| dc.description.abstract | The current study examines how majority group members react to social change in terms of
ethnic and gender equality, and detects specific factors that influence majority group members
to engage in and support diversity policies. To do this, it considers responses in terms of
emotions and heart rate measures. Guided by literature on the influence that emotions can have
in transforming behavioural intention, we study how frames of privilege awareness and the
perception of social stability interact with emotional responses. Furthermore, it utilises these
frames and theorical knowledge to investigate their relation with diversity policy support
intentions explained by the report of negative emotions. 219 white men were asked to respond
to these frames while being recorded and to engage in a writing and speaking task where heart
rate was measured. The results of the study show that privilege listing is linked with higher
negative emotional responses. In addition, privilege listing predicts higher behavioural
intentions to support diversity policies, and this effect is mediated by negative emotions. The
findings of this study provide potential insight into the importance of managing diversity
policies and their implications, as well as concrete determinants for white men’s behavioural
engagement in social change. | |
