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  • July–August 2013
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

The Costs of Racial 'Color Blindness'

By: Michael I. Norton and Evan P. Apfelbaum
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:1
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Abstract

The article looks at research on people's attitudes and behaviors with respect to noticing and referring to a person's race. It explains the 2013 study, in which participants played a "Guess Who?" style game of asking yes-or-no questions about a group of faces pictured, half white and half African-American. The authors suggest that people's discomfort and avoidance of referring to race imposes costs in terms of information gathering and effective workplace diversity programs.

Keywords

Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Race; Attitudes

Citation

Norton, Michael I., and Evan P. Apfelbaum. "The Costs of Racial 'Color Blindness'." Harvard Business Review 91, nos. 7/8 (July–August 2013): 22.
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About The Author

Michael I. Norton

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • November 2022
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    Opportunity Neglect: An Aversion to Low-probability Gains

    By: Emily Prinsloo, Kate Barasz, Leslie K. John and Michael I. Norton
    • October 17, 2022
    • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

    Relational Diversity in Social Portfolios Predicts Well-Being

    By: Hanne K. Collins, Serena F. Hagerty, Jordi Quoidbach, Michael I. Norton and Alison Wood Brooks
    • July 2022
    • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    When Alterations Are Violations: Moral Outrage and Punishment in Response to (Even Minor) Alterations to Rituals

    By: Daniel H. Stein, Juliana Schroeder, Nicholas M. Hobson, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
More from the Authors
  • Opportunity Neglect: An Aversion to Low-probability Gains By: Emily Prinsloo, Kate Barasz, Leslie K. John and Michael I. Norton
  • Relational Diversity in Social Portfolios Predicts Well-Being By: Hanne K. Collins, Serena F. Hagerty, Jordi Quoidbach, Michael I. Norton and Alison Wood Brooks
  • When Alterations Are Violations: Moral Outrage and Punishment in Response to (Even Minor) Alterations to Rituals By: Daniel H. Stein, Juliana Schroeder, Nicholas M. Hobson, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
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