Not My Mascot: Prejudice and Native American Mascots on Stereotype Activation and Attitudes Towards Native Americans

Abstract

There is an ongoing controversy based on the possible negative outcomes of using Native American mascots as symbols for sport teams. The present research examines the effect of using Native American (NA) sports mascots on people’s negative stereotypes, attitudes towards NAs, and the approval of NA mascots. In Study 1, people high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) primed with NA mascots were more likely to endorse negative stereotypes of NAs, compared to people in a control condition. Additional analyses revealed that the endorsement of negative stereotypes partially mediated the relationship between RWA and attitudes towards NAs in the priming condition. This relationship disappears when high RWA individuals view pictures of contemporary NA people (Study 2). Furthermore, correlational data suggests that people who support NA mascots genuinely believe that they represent positive attributes of NA people (Study 3). This research supports the view that the use of NA sports mascots primes negative stereotypes of NAs and can negatively impact attitudes of NA people.