Responding to Failure: Essays on Racial Ingroup Bias in Political Judgments Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Nyron N. Crawford, M.A. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Kathleen M. McGraw, Advisor Ismail K. White, Advisor Wendy G. Smooth Thomas E. Nelson Copyright by Nyron N. Crawford 2014 Abstract In this dissertation, I use data collected from three experiments to examine the dynamics of racial ingroup bias. In particular, I look at the extent to which same-race politicians are either sanctioned or protected when they are linked to negative political events. I examine how different scenarios, or failure events, could have an impact on ingroup members’ judgments of a same-race elected official. In the first empirical chapter, I use an experiment to test the effects of an incumbent mayor’s race and the condition of his city on judgments of accountability for the incumbent (and candidates in an upcoming election). The second empirical chapter examines this bias in the context of an alleged scandal (i.e., sexual infidelity, financial impropriety), and considers whether socially reprehensible transgressions can be politically damaging, insofar as they preclude the accused elected official from the benefits of their group’s protection. Finally, the third empirical chapter experimentally explores the limits of black racial group loyalty as it relates to marginalized subgroups and subtypes of African Americans. Specifically, it investigates whether non-protypical black officials (i.e., female, homosexual, Republican) of the ingroup benefit similarly from ingroup bias when they are linked to a negative political event. In general, I argue that racial minorities (i.e., blacks), disadvantaged by unequal representation, engage in group-serving biases that tend to protect same-race politicians who are beset by political or moral dilemmas. ii Acknowledgments There are many people who deserve and have my gratitude, for without their support, guidance, and encouragement, this moment would not have been possible. I would like to first express my deepest appreciation to my dissertation committee: Kathleen M. McGraw, Ismail K. White, Wendy G. Smooth and Thomas E. Nelson. It has been to my great benefit to have a committee that recognized my potential as a political scientist, and that would make the necessary investments into my success. I want to begin by thanking Professor Nelson, who first introduced me to experimental methodology and the construction of effective questionnaires in the beginning years of graduate school, and whose talent for research design has had a lasting effect. I would also like to thank Professor Smooth, who, through her work on race and gender, has always challenged me to think broadly, and more critically, about how I approach issues of identity. I especially want to thank my dissertation co-chairs, Professor McGraw and Professor White, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. I was the beneficiary of their guidance and their advocacy well in advance of being their student on record, and so words cannot express how thankful I am to them for always casting a vote of confidence in my favor. To them, I extend my heartfelt appreciation. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues in the Department of Political Science at Ohio State. I was fortunate to enter graduate school with an incredibly talented iii and supportive cohort, which included Jason Morgan, Emily Lamb, Eunbin Cheung, Emily Lynch, Joshua Wu, C. Travis Bunner, and Grant Christiansen. A special thank you is offered to Jeff Budziak, who, for no reason other than I asked, always went out of his way to help me sort through my statistical confusion in my first few years. He was always gracious and charitable with his time. I would also like to thank Harwood K. McClerking, my former advisor, for seeing my potential and encouraging me to apply to Ohio State; and Corrine McConnaughy for being an advocate on my behalf. Thanks to J. Bryan Cole, Darrylynn Montague, Jason Keiber, Josh Kertzer, Joshua Wu, Katy Powers, Julian Wamble, and Marina Duque for their camaraderie and support. To my fellow Americanists, Dustin Carnahan and Emily K. Lynch, you have both been great friends, and I am all the better for the time we’ve shared. To my academic partner, Chryl N. Laird, thank you for always helping me build something better and for always being a friend. My special thanks are extended to my family and my friends outside of political science; they have offered support and encouragement to me while in graduate school: Jonathan C. Hall, Edwin Lee, DeLeon Gray, Ron Parker, Tony Gass, Justin McGee, Melissa Crum, Tamara Butler, Brea Heidelberg, Laura Kaplan, Brandon Manning, Damien and Camille Robinson, Marc D. Lee, Mrs. Drake, Julia Jordan-Zachery, and Lorenzo Morris. I am particularly grateful for the love, patience, and friendship of my partner Fashina M. Aladé, and friends like Robert A. Bennett, III, Brea Heidelberg, Marcus T. Coleman, Grant Crusor, Lindsey Ardrey, and Koshonna Brown. I would like to offer a special thanks to James L. Moore, III, Ruth Peterson, and Cyndi Freeman, whose graciousness and inclusiveness enriched my graduate experience. iv For their financial and/or technical assistance with the collection of data, I want to thank: Herb Weisberg, Rick Herrmann, and Diana Camella in the Department of Political Science (Madison Scott Grant); Kathleen R. Wallace in the Graduate School (Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship; Preparing Future Faculty Program); the American Political Science Association (Marguerite Ross Barnett Endowment Grant); the Criminal Justice Research Center (Student Research Grant); the Behavioral Decision Making Initiative (Small Grants Program); the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (Diversity Research Grant); Patrice Dickerson and the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (Graduate Student Research Grant); the Black Graduate and Professional Student Caucus (William E. Nelson Research Grant); and James L. Moore, III, and the Todd A. Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male (Research Development Gift); Kim Mealy and the American Political Science Association (Minority Fellows Program). I am incredibly grateful to all of these sponsors, whose support allowed me to recruit underrepresented populations of interest for the experiments herein. I wish to also acknowledge the help provided to me by Denise Huggins, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Central State University (CSU), who, without knowing me, went above and beyond to accommodate me at CSU. I would like to express my great appreciation to Dan Lee, Panels Account Manager at Qualtrics, who helped me secure the necessary participants for the Chapters 3 and 4. I would also like to thank the Department of Political Science at MIT, especially Melissa Nobles and Adam Berinsky, for their hospitality and generosity during my time as a predoctoral fellow. Last, I especially appreciate the experiences and opportunities made possible by my participation in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program at Howard University v and the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute at Duke University. These programs have set out to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented groups, and to increase the diversity of those who pursue academic careers. I am inspired by – and incredibly thankful for – the extraordinary work and commitment of people like Christal L. Evans (McNair) and Paula D. McClain (Bunche); they are true champions of diversity and inclusion in higher education. I also want to acknowledge several of the friends that I’ve made while participating in these programs, all of whom are brilliant in their own right and on their way to do great things: Koshonna Brown, Camille D. Burge, Chris Towler, Rachel Gillum, and Mai Hassan. While I am grateful to all those listed above, I alone am responsible for the work (and any mistakes) that follows. vi Vita 2004 ......................................................................... Danbury High School 2008 ......................................................................... B.A. Political Science, Howard University 2011 ......................................................................... M.A. Political Science, The Ohio State University 2011 to 2013 .......................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University 2011 to present ...................................................... Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University 2013 to present ...................................................... Diversity Dissertation Fellow, Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Fields of Study Major Field: Political Science Minor Field: Political Psychology Primary Areas of Interest: American Politics, Political Psychology, Race and Ethnic Politics, Urban Politics, Public Opinion vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... iii Vita ...................................................................................................................................................