New research by Lasse Stötzer and IZA Research Director Florian Zimmermann sheds light on how motivated cognition—where self-interest influences perception—can foster discriminatory beliefs. Now published in Games and Economic Behavior, the study investigates the connection between self-serving motives and the formation of negative stereotypes.
The researchers conducted a carefully designed survey experiment involving a representative sample of 1,200 German adults. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions. In the main treatment, participants had the opportunity to personally benefit by taking money from a 50 EUR donation intended for a pro-immigrant organization. For every euro taken, participants received 50 cents.
After this decision, they were asked to estimate the percentage of refugees who believe that women should not have equal rights in a democracy. The control group, on the other hand, could only reallocate the donation between two pro-immigration organizations, with no financial gain for themselves.
Justifying selfish behavior by devaluing out-groups
The results were striking. Participants who could financially benefit by taking money away from refugees were more likely to express negative beliefs about them. Specifically, these participants estimated a higher percentage of refugees holding regressive views on women’s rights, compared to those in the control group. This suggests that self-interest can lead individuals to justify their selfish behavior by devaluing out-groups—in this case, refugees.
The study further revealed that this effect was significantly more pronounced among lower-income participants. Those with below-median household incomes were more likely to adopt negative beliefs about refugees when given the opportunity to profit at their expense. In contrast, higher-income participants showed no significant change in their beliefs across the different conditions.
These findings contribute to the debate on the roots of racism and discrimination, suggesting that economic and social self-interest may significantly shape prejudicial attitudes. By showing how motivated reasoning can lead to discriminatory beliefs, the research highlights the need to address these underlying self-interests to challenge and combat harmful behaviors toward marginalized groups.