Question

Heidi is having trouble understanding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and why her workplace sent out an email affirming the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion. This is probably because as a white woman from a small town with little exposure to diversity efforts, Heidi has not had much education about what BLM is trying to accomplish. She is wrestling with this new information about systemic racism and ultimately dismisses it as unfounded because it is contrary to her past experiences. This is an illustration of which of the following. Pick the best answer from the list based on our book's discussion of these terms:

a. Stereotyping
b. An entrenched mental model
c. Leader-Member Exchange Theory
d. Ethnocentrism
e. Social Identity Theory

Answer 1

e. Social Identity Theory

Step-by-step explanation:

Identity is the sense of who and what we are and also where do we belong. According to this social identity theory, people is most likely to
`\text{favor their ingroup}` over an outgroup as the former is a part of their self-identity. It means that people tend to overestimate the features of their own group to which they belong whereas they try to minimize the characteristics of the other groups.

In the context, Heidi is finding it difficult to understand about the new email by the company about the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a woman from a small town and do not have much exposure to the diversity efforts. She dismisses the email as unfounded as it was contrary to her past experiences. This shows an example of social identity theory.