Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Transforming fiction into fact: Flawed reality—monitoring of socially sensitive person—information

Rohner, Jean-Christophe LU ; Björklund, Fredrik LU orcid and Mårtensson, Johan LU (2007) In Lund Psychological Reports
Abstract
In the present experiment we examined reality monitoring for socially sensitive and non-sensitive information relating to prejudice (negative and positive beliefs about an ethnic minority). At study, participants either imagined or perceived negative or positive attributes in connection with photographs of target individuals that clearly varied in ethnicity (non-western or western). At test, the task was to determine if they had imagined or perceived an attribute in connection with each target person from the study phase. We predicted that participants high in motivation to control prejudice would avoid responding that they had generated (imagined) socially sensitive information (i.e. negative attributes in connection with non-western... (More)
In the present experiment we examined reality monitoring for socially sensitive and non-sensitive information relating to prejudice (negative and positive beliefs about an ethnic minority). At study, participants either imagined or perceived negative or positive attributes in connection with photographs of target individuals that clearly varied in ethnicity (non-western or western). At test, the task was to determine if they had imagined or perceived an attribute in connection with each target person from the study phase. We predicted that participants high in motivation to control prejudice would avoid responding that they had generated (imagined) socially sensitive information (i.e. negative attributes in connection with non-western targets), and instead respond that such information was presented. Results confirmed this prediction: Motivation to control prejudice was connected with a bias towards responding "perceived" (instead of "imagined") when source-decisions were made in regard to the socially sensitive combination non-western + negative. This pattern appeared for both perceived and imagined combinations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Book/Report
publication status
published
subject
keywords
reality monitoring, source monitoring, stereotypes, prejudice
in
Lund Psychological Reports
pages
11 pages
publisher
Department of Psychology, Lund University
report number
Vol 8 no 1
ISSN
1404-8035
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
47e1b6e9-6c45-4e65-b333-1e657ff69f21 (old id 644663)
alternative location
http://www.psychology.lu.se/forskning/LundPsychReports.asp
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:32:12
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:42:09
@techreport{47e1b6e9-6c45-4e65-b333-1e657ff69f21,
  abstract     = {{In the present experiment we examined reality monitoring for socially sensitive and non-sensitive information relating to prejudice (negative and positive beliefs about an ethnic minority). At study, participants either imagined or perceived negative or positive attributes in connection with photographs of target individuals that clearly varied in ethnicity (non-western or western). At test, the task was to determine if they had imagined or perceived an attribute in connection with each target person from the study phase. We predicted that participants high in motivation to control prejudice would avoid responding that they had generated (imagined) socially sensitive information (i.e. negative attributes in connection with non-western targets), and instead respond that such information was presented. Results confirmed this prediction: Motivation to control prejudice was connected with a bias towards responding "perceived" (instead of "imagined") when source-decisions were made in regard to the socially sensitive combination non-western + negative. This pattern appeared for both perceived and imagined combinations.}},
  author       = {{Rohner, Jean-Christophe and Björklund, Fredrik and Mårtensson, Johan}},
  institution  = {{Department of Psychology, Lund University}},
  issn         = {{1404-8035}},
  keywords     = {{reality monitoring; source monitoring; stereotypes; prejudice}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{Vol 8 no 1}},
  series       = {{Lund Psychological Reports}},
  title        = {{Transforming fiction into fact: Flawed reality—monitoring of socially sensitive person—information}},
  url          = {{http://www.psychology.lu.se/forskning/LundPsychReports.asp}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}