2012 Theses Bachelor's

Don’t ask don’t tell: the disclosure of political affiliations and its influence on stereotypes

Rosen, Rachel

This article presents the first study to examine self-revelation and stereotypes of the Republican Party. 150 Columbia University students in Introductory to Psychology courses will engage in a conversation with an interviewer about a Republican ideology (tax cuts) or a neutral ideology (rights for the disabled). The interviewer will reveal himself as a Republican or a confederate will reveal it about them. The participants will then receive a questionnaire based on the conversation that will provide us with their “stereotype score”. I anticipate that there will be more stereotyping and the scores will be stronger when the interviewer reveals themselves and the conversation is about tax cuts. The importance of this study is explained and the need for future research is explored.