Anti‐bias training and perceived force climate: Links with prejudiced attitudes in United Kingdom policing

Legate, Nicole; Weinstein, Netta; Graham, Les; Plater, Marisa

Abstract

Anti-bias training has been viewed as the solution to prejudice in organizations, yet the evidence is mixed in real-world settings. Some point to the broader organizational climate that training takes place in as critical, and herein we investigate one aspect: communicating about bias in autonomy-supportive (i.e., non-shaming) ways. Using the 2019 National Well-Being and Inclusion Survey of United Kingdom police officers and staff (n = 34,529 in 43 forces), we tested links of participating in anti-bias training, perceived autonomy-supportive communication, and their interaction on prejudiced attitudes. Results revealed a negligible effect (R2 = 0.001) of participating in anti-bias training but a moderate effect (R2 = 0.05) of perceiving autonomy-supportive communication predicting lower prejudice. Their interaction was significant but negligible (R2 = 0.001): participating in anti-bias training predicted lower prejudice when perceiving autonomy-supportive communication; there was no link between training and attitudes without autonomy-supportive communication. Implications for improving the effectiveness of anti-bias training in applied settings and research are discussed.

Citation

Legate, N., Weinstein, N., Graham, L., & Plater, M. (2023). Anti‐bias training and perceived force climate: Links with prejudiced attitudes in United Kingdom policing. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 33(4), 929-939. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2682

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 4, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 8, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-07
• Deposit Date: May 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 9, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1052-9284
• Electronic ISSN: 1099-1298
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 929-939
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2682
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1174662