aversive racism

a form of racial prejudice felt by individuals who outwardly endorse egalitarian attitudes and values but nonetheless experience negative emotions in the presence of members of certain racial groups, particularly in ambiguous circumstances. For example, if a White employer who supports equality nonetheless favors White candidates over Black candidates in job interviews when all the individuals’ qualifications for the position are unclear, then he or she is demonstrating aversive racism. See also modern racism.

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Psychology term of the day

January 21st 2025

latent trait theory

a general psychometric theory contending that observed traits, such as intelligence, are reflections of more basic unobservable traits (i.e., latent traits). Several quantitative models (e.g., item response theory, factor analysis) have been developed to allow for the identification and estimation of these latent traits from manifest observations.