A Meta-Analysis of Self-Other Differences in Prejudice

In this meta-analysis we assessed self-other differences in prejudice: the extent to which people think that other people harbor more negative attitudes (or more stereotypical beliefs) about members of certain social groups than they themselves do. We found a medium-sized effect, d = 0.48, such that people believe that others harbor more negative attitudes (or stronger stereotypes). This self-other asymmetry was larger for judgments related to race/ethnicity and sexual orientation compared to gender, as well as for student samples. It is also informative to see what factors did not moderate the effect: This self-other difference replicated across samples from different nationalities and with various methods, suggesting a robust and pervasive effect.