Black and Latinx conservatives ’upshift’ competence to white audiences

When communicating in mostly white settings, politically conservative Black and Latinx Americans use words associated with competence more often than their liberal counterparts, distancing themselves from negative racial stereotypes, according to a new study by Yale social psychologist Cydney Dupree. The study, published Human Behavior , combined several experiments to show that Black and Latinx conservatives, specifically those who are less concerned with social and economic inequality ("hierarchy-based conservatives"), are more likely to adopt language associated with power, status, and ability than liberals when addressing white people or operating in predominantly white spaces, including the halls of Congress.    " Despite common misconceptions, Black and Latinx Americans hold varied political beliefs," said Dupree, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Yale School of Management. "Those who are more conservative - specifically, those not so concerned about inequality - tend to distance themselves from their racial ingroup. " I predicted that, when talking to white people, Black and Latinx conservatives would distance themselves from negative ingroup stereotypes, such as those labeling them as lower in competence. My findings supported that prediction. When addressing whites, Black and Latinx conservatives use language associated with competence more frequently than their liberal counterparts, reversing stereotypes." In the study's first two experiments, Dupree analyzed 250,000 remarks made in Congress and then nearly 1 million tweets posted by Black, Latinx, and white politicians for content associated with competence.