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A new psychological concept called “lay theories of diversity initiatives” may help explain why diversity programs sometimes face resistance from White Americans. This concept encompasses two distinct beliefs: “zero-sum beliefs,” which see diversity as a trade-off where minorities gain at the expense of Whites, and “win-win beliefs,” which see diversity as mutually beneficial. The findings, published in the journal Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, suggest that these beliefs influence whether majority group members resist or embrace diversity policies
Organizations across the United States invest heavily in diversity initiatives, which aim to create more inclusive environments and improve opportunities for underrepresented groups. While these initiatives can have positive outcomes for both minority and majority group members, they are sometimes met with resistance from majority group members, such as White Americans.
In their new study, the researchers aimed to understand this resistance by investigating the underlying beliefs people hold about diversity initiatives. Previous research has shown that majority group members may perceive diversity initiatives as a threat to their economic opportunities, social status, sense of belonging, or desire for fair treatment. These perceptions often stem from a belief that efforts to help underrepresented groups will inherently disadvantage majority groups. However, not all majority group members share this view, and the study sought to explore the different beliefs that shape people’s responses to diversity initiatives.
The researchers conducted three separate studies to develop and validate their new measures of zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs.
In the first study, 548 American adults completed surveys designed to measure these beliefs. Participants were presented with statements such as “When organizations increase diversity, it ends up hurting White people” (assessing zero-sum beliefs) and “Everyone benefits when organizations increase diversity” (assessing win-win beliefs). Statistical analyses confirmed that these two belief systems were distinct from each other, rather than being opposite ends of the same spectrum. Further analyses confirmed the two-factor structure and demonstrated that the scales were reliable and valid across different demographic groups, including gender, race and ethnicity, and political ideology.
The second study aimed to further validate the new scales and examine their relationships with other established measures. A sample of 476 White American adults completed the zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs scales, along with measures of social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, old-fashioned racism, modern racism, system-justifying beliefs, symbolic threat, realistic threat, prototypicality threat, outgroup contact, social desirability, trait optimism, and trait pessimism.
Participants also rated their attitudes toward diversity initiatives, their anticipated feelings of social identity threat in a diverse workplace, their support for affirmative action, and their endorsement of colorblindness and multiculturalism.
The results showed that zero-sum beliefs were positively correlated with measures associated with resistance to diversity, such as social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, and system-justifying beliefs. Zero-sum beliefs were also related to perceiving other racial groups as a threat and to higher levels of old-fashioned and modern racism. In contrast, win-win beliefs showed the opposite pattern, being negatively correlated with these measures.
Importantly, neither zero-sum beliefs nor win-win beliefs were significantly related to social desirability, trait optimism, or trait pessimism, indicating that they are not simply capturing a tendency to respond in socially approved ways or to view events in a generally positive or negative light.
Further analyses demonstrated that both zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs uniquely predicted participants’ responses to diversity initiatives. Higher zero-sum beliefs predicted more negative attitudes toward diversity efforts, less support for affirmative action, and greater feelings of identity threat in a diverse workplace. Win-win beliefs, on the other hand, predicted more positive attitudes, greater support for affirmative action, and reduced identity threat. These relationships held even after controlling for other established measures, such as social dominance orientation, modern racism, and political ideology.
Additionally, the study found that zero-sum beliefs predicted greater endorsement of colorblindness, while win-win beliefs predicted greater support for multiculturalism. Exploratory analyses revealed that win-win beliefs could buffer the negative effects of zero-sum beliefs. Specifically, the relationship between zero-sum beliefs and negative attitudes toward diversity was weaker among individuals with higher levels of win-win beliefs.
The third study examined how zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs influenced White individuals’ reactions to a specific diversity policy. A sample of 1,387 White American adults read a mission statement from a hypothetical consulting company that espoused either a colorblind or a multicultural diversity policy. The colorblind policy emphasized similarities between people and stated that the company looked beyond characteristics such as gender or ethnic background when making employment decisions. The multicultural policy celebrated diversity and stated that the company valued diverse characteristics when making employment decisions.
Participants then imagined they were hired by the company and completed measures of social identity threat, including belonging, bias expectations, and interracial anxiety. They also completed the zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs scales, as well as measures of social dominance orientation, modern racism, and political ideology.
The results showed that both zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs uniquely predicted feelings of social identity threat, even after controlling for social dominance orientation, modern racism, and political ideology. As in Study 2, an interaction between zero-sum beliefs and win-win beliefs emerged. Among individuals with lower levels of win-win beliefs, higher zero-sum beliefs predicted greater identity threat.
However, this relationship was weaker among individuals with average levels of win-win beliefs and was not significant among those with higher levels of win-win beliefs. Furthermore, exploratory analyses revealed a three-way interaction between the diversity policy manipulation, zero-sum beliefs, and win-win beliefs. Among participants who read the multicultural policy, the relationship between zero-sum beliefs and identity threat was stronger for those with lower levels of win-win beliefs compared to those with average or higher levels of win-win beliefs. This suggests that win-win beliefs can mitigate the perceived threat of multicultural policies among individuals with higher zero-sum beliefs.
The research provides insights into the beliefs that shape majority group members’ responses to diversity initiatives. However, there are some limitations to consider. The studies primarily focused on White individuals, and future research should examine how these beliefs operate among other racial and ethnic groups.
Additionally, the correlational nature of the studies does not allow for causal conclusions. While it is reasonable to expect that these beliefs have causal effects on reactions to diversity, future research should manipulate these beliefs to examine their causal impact. Finally, the research focused on diversity initiatives related to race, and future research could examine whether these beliefs apply to other dimensions of identity, such as gender, age, and sexual orientation.
“The present research offers a theoretical framework for understanding majority group members’ responses to diversity efforts,” the researchers concluded. “People can differ on lay theories of diversity initiatives, specifically, how much they hold zero-sum or win-win beliefs about diversity initiatives. Furthermore, zero-sum and win-win beliefs may both help explain majority group members’ backlash against and support for organizational diversity initiatives.”
The study, “Lay theories of diversity initiatives: Theory and measurement of zero-sum and win-win beliefs,” was authored by Taylor Ballinger, Tao Jiang, and Jennifer Crocker.
