Although there are conflicting empirical findings regarding whether race has a significant impact on individual outcomes in the 21st century workplace, African Americans are still less visible in top leadership positions than would be expected on the basis of population base rates (The Alliance for Board Diversity, 2005; Corporate Board Initiative, 2006; Fortune, 2006; McCoy, 2007; Thomas & Gabarro, 1999). One potential explanation for these equivocal results is that much of this research assumes that race has an equal impact within a given racial group. Little attention has been given within the management literature to intra-racial differences, which may influence how and to what extent racial stereotypes are activated. This dissertation examines the role of feature-based bias in promotion evaluations. Specifically, Afrocentric phenotype bias is explored to gain a better understand of how within-category, feature-based differences influence promotability evaluations. This dissertation utilizes self-categorization theory (SCT: Turner, 1985, 1987) and Heilman's (1983, 1995, 2001) lack of fit model to examine the consequences of Afrocentric phenotype bias within the employment context. Finally, the availability of cognitive resources is investigated as a potential moderator of the influence of Afrocentric phenotype bias on promotion-related rating.
","abstract_html":"<p>Although there are conflicting empirical findings regarding whether race has a significant impact on individual outcomes in the 21st century workplace, African Americans are still less visible in top leadership positions than would be expected on the basis of population base rates (The Alliance for Board Diversity, 2005; Corporate Board Initiative, 2006; Fortune, 2006; McCoy, 2007; Thomas & Gabarro, 1999). One potential explanation for these equivocal results is that much of this research assumes that race has an equal impact within a given racial group. Little attention has been given within the management literature to intra-racial differences, which may influence how and to what extent racial stereotypes are activated. This dissertation examines the role of feature-based bias in promotion evaluations. Specifically, Afrocentric phenotype bias is explored to gain a better understand of how within-category, feature-based differences influence promotability evaluations. This dissertation utilizes self-categorization theory (SCT: Turner, 1985, 1987) and Heilman's (1983, 1995, 2001) lack of fit model to examine the consequences of Afrocentric phenotype bias within the employment context. Finally, the availability of cognitive resources is investigated as a potential moderator of the influence of Afrocentric phenotype bias on promotion-related rating.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Holmes, Jeanne Johnson"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Campus Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Moore School of Business","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Elizabeth Ravlin"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:34Z","subjects":["Business","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Afrocentric phenotype bias","career","feature-based bias","stereotyping","time pressure"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2011, Jeanne Johnson Holmes"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/457","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Elizabeth Ravlin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Holmes, Jeanne Johnson"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Moore School of Business"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Business","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Afrocentric phenotype bias","career","feature-based bias","stereotyping","time pressure"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2011, Jeanne Johnson Holmes"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/457"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Although there are conflicting empirical findings regarding whether race has a significant impact on individual outcomes in the 21st century workplace, African Americans are still less visible in top leadership positions than would be expected on the basis of population base rates (The Alliance for Board Diversity, 2005; Corporate Board Initiative, 2006; Fortune, 2006; McCoy, 2007; Thomas & Gabarro, 1999). One potential explanation for these equivocal results is that much of this research assumes that race has an equal impact within a given racial group. Little attention has been given within the management literature to intra-racial differences, which may influence how and to what extent racial stereotypes are activated. This dissertation examines the role of feature-based bias in promotion evaluations. Specifically, Afrocentric phenotype bias is explored to gain a better understand of how within-category, feature-based differences influence promotability evaluations. This dissertation utilizes self-categorization theory (SCT: Turner, 1985, 1987) and Heilman's (1983, 1995, 2001) lack of fit model to examine the consequences of Afrocentric phenotype bias within the employment context. Finally, the availability of cognitive resources is investigated as a potential moderator of the influence of Afrocentric phenotype bias on promotion-related rating.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Influence of Afrocentric Phenotype On Promotion Decisions For African American Males"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Elizabeth Ravlin"],"dc:creator":["Holmes, Jeanne Johnson"],"dc:description.abstract":["Although there are conflicting empirical findings regarding whether race has a significant impact on individual outcomes in the 21st century workplace, African Americans are still less visible in top leadership positions than would be expected on the basis of population base rates (The Alliance for Board Diversity, 2005; Corporate Board Initiative, 2006; Fortune, 2006; McCoy, 2007; Thomas & Gabarro, 1999). One potential explanation for these equivocal results is that much of this research assumes that race has an equal impact within a given racial group. Little attention has been given within the management literature to intra-racial differences, which may influence how and to what extent racial stereotypes are activated. This dissertation examines the role of feature-based bias in promotion evaluations. Specifically, Afrocentric phenotype bias is explored to gain a better understand of how within-category, feature-based differences influence promotability evaluations. This dissertation utilizes self-categorization theory (SCT: Turner, 1985, 1987) and Heilman's (1983, 1995, 2001) lack of fit model to examine the consequences of Afrocentric phenotype bias within the employment context. Finally, the availability of cognitive resources is investigated as a potential moderator of the influence of Afrocentric phenotype bias on promotion-related rating.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/457"],"dc:rights":["© 2011, Jeanne Johnson Holmes"],"dc:subject":["Business","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Afrocentric phenotype bias","career","feature-based bias","stereotyping","time pressure"],"dc:title":["The Influence of Afrocentric Phenotype On Promotion Decisions For African American Males"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Moore School of Business"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:34Z"}