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The Force of Fear: Police Stereotype Threat, Self-Legitimacy, and Support for Excessive Force

The Force of Fear: Police Stereotype Threat, Self-Legitimacy, and Support for Excessive Force Researchers have linked police officers’ concerns with appearing racist—a kind of stereotype threat—to racial disparities in the use of force. This study presents the first empirical test of the hypothesized psychological mechanism linking stereotype threat to police support for violence. We hypothesized that stereotype threat undermines officers’ self-legitimacy, or the confidence they have in their inherent authority, encouraging overreliance on coercive policing to maintain control. Officers (n = 784) from the patrol division of a large urban police force completed a survey in order to test this hypothesis. Respondents completed measures of stereotype threat, self-legitimacy, resistance to use of force policy, approval of unreasonable force, and endorsement of procedurally fair policing. Structural equation models showed that elevated stereotype threat was associated with lower self-legitimacy (β = −.15), which in turn was associated with more resistance to restrictions on force (β = −.17), greater approval of unreasonable force (β = −.31), and lower endorsement of fair policing (β = .57). These results reveal that concerns about appearing racist are actually associated with increased support for coercive policing—potentially further eroding public trust. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Law and Human Behavior American Psychological Association

The Force of Fear: Police Stereotype Threat, Self-Legitimacy, and Support for Excessive Force

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Publisher
American Psychological Association
Copyright
© 2019 American Psychological Association
ISSN
0147-7307
eISSN
1573-661X
DOI
10.1037/lhb0000339
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Researchers have linked police officers’ concerns with appearing racist—a kind of stereotype threat—to racial disparities in the use of force. This study presents the first empirical test of the hypothesized psychological mechanism linking stereotype threat to police support for violence. We hypothesized that stereotype threat undermines officers’ self-legitimacy, or the confidence they have in their inherent authority, encouraging overreliance on coercive policing to maintain control. Officers (n = 784) from the patrol division of a large urban police force completed a survey in order to test this hypothesis. Respondents completed measures of stereotype threat, self-legitimacy, resistance to use of force policy, approval of unreasonable force, and endorsement of procedurally fair policing. Structural equation models showed that elevated stereotype threat was associated with lower self-legitimacy (β = −.15), which in turn was associated with more resistance to restrictions on force (β = −.17), greater approval of unreasonable force (β = −.31), and lower endorsement of fair policing (β = .57). These results reveal that concerns about appearing racist are actually associated with increased support for coercive policing—potentially further eroding public trust.

Journal

Law and Human Behavior – American Psychological Association

Published: Oct 15, 2019

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