CONSEQUENCES OF BIAS: PERSONAL COSTS OF PREJUDICE ON HAPPINESS, HEALTH AND LIFE-SATISFACTION IN A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26577/JPsS.2024.v88.i1.05Abstract
Prejudice is certainly consequential for the victim’s well-being but the consequence of the same for perpetrators of prejudice is not clear-cut. This study therefore explores the impact of prejudice culpability on individuals' happiness, subjective health, and life satisfaction using cross-national data.
Analyzing secondary data from the 2017-2020 European Values Survey (N = 58,103) and the 2017-2021 World Values Survey (N = 76,897) across 81 countries, the study focuses on three indicators of prejudice: prejudice against immigrants, racial prejudice, and prioritizing national individuals for employment during job scarcity. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were employed to assess the equality of mean scores for happiness, subjective health, and life satisfaction among respondents exhibiting prejudice or aversion to it.
Results reveal that respondents culpable of prejudice against immigrants constituted 21.7%, racial prejudice was at 15.5%, and 66% were culpable of prioritizing national people for employment. Mean±SD scores indicate that happiness was 3.13±0.69 (min. = 1, max. = 4), subjective health was 3.77±0.90 (min. = 1, max. = 5), and life satisfaction was 7.20±2.18 (min. = 1, max. = 10). Notably, individuals culpable of all three forms of prejudice experienced significantly poorer happiness, subjective health, and life satisfaction (p < 0.05).
Contrary to the notion that prejudice exclusively harms its victims, this study underscores the negative consequences of prejudice for both victims and perpetrators. Recognizing the adverse personal effects on those holding biased views offers a valuable perspective for designing interventions aimed at reducing prejudice. Hence, this nuanced understanding can inform the development of more holistic and effective prejudice reduction interventions.
Keywords: Prejudice reduction intervention, immigrants, outgroup, subjective well-being
