Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice: a person-centered approach

Abstract

With a person-centered approach, the constellations of internal motivation and external motivation to respond without prejudice within individuals are examined, and how these relate to directly and indirectly reported levels of prejudice. Using latent profile analysis, we identified four subgroups of motivated individuals among large national samples of majority members in Germany (N = 1745) and in the Netherlands (N = 1645). With one exception, these subgroups differed in the proportion of prejudiced individuals as well as the average level of self-reported prejudice. Our findings make a contribution to the literature by highlighting the importance of considering how internal and external motivations are organized within individuals for understanding their prejudicial responses.