Zhao Xian, Liu Li, Zhang Xiao-xiao, Shi Jia-xin, Huang Zhen-wei
School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America.
School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2014 Mar 12;9(3):e91572. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091572. eCollection 2014.
The current research examined the role of the belief in free will on prejudice across Han Chinese and white samples. Belief in free will refers to the extent to which people believe human beings truly have free will. In Study 1, the beliefs of Han Chinese people in free will were measured, and their social distances from the Tibetan Chinese were used as an index of ethnic prejudice. The results showed that the more that Han Chinese endorsed the belief in free will, the less that they showed prejudice against the Tibetan Chinese. In Study 2, the belief of the Han Chinese in free will was manipulated, and their explicit feelings towards the Uyghur Chinese were used as an indicator of ethnic prejudice. The results showed that the participants in the condition of belief in free will reported less prejudice towards Uyghur Chinese compared to their counterparts in the condition of disbelief in free will. In Study 3, white peoples' belief in free will was manipulated, and their pro-black attitudes were measured as an indirect indicator of racial prejudice. The results showed that, compared to the condition of disbelief in free will, the participants who were primed by a belief in free will reported stronger pro-black attitudes. These three studies suggest that endorsement of the belief in free will can lead to decreased ethnic/racial prejudice compared to denial of the belief in free will. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
当前的研究考察了自由意志信念在汉族和白人样本的偏见形成过程中所起的作用。自由意志信念指的是人们相信人类真正拥有自由意志的程度。在研究1中，测量了汉族人对自由意志的信念，并将他们与中国藏族人的社会距离作为种族偏见的一个指标。结果显示，汉族人越认同自由意志信念，他们对中国藏族人的偏见就越少。在研究2中，对汉族人对自由意志的信念进行了操控，并将他们对中国维吾尔族的明确态度作为种族偏见的一个指标。结果显示，与不信自由意志信念的参与者相比，相信自由意志信念的参与者对中国维吾尔族的偏见更少。在研究3中，对白人的自由意志信念进行了操控，并将他们对黑人的支持态度作为种族偏见的一个间接指标。结果显示，与不信自由意志信念的情况相比，被自由意志信念启动的参与者对黑人的支持态度更强。这三项研究表明，与否认自由意志信念相比，认同自由意志信念能够减少种族偏见。文中讨论了其理论和实践意义。
