Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Journal

Past research has demonstrated that the target disadvantaged group’s perception of allyship behaviors differed by ally race (i.e. advantaged vs. disadvantaged group) and perceived allyship motivations (i.e. sincere vs. ulterior). One possible reason behind this different perception was the differentiation of suspicion level toward allies. Consequently, this can lead to different perceivers’ personal outcomes, such as self-esteem and collective action intention. However, past studies often failed to incorporate these variables into a single framework and establish causal relationships between them. Therefore, the current study aims to manipulate ally races and perceived allyship motivations and directly compare their consequential impacts on the target disadvantaged group. In a two-part survey, Black participants first rated their suspicion level toward White (i.e. advantaged group) and Latino people (i.e. disadvantaged group) in general. Two weeks later, the follow-up survey was conducted. In a 2 (ally race) by 3 (perceived allyship motivation) between-subject design, participants read a news article about a BLM protest where either White allies or Latino allies attended for sincere, ulterior, or ingroup-focused motivations and answered some questions about allyship evaluation and their personal outcomes. A significant correlation between ally race and suspicion level was found. Additionally, perceived sincerity was shown to be a significant mediator between perceived allyship motivations and some of participants’ personal outcomes. Together, the results cast a positive light on the possibility that, in intergroup interactions, individuals may care more about why an action occurs than about who performs it.