A Note on Motivated Cognition and Discriminatory Beliefs

Lasse Stötzer () and Florian Zimmermann
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Lasse Stötzer: Institute on Behavior and Inequality

No 203, ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series from University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany

Abstract: In this note, we provide evidence that motivated reasoning can be a source of discriminatory beliefs. We employ a representative survey experiment where we exogenously manipulate the presence of a need for justi cation of anti-social behavior towards an out-group. We provide causal evidence that survey participants devalue members of an out-group to justify taking away money from the group. Our results speak to a long-standing debate on the causes of racism and discrimination and suggest an important role of motivated cognition.

Keywords: discrimination; stereotypes; racism; motivated reasoning; beliefs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2022-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-neu
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https://www.econtribute.de/RePEc/ajk/ajkdps/ECONtribute_203_2022.pdf First version, 2022 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: A note on motivated cognition and discriminatory beliefs (2024)
Working Paper: A Note on Motivated Cognition and Discriminatory Beliefs (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:203

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