New Study: DEI Trainings Make People See Racism Even if It Isn’t There

A recent study from Rutgers University and the Network Contagion Research Institute examined the effects of anti-oppressive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. The study found anti-oppressive DEI training fosters hostile attribution bias, amplifying perceptions of prejudice and encouraging punitive responses without evidence. Researchers noted such programs rely on an oppressor-oppressed framework, which may amplify racial suspicion and authoritarian behavior in participants over time.

Participants exposed to anti-racist materials by authors like Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo exhibited heightened perceptions of racial bias and support for punitive measures.

“Across all groupings, instead of reducing bias, they engendered a hostile attribution bias, amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice,” the study read.

“These results highlight the complex and often counterproductive impacts of pedagogical elements and themes prevalent in mainstream DEI training,” the study added.

The study also examined anti-Islamophobia training, which led participants to perceive unfair treatment of Muslims in neutral scenarios, fostering distrust and suspicion.

Network Contagion Research Institute Chief Science Officer Joel Finkelstein said, “What we did was we took a lot of these ideas that were found to still be very prominent in a lot of these DEI lectures and interventions and training. And we said, ‘Well, how is this going to affect people?’ What we found is that when people are exposed to this ideology, what happens is they become hostile without any indication that anything racist has happened.”

Finkelstein added, “And when people are supposed to see anti-racist material in the ideology, it looks like what happens is that they become more likely to punish for any evidence of wrongdoing. That includes protesting people, calling for dismissal, demanding public apologies, receiving people calling for their relocation. These punitive measures are, in some cases, costing people their jobs.”

Psychological surveys, based on “anti-racist” materials by authors like Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, revealed unintended outcomes, contradicting their intended goals.

The study warned these frameworks echo divisive strategies used historically, creating rigid group conflicts similar to those employed by authoritarian regimes.

“The evidence presented in these studies reveals that while purporting to combat bias, some anti-oppressive DEI narratives can engender a hostile attribution bias and heighten racial suspicion, prejudicial attitudes, authoritarian policing, and support for punitive behaviors in the absence of evidence for a transgression deserving punishment,” the study read.

“[A]lthough not addressed in the studies reported herein, it is also possible that these factors are mutually reinforcing and spread through social contagion,” the study added.

Finkelstein noted hostility was linked to “left-wing authoritarianism,” adding, “These harms appear to be widespread and demand focused evaluation to address civil rights.”

Author Ibram X. Kendi condemned the report, saying, “It comes as no surprise that Fox News would broadcast this pseudoscience that isn’t peer-reviewed, misrepresents my work, and is based on anchoring bias.”