Social and Psychological Aspects

Can sharing make us embrace others more? The bias-reducing effects of sharing experience

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Abstract

Online peer-to-peer platformsare the backbone of sharing economy, referred to as the social and economicsystem of transactions in which individuals share underused goods, services, orideas peer-to-peer. While it is celebrated as analternative consumption mode with the potential to offer several socialbenefits, there is growing evidence of racial discriminationon these platforms. Drawing from social identity theory and intergroup contact theory,this study examined whetherthe effect of the sharing experience with a provider can be generalized to consumers’general attitudes toward the provider’s racial group. The results of an online experiment with 331 Caucasian consumers in the United States indicated that experiences can be more influential than racial bias. Attitudes werecomparable when the experience was positive regardless of the provider’s group membership. Further, unlike theresearchers who assumed that consumers would be more forgivable toward in-groupmembers due to in-group favoritism, in the negative experiencecondition, participants reported even more negative attitudes toward theingroup seller vs. the outgroup seller. 

Keywords: Sharing, Sharing economy, Racial discrimination, Social identity, Intergroup contact, Consumer, Racial bias

How to Cite:

Woo, H., Shin, D. C. & Kim, N. L., (2024) “Can sharing make us embrace others more? The bias-reducing effects of sharing experience”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17076