Unconscious Influences of Attitudes and Challenges to Self-Control

Recent developments in social psychology have brought to light important questions concerning the nature of implicit cognitions about race and the implications for selfcontrol. If people are unaware of their own prejudices, how can they keep them in check? This chapter distinguishes the unconscious influence of people's attitudes and beliefs from attitudes and beliefs that are themselves hidden from consciousness. It reviews research that provides little evidence of unconscious racial attitudes, but much stronger evidence that racial attitudes influence people's judgments and behavior in numerous unconscious ways. It also discusses the unique challenges to self-control that unconscious influences present and then concludes by highlighting strategies for preventing prejudice by limiting the unconscious influence of people's attitudes about race.