and the implicit American = White effect at the county level. Participants (N = 633,696) were on average 28.07 years old (SD = 12.65) and were mostly White (44%) and Asian (34%) Americans. A total of 791 counties were included in the analyses. The Asian-European American identity Implicit Association Test available on Project Implicit was used to assess the implicit American = White effect. Data from the 2010 U.S. Census were used to measure the proportion of Asian residents at the county level (minority representation). The right-wing authoritarianism scale was also administered through Project Implicit. Multiple linear regressions were used to analyze data aggregated at the county level. Results showed that right-wing authoritarianism partially mediated the relationship between minority representation and the implicit American = White effect. As the proportion of Asian Americans increased in counties, the preference for social cohesion and traditional norms decreased, allowing for greater inclusion of Asian Americans into the American identity. Results also indicated that right-wing authoritarianism moderated the relationship between minority representation and the implicit American = White effect. A higher proportion of Asian Americans was associated with increased inclusion of Asian Americans in the American identity, especially in counties with low levels of right-wing authoritarianism. When local norms are already more open to nonconformity and nontraditional values, there might be more acceptance of the increasing representation of Asian Americans. This study provides insight into the role that right-wing authoritarianism plays at the context level.