Something to gain or something to lose? Affirmative action and regulatory focus emotions

Previous research on willingness to support affirmative action has examined groups that are historically advantaged or disadvantaged. We argue and show that support for affirmative action depends on whether people are induced to think of the in-group as having something to gain or as something to lose from affirmative action, and the self-regulatory focus this elicits. We hypothesized that group members should be more inclined to adopt a focus on promotion when in-group benefits of affirmative action are emphasized, while a focus on prevention should emerge when addressing potential in-group losses due to affirmative action. Data in support of this hypothesis were obtained in an experimental study asking university students (N = 83) to report emotions indicating a focus on promotion or prevention. Results further indicate that emphasizing in-group benefits (vs. non-benefits) enhances support for affirmative action, and that these effects are mediated by the regulatory focus adopted. Importantly, only promotion-oriented emotions predict support when the in-group is seen to benefit from affirmative action, whereas prevention emotions only predict support when the in-group is portrayed as standing to lose from affirmative action. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.