INSTRUCTING ANIMOSITY: PRESENTED BY

HOW DEI PEDAGOGY PRODUCES

THE HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS
Ankita Jagdeep
Data Analyst, Narravance

Simon Lazarus
Data Scientist, NCRI

Mendel Zecher
Data Scientist, NCRI

Ohad Fedida
Data Analyst, NCRI

Gidi Fihrer
Data Analyst, NCRI

Joel Finkelstein
Principal Investigator, Co-Director, NCRI

Danit Sarah Finkelstein

Graduate Student, Social Perception Lab, Rutgers University

Sonia Yanovsky
Graduate Student, Social Perception Lab, Rutgers University

Lee Jussim
Co-Principal Investigator, Professor of Psychology,
Director Social Perception Lab, Rutgers University

Pamela Paresky
NCRI Fellow, Harvard University
 1

Instructing Animosity: How DEI Pedagogy Produces the Hostile Attribution Bias

DEI programs purport to cultivate inclusive environments for people from diverse backgrounds and
encourage greater empathy in interpersonal interactions. A key component of DEI offerings lies in diversity
pedagogy: Lectures, trainings and educational resources ostensibly designed to educate participants about
their prejudice and bias in order to eliminate discrimination1 (Iyer, 2022). As institutions across corporate
and educational sectors increasingly embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into their foundational
strategies, it is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of common aspects of this pedagogy.

A 2023 study by the Pew Research Center2 found that 52% of American workers have DEI meetings or
training events at work, and according to Iris Bohnet, a professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy
School, $8 billion is spent annually on such programs.3 Despite widespread investment in and adoption of
diversity pedagogy through lectures, educational resources, and training, assessments of efficacy have
produced mixed results.

A meta-analysis by Paluck et al. (2021) found that too few studies in the field have investigated real-world
impact on “light-touch” interventions or seminars and training programs.4 Taken together, the limited
evidence suggests that some DEI programs not only fail to achieve their goals but can actively undermine
diversity efforts. Specifically, mandatory trainings that focus on particular target groups can foster
discomfort and perceptions of unfairness5 (Burnett and Aguinis, 2024). DEI initiatives seen as affirmative
action rather than business strategy can provoke backlash,6 increasing rather than reducing racial
resentment7 (Kidder et al., 2004; Legault et al. (2001). And diversity initiatives aimed at managing bias can
fail, sometimes resulting in decreased representation and triggering negativity among employees8 (Leslie,
2019; Kalev, Dobbin, & Kelly, 2006). In other words, some DEI programs appear to backfire.9

1
Iyer, A. (2022, April 13). Understanding advantaged groups’ opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies: The role of
perceived threat. Compass Journals. https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.12666
2
Minkin, R. (2023, May 17). Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/05/17/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-workplace/
3
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/focusing-on-what-works-for-workplace-diversity
4
Paluck, E. L., Porat, R., Clark, C. S., & Green, D. P. (2021, January). Prejudice Reduction: Progress and Challenges. Annual Review of
Psychology.
https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-psych-071620-030619;jsessionid=_JkF8gMZpzs5Gelx0WZkpOJA8EzwR5
tqNlvEmbLD.annurevlive-10-241-10-100
5
Burnett, L., & Aguinis, H. (2024). How to prevent and minimize DEI backfire. ScienceDirect.
https://www.hermanaguinis.com/pdf/BHDEI.pdf
6
Kidder, D. L., Lankau, M. J., Chrobot‐Mason, D., Mollica, K. A., & Friedman, R. A. (2004, January 1). BACKLASH TOWARD DIVERSITY
INITIATIVES: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF DIVERSITY PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION, PERSONAL AND GROUP OUTCOMES.
International Journal of Conflict Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/eb022908/full/html
7
Legault, L., Gutsell, J. N., & Inzlicht, M. (2011, November 28). Ironic Effects of Antiprejudice Messages: How Motivational Interventions
Can Reduce (but Also Increase) Prejudice. Sage Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797611427918
8
Kalev, A., Dobbin, F., & Kelly, E. (2006). Best Practices or Best Guesses? Assessing the Efficacy of Corporate Affirmative Action and
Diversity Policies. https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/cfawis/Dobbin_best_practices.pdf
9
Leslie, L. M. (2019). DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: A TYPOLOGICAL THEORY OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~eparker/syllabi/leslie2019diversityinitiativeeffectiveness.pdf
 2

Given both the lack of rigorous research on diversity initiatives and the documented potential of DEI efforts
backfiring, a better assessment of the efficacy and effects of contemporary diversity training is warranted.

This study focused on diversity training interventions that emphasize awareness of and opposition to
“systemic oppression,” a trend fueled by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement and popularized by texts
such as Ibram X. Kendi’s, How to Be an Antiracist.10 While not representative of all DEI pedagogy,
“anti-racism” and “anti-oppression” pedagogy and intervention materials have seen widespread adoption
across sectors like higher education and healthcare. Yet this pedagogy lacks rigorous evaluation of
effectiveness, particularly with respect to reducing bias and improving interpersonal/inter-group dynamics.

The prominent “anti-oppressive pedagogy” in DEI programming can carry perceived rhetorical threats for
those whose politics or other beliefs run counter to the fundamental premises of the critical paradigm from
which the pedagogy derives. Programming may reflexively cast members of so-called “dominant” groups or
those who disagree with “anti-oppressive,” “anti-racist,” or modern-day “anti-fascist” framings as
oppressive, racist, or fascist.

The studies reported herein assess a crucial question: Do ideas and rhetoric foundational to many DEI
trainings foster pluralistic inclusiveness, or do they exacerbate intergroup and interpersonal conflicts? Do
they increase empathy and understanding or increase hostility towards members of groups labeled as
oppressors?

Across three groupings—race, religion, and caste—NCRI collected anti-oppressive DEI educational
materials frequently used in interventional and educational settings. The religion-focused interventions
drew on content from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), commonly used in sensitivity
training on Islamophobia. For race, materials featured excerpts from DEI scholars like Ibram X. Kendi and
Robin DiAngelo. Caste interventions featured anti-oppression narratives from Equality Labs, one of the
most prolific training providers for caste discrimination in North America.

Rhetoric from these materials was excerpted and administered in psychological surveys measuring explicit
bias, social distancing, demonization, and authoritarian tendencies. Participants were randomly assigned to
review these materials or neutral control material. Their responses to this material was assessed through
various questions assessing intergroup hostility and authoritarianism, and through scenario-based
questions (details on all demographic data, survey questions, essay conditions, responses and analyses
can be found in a supplementary document to this report).

Across all groupings, instead of reducing bias, they engendered a hostile attribution bias (Epps & Kendall,
1995), amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present11, and punitive responses to
the imaginary prejudice. These results highlight the complex and often counterproductive impacts of
pedagogical elements and themes prevalent in mainstream DEI training.

10
Kendi, I. X. (2019, August 13). How to Be an Antiracist. Penguin Random House Common Reads.
https://commonreads.com/book/?isbn=9780525509288
11
Epps, J., Kendall, P.C. Hostile attributional bias in adults. Cogn Ther Res 19, 159–178 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02229692
 3

Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DeAngelo: How Anti-Racist Materials Induce Prejudicial Attitudes and
Racial Suspicion.

Study 1 Sample

To examine the impact of anti-oppressive pedagogical materials on race, NCRI conducted a study involving
423 undergraduates from Rutgers University, employing a controlled experimental design. Participants
were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one exposed to a neutral control essay about U.S. corn
production (for full text, please see supplement) and the other exposed to an essay which combined
educational texts from prominent DEI scholars, Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo.

We chose an essay on corn production as a control to constitute a neutral baseline in the comparison case,
devoid of any social, moral, or emotional framing and entirely unrelated to race, bias, or social justice.

Intervention and Control Texts:

Excerpts from our intervention and control text are presented here. The full text of both can be found in the
supplement.

● Ibram X. Kendi/Robin DiAngelo Excerpt: “White people raised in Western society are conditioned
into a white supremacist worldview. Racism is the norm; it is not unusual. As a result, interaction with White
people is at times so overwhelming, draining, and incomprehensible that it causes serious anguish for
People of Color.”
● Control Text (Corn Excerpt): “America has just about 90 million planted acres of corn, and there’s
a reason people refer to the crop as yellow gold. In 2021, U.S. corn was worth over $86 billion, based on
calculations from FarmDoc and the United States Department of Agriculture. According to the USDA, the
U.S. is the largest consumer, producer, and exporter of corn in the world.”

The decision to utilize passages from Kendi and DiAngelo was grounded in their widespread application
within DEI scholarship, and that their works are often viewed as essential frameworks for both
understanding systemic racism and promoting anti-racist actions. Kendi’s "How to Be an Antiracist"
encourages transformative practices that dismantle racism through active engagement, while DiAngelo’s
"White Fragility" critically examines defensive reactions of white individuals when confronted with racial
issues, arguing that these responses sustain racial disparities.

The selected passages were intended to represent some core themes of these authors' influential works.

The themes selected in these essays were:

1. White supremacy and racism are a systemic and nearly universal norm, mindset, or
worldview.
 4

2. Normal institutions and Western ideologies are secretly enforcing racist agendas and White
people are beneficiaries and entitled to the benefits of systemic white supremacy and racism.
3. The universality of white supremacy agonizes people of color by virtue of endless hostile
encounters
4. Western countries are compromised by virtue of their racist ideology and past.
5. Anti-racist discrimination is the only solution to racist discrimination.

In addition to articulating them in their best selling books, DiAngelo and Kendi have both repeatedly
articulated the above themes in corporate programs, interventions and appearances. But this does not
prove that such themes are widely adopted in DEI interventions or policy by anyone save the authors
themselves. Therefore, to gauge the popularity of these themes. Through open-source collection, we
examined over 30 anti-racist offerings/policies across human resources and diversity oriented programs
from high profile institutions (see Supplement for full details and analysis). These institutions included
Harvard, Columbia University, the United Nations, the U.S. State Dept, The Canadian Government, the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Psychological Association and other large organizations.
Video transcription, keyword analysis and language model/embedding extraction was then performed. A
topic network was graphed with a seed term “white” showing that the themes identified above appear
ubiquitous across the offerings we analyzed.
 5

Figure 1: A Topic network12 analysis of over 30 anti-racist offerings and diversity-oriented policies
across various high-profile institutions, using a keyword analysis centered on the seed term "white."
Themes related to whiteness, supremacy, privilege, and fragility and the systemic nature of the problem
appear prominent, reflecting common topics found in DEI programs. Node size reflects frequency, and
distance reflects cosine similarity.

We therefore assess that anti-racist, anti-oppressive themes we identified as emblematic in the writing of
both Kendi and DiAngelo are widespread among anti-racist diversity offerings.

Scenario and Evaluation: After reading either the anti-racist or corn text, participants were presented with
a racially neutral scenario:

A student applied to an elite East Coast university in Fall 2024. During the application process, he was
interviewed by an admissions officer. Ultimately, the student’s application was rejected.

Participants were then asked to evaluate the scenario with questions designed to probe the extent to which
they perceived racism in the interaction. This scenario intentionally avoids any mention of either the
student’s or admission officer’s race or ethnicity and provides no evidence of racism. Thus, if they perceive
racism in the interaction, they are introducing something that is objectively absent. Results: The analysis,
shown in Figure 2a, reveals that participants who read the Ibram X. Kendi/Robin DiAngelo essay
developed a hostile attribution bias. They perceived the admissions officer as significantly more prejudiced
than did those who read the neutral corn essay. Specifically, participants exposed to the anti-racist rhetoric
perceived more discrimination from the admissions officer (~21%), despite the complete absence of
evidence of discrimination. They believed the admissions officer was more unfair to the applicant (~12%),
had caused more harm to the applicant (~26%), and had committed more microaggressions (~35%). The
strength of these notable results motivated NCRI to test for replicability with an experiment on a national
sample (n=1086 recruited via Amazon Prime Panels) of college/university students to ensure these findings
were not an aberration of student attitudes on Rutgers campus. These findings showed similar, statistically
significant effects (Appendix Figure 1).

12
Zannettou, S., Finkelstein, J., Bradlyn, B., & Blackburn, J. (2020). A Quantitative Approach to Understanding Online Antisemitism.
Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, 14(1), 786–797. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1809.01644
 6

Figure 2a: Perception of racial bias in admissions between those exposed to anti-racist education material and
the control group. Percentages reflect percent differences in mean scores between those who saw the treatment
and the control13.

Figure 2a shows that the anti-oppression intervention from Kendi/DiAngelo influenced participants to
impute bias without evidence. Further analysis revealed that exposure to anti-oppression DEI narratives not
only influenced participants’ perceptions of racism but also altered their willingness to punish perceived
perpetrators.

13
Statistical analysis: We ran t tests on each variable listed to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control groups.
Significance levels of t Tests: *** = .001, ** = .01, * = .05.
 7

Figure 2b: Willingness to take punitive measures between those exposed to anti-racist education material and the control
essay. Percentages reflect percent differences in mean scores between those who saw the treatment and the control14.

Figure 2b (above) shows it also increased their support for punishing the admissions officer. Compared to
controls who read about corn, respondents who read the Kendi/DiAngelo intervention were 12% more
willing to support suspending the admission officer for a semester, 16% more willing to demand a public
apology to the applicant and 12% more willing to require additional DEI training to correct the officer.
Importantly, the intervention did not produce any measurable change in warmth or coldness towards
persons of color (Appendix Figure 2). Educational materials from some of the most well published and well
known DEI scholars not only failed to positively enhance interracial attitudes, they provoked baseless
suspicion and encouraged punitive attitudes.

Assessing the Impact of Anti-Islamophobia Narratives: Bias and Perceived Injustice

NCRI next conducted a targeted evaluation of anti-Islamophobia training materials, utilizing content distilled
from the ISPU, a leading organization in promoting narratives of systemic anti-Muslim bias. This study
aimed to critically assess whether these interventions effectively mitigate anti-Muslim prejudice, and
whether, conversely, they distort perceptions of fairness in ways that reinforce biases against perceived
oppressor institutions.

Sample:

Participants (n=2017) were recruited via Amazon Prime Panels for a national sample matched on U.S.
demographics for greater representativeness (for demographic information and survey questions, see
supplement). Following exposure to the texts, participants were presented with a controlled scenario
involving two individuals—Ahmed Akhtar and George Green—both convicted of identical terrorism charges
for bombing a local government building:

● Ahmed Akhtar’s trial was assessed for perceived fairness.

● George Green’s trial was evaluated under the same conditions to serve as a comparative measure.

Key Findings

In the control group (corn), Ahmed’s trial was perceived as just as fair as George’s, indicating no baseline
perception of Islamophobia. In the anti-Islamophobia content group (treatment), George’s trial ratings were
not significantly different from the corn content group (control). However, participants in the
anti-Islamophobia treatment group rated Ahmed’s trial as significantly less fair (4.92 vs. 5.25) than did
those in the control group. The training led them to perceive injustice toward Ahmed despite the specifics
of his situation being identical to those of George.

14
Statistical analysis: We ran t tests on each variable listed to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control groups.
Significance levels of t Tests: *** = .001, ** = .01, * = .05.
 8

Figure 3: Perception of ethnic bias in a criminal trial between those exposed to the
anti-Islamophobia education material and the control essay. Means reflect differences
between those in the treatment condition and the control.15

These results suggest that anti-Islamophobia training inspired by ISPU materials may cause individuals to
assume unfair treatment of Muslim people, even when no evidence of bias or unfairness is present. This
effect highlights a broader issue: DEI narratives that focus heavily on victimization and systemic oppression
can foster unwarranted distrust and suspicions of institutions and alter subjective assessments of events. In
the effort to improve sensitivity to genuine injustices against people from designated identities, such
trainings may instead create a hostile attribution bias. This could, in turn, undermine trust in institutions,
even in the absence of bias or unfair treatment (as in our scenarios). These findings are particularly
concerning given that ISPU’s educational efforts include training Federal Agents on Islamophobia
sensitivity.16

How Caste Sensitivity Training Offers a Unique Lens into the Impacts of DEI Narratives

While discussions about Islamophobia and racial discrimination are prevalent in DEI narratives,
caste-based discrimination among American Hindus has not been a core part of DEI discourse or trainings.
Caste is a social hierarchy originating from British and Portuguese colonial policies in South Asia which
historically divided people into groups based on hereditary occupation and fostered discrimination between
upper caste members (such as Brahmins) and lower caste ones (such as Dalits). Widely known in India,
the issue of caste discrimination is only recently gaining attention in the U.S.17 and has resulted in the
inclusion of caste-sensitivity training in academic, corporate, and legislative settings.

15
*Perceived fairness of Ahmed and George’s trials. Based on a one way ANOVA test, for Ahmed’s trial there was a statistically significant
difference between the control and experimental groups (p value of .001), while George’s trial did not show a significant difference between
groups (p value of .36).
16
FBI Training on Islamophobia. Islamic Networks Group (ING). (n.d.). https://ing.org/fbi-training-on-islamophobia/
17
Singh, S. J., & Shyamsunder, A. (2022, December 5). Bringing Caste into the DEI Conversation. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2022/12/bringing-caste-into-the-dei-conversation
 9

The timeline above depicts the acknowledgement of caste in US institutions and its gradual recognition as
a category requiring protection from discrimination across various sectors.

Yet, the prevalence and impact of caste discrimination remain poorly studied and largely speculative.
Research by Pew indicates that few American Hindus born in the U.S. identify strongly with caste, with less
than half reporting any connection to a caste group. Furthermore, one of the most cited research articles
establishing the prevalence of caste discrimination, conducted by Equality Labs, has been widely criticized
by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace18 and others, for methodological flaws, including

18
Badrinathan, S., Kapur, D., Kay, J., & Vaishnav, M. (2021, June 9). Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the 2020 Indian
American Attitudes Survey.
 10

unrepresentative sampling and reliance on unverified self-reported experiences. This raises significant
concerns about the validity of the ascendant narrative that caste discrimination is a pervasive problem in
the U.S., and suggests that the promotion of caste-related DEI trainings has not emerged as a result of
robust empirical evidence that caste discrimination is a genuine problem.

Despite its uncertain scientific footing, the lack of familiarity with caste issues, unlike race or Islamophobia,
provides a unique opportunity for measuring the impacts of DEI initiatives. The Hindu community in the
U.S. does not generally feature prominently in public consciousness, and attitudes towards Hindus and
their cultural practices lack the same magnitude of historical and public significance as those towards Islam
or racial issues. This relatively "blank slate" makes the caste narrative an ideal use-case for evaluating how
DEI training shapes perceptions.

Sample:

To examine the impact of anti-oppression educational materials on caste perception, NCRI conducted a
study with participants recruited from Amazon’s Prime Panels (n=847) for a national sample matched on
U.S. demographics for greater representativeness (for demographic information and survey questions, see
supplement).

Caste Sensitive Training

The study used caste sensitivity training materials from Equality Labs19 (see supplement for details) as the
experimental condition, designed to evaluate the effects of DEI rhetoric. For the control condition, NCRI
compiled together an academic essay on caste from the works of well-published scholars from institutions
such as Berkeley, Cambridge and elsewhere.20 The control essay was deliberately chosen to provide a
neutral, academic perspective, free from sensationalized or accusatory language. This control allowed us
to measure the specific impacts of highly charged DEI narratives while controlling for the topic of caste
itself, providing a clearer assessment of how anti-oppression narratives can shape attitudes and the
inclination to be punitive.

Intervention and Control Texts:

Excerpts from our intervention and control text are presented here. The full text of both can be found in the
supplement.

● Equality Labs Excerpt: “Shudras and Dalits are caste-oppressed; they experience profound
injustices, including socioeconomic hardship and brutal violence at the hands of the upper castes. Dalits
live in segregated ghettos, are banned from temples, and are denied access to schools and public
amenities. The 2,500-year old caste system is enforced by violence and maintained by one of the world’s
oldest, most persistent cultures.”

https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2021/06/social-realities-of-indian-americans-results-from-the-2020-indian-american-attitudes-surve
y?lang=en
19
Equality Labs. (2018). Caste in the United States: A Survey Of Caste Among South Asian Americans.
https://equalitylabs.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Caste_in_the_United_States_Report2018.pdf
20
Sampled texts included writings from: Nicholas Dirks, Susan Bayley, Jakob De Roover, Prakash Shah, Marianne Keppens, Dunkin Jhalki,
Padmanabh Samarendra, Declan Quigley, CJ Fuller, Simon Charsley
 11

● Control Text (Jāti and Varna): “Jāti and varna are concepts from India that describe ways people
might identify and interact socially. Jāti refers to groups with common characteristics, including clan, class,
language, family background, region of origin, religion, and occupation. Varna describes a philosophy in
Hindu scripture of understanding human diversity and purpose.”

Scenario and Evaluation

Following exposure to the assigned texts, participants were presented with a neutral scenario, devoid of
any caste indicators, which was designed to measure their perceptions of caste-based bias. The scenario
described an admissions process and names of characters were reversed in a counterbalanced fashion
between respondents to avoid artifacts that might be associated with the names themselves:

“Raj Kumar applied to an elite East Coast university in Fall 2022. During the application process, he was
interviewed by an admissions officer, Anand Prakash. Ultimately, Raj’s application was rejected.”

Participants were then asked to evaluate the scenario with questions designed to probe the extent to which
they perceived casteism in the interaction.

Results: Analysis revealed that exposure to the Equality Labs intervention led to significantly higher
perception of microaggressions, perceived harm, and assumptions of bias during the interview process
(increases of 32.5%, 15.6%, and 11%, respectively) compared to the control condition.

Figure 4: Respondents who saw the essay on casteism perceived caste based bias in the admissions process more
compared to the control group. Percentages reflect percent differences in mean scores between those who saw the
treatment and the control21.

21
Statistical analysis: We ran t tests on each variable listed to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control groups.
Significance levels of t Tests: *** = .001, ** = .01, * = .05
 12

Figure 4: Perception of Caste-Based Bias in Admissions Following Sensitivity Training

Additional questions assessed whether reading the caste sensitivity essay from Equality Labs negatively
influenced participants’ assumptions about Hindus’ racist attitudes, while increasing participants’
willingness to punish the fictional college administrator. The results indicated a significant effect on
attitudes, with participants who read the Equality Labs essay showing a higher willingness (19%) to punish
the administrator than those in the control group (see Appendix Figure 3 for full results) along with
assessing Hindus as more racist (47.5%) than was assessed by those who read the control essay. This
difference suggests that DEI content focused on caste discrimination can generate broader prejudices
against the Hindu community, including creating a false intuition that Hindus are racist.

These findings mirror those of our other DEI studies, where participants exposed to anti-racist narratives or
to ostensible anti-Islamophobia narratives perceived more injustices (when there was no evidence of
injustice) than did those exposed to a neutral scenario. And like in our other studies, caste sensitivity
training seems to engender divisive assumptions, encouraging more punitive responses. These results
suggest that caste sensitivity training, along with other training delivered within an anti-oppressive DEI
framework, may create hostile attribution biases that negatively distort perceptions of interpersonal
interactions and promote rather than ameliorate intergroup hostilities.

Figure 5a/5b: Difference in mean scores between conditions on a 1 - 7 scale. Figure 5a: Measures how racist respondents
believe Hindus are (split between the treatment and control groups). Figure 5b: Measures respondents’ punitiveness
towards the admissions officer due to perceived caste based bias (split between the treatment and control groups)22.

Equity Extremists: How Anti-Oppressive Narratives Converge with Authoritarian Intolerance

While DEI initiatives typically affirm the laudable goals of combating bias and promoting inclusivity, an
emerging body of research warns that these interventions may foster authoritarian mindsets, particularly
when anti-oppressive narratives exist within an ideological and vindictive monoculture. Scholars like

22
Statistical analysis: We ran t tests on both of these variables to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control groups.
Both were found to be significant at the .001 level.
 13

Jonathan Haidt23 and Steven Pinker24 have cautioned that extreme egalitarian rhetoric, especially when
framed as moral imperatives, can encourage coercive control, intolerance, and punitive
attitudes—practices and mental habits that echo the psychological dynamics of historical authoritarian
movements. The push toward absolute equity can undermine pluralism and engender a (potentially violent)
aspiration of ideological purity.

We therefore sought to assess whether outcomes from our experiments such as increased hostility
attribution or willingness to punish, might converge with authoritarian traits and tendencies. By exposing
people to politicized DEI content and measuring participants’ responses, we also assessed whether these
narratives could go beyond the heightening of racial tensions described earlier in this report, to fuel
coercive mindsets that resemble the very authoritarianism that anti-oppressive training purports to combat.

In our Rutgers sample, we found that similar to DEI interventions, participants’ levels of left wing
authoritarianism25 (LWA) predicted increased willingness to punish (Figure 6) and higher hostile attributions
(Appendix Figure 6)26. The LWA scale measures tendencies toward coercive control, anti-hierarchical
aggression, and endorsement of radical egalitarianism. These results suggest that DEI content may not
only increase the hostile attribution bias but converges with outcomes produced by authoritarian traits
themselves. If authoritarianism increases the hostility and punitiveness introduced through DEI
anti-oppressive pedagogy, then it may further create a culture of fear and rigidity instead of constructive
change.

23
Murawski, J. (2024, February 8). Jonathan Haidt: abolish DEI to save academia. UnHerd.
https://unherd.com/newsroom/jonathan-haidt-abolish-dei-to-save-academia/
24
Pinker, S. (2023, December 11). A five-point plan to save Harvard from itself. The Boston Globe.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/12/11/opinion/steven-pinker-how-to-save-universities-harvard-claudine-gay/
25
Costello TH, Bowes SM, Stevens ST, Waldman ID, Tasimi A, Lilienfeld SO. Clarifying the structure and nature of left-wing authoritarianism.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2022 Jan;122(1):135-170. doi: 10.1037/pspp0000341. Epub 2021 Aug 12. PMID: 34383522.
26
These findings replicated in our broader sample (n=1086 recruited via Amazon Prime Panels) of college/university students (data not
shown)
 14

Figure 6: Correlation between Left Wing Authoritarianism and one's willingness to

punish the admissions officer.27

Similarly, the caste study revealed a significant increase in agreement with demonizing statements adapted
from Adolf Hitler’s quotes, where the term “Jew” was replaced with “Brahmin,” a group often depicted as
oppressors in caste narratives. Participants exposed to the DEI content were markedly more likely to
endorse Hitler’s demonization statements, agreeing that Brahmins are “parasites” (+35.4%), “viruses”
(+33.8%), and “the devil personified” (+27.1%) (see supplement for exact quotes). These findings suggest
that exposure to anti-oppressive narratives can increase the endorsement of the type of demonization and
scapegoating characteristic of authoritarianism.

Figure 7: Respondents who saw the treatment essay showed an increase in belief that
Hitler quotes, made to pertain to Brahmins, were accurate compared to the control
group. Percentages reflect percent differences in mean scores between those who saw
the treatment and the control28.

Conclusion: A Self Reinforcement Process Model for Anti-Oppressive DEI Interventions.

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. Although not addressed in the studies reported herein, it is also
possible that these factors are mutually reinforcing and spread through social contagion. Our findings raise
this possibility which we offer here in the form of a post-hoc process model (to be investigated in future
studies):

1. Anti-Oppressive Intervention: DEI training rooted in anti-oppressive rhetoric introduces

27
Statistical analysis: There is a .27 correlation between Left Wing Authoritarianism and willingness to punish the admissions officer. We
conducted a Pearson correlation and found this relationship was statistically significant at the .001 level.
28
Statistical analysis: We ran t tests on each variable listed to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control groups.
Significance levels of t Tests: ** = .01, * = .05.
 15

narratives that lead people to assume that certain groups are inherent oppressors and others
as inherent victims.
2. Increased Racial Suspicion: Exposure leads to hostile attribution bias, causing participants
to see discrimination when there is no evidence that discrimination has occurred, driving racial
prejudice, intergroup hostility, suspicion and division.
3. Authoritarian Policing: This heightened suspicion triggers authoritarian policing tendencies,
leading people to endorse surveillance and purity testing, strict social controls, and escalating
responses from corrective to coercive.
4. Punitive Retribution: Participants show greater support for extreme punitive measures
against perceived oppressors as well as those seen as ideologically impure.
5. Calls for More Interventions: The heightened punitive atmosphere feeds back into demands
for more anti-oppressive DEI training, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of suspicion and
intolerance.

Taken in its entirety, this research demonstrates a pressing need for data-driven pressure testing of DEI
interventions to examine potential harms. In spite of the serious consequences we outline above, DEI
offerings have no independent, scientific review board for objective evaluation and no standards of
transparency for the materials themselves. Offerings at major corporations for example, were nearly
impossible to collect because these materials are not publicly available, and thus the full implications and
spread of potentially harmful content is currently impossible to examine.

This research raises critical questions about how many individuals, as a result of these programs, have
experienced undue duress, social ostracization, or even termination of employment. The hostile attribution
bias revealed in NCRI’s study appears readily transmissible by the DEI pedagogy above, much of which is
inserted into recommended or mandatory readings and trainings that are widely adopted at present. This
suggests the potential for a far broader scope of harm than previously considered, underscoring the
urgency of rigorous evaluation of anti-oppressive, DEI interventions to identify unintended and damaging
consequences, and, ultimately, to prevent them.

Limitations

It is beyond the scope of this research to evaluate DEI training writ large and our work therefore, should not
be taken as evaluating the efficacy of an entire industry. There are numerous diversity trainings that do not
subscribe to anti-oppressive frames, some of which may be successful or, at the least, harmless. Indeed,
scholarly discussion of identity frames such as caste failed to produce the hostile attribution bias, in spite of
addressing issues of inequality. Rather, we assessed the impact of anti-oppressive frames and themes
specifically as they are found within training themselves.
 16

APPENDIX

Appendix Figure 1. General Campus

Appendix Figure 1: Perception of Racial Bias in Admissions After Exposure to Anti-Racist Education Material
(national university/college sample). Percentages reflect percent differences in mean scores between those who saw
the treatment and the control29.

Brahmin Study

29
Statistical analysis: We conducted t tests on each variable listed to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control
groups. Significance levels of t tests: *** = .001, ** = .01, * = .05.
 17

Appendix Figure 2: Increase in punitiveness towards Brahmin for those who saw the anti-caste essay compared to
the control group. Percentages reflect percent differences in mean scores between those who saw the treatment and
the control30.

Appendix Figures 3/4: Respondents were divided between experimental and control groups to test for statistical
significance in means of the feeling thermometers towards Hindus and Brahmins (on a 1-10 scale). There was no
significant difference in the feelings towards Hindus (p value of .29), while there was a statistically significant
difference for Brahmin (p value of .01)31.

30
Statistical analysis: We conducted t tests on each variable listed to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control
groups. Significance levels of t Tests: *** = .001, ** = .01, * = .05
31
Statistical analysis: We ran t tests on these two variables to test for statistical significance between the treatment and control groups.
 18

Muslim Study

Appendix Figure 5: Differences in means of the feeling thermometer towards Muslims between conditions on a 1 -
100 scale. There is no significant difference in change between conditions.

Appendix Figure 6: Correlation between Left Wing Authoritarianism and perceived

racism in the case of the admissions officer.32

32
Statistical analysis: We conducted a Pearson correlation which showed a statistically significant relationship between Left Wing
Authoritarianism and perceived racism at the .01 level.
 19

Experimental Design

We conducted three experiments to test the impact that specific DEI training materials had on
individuals' perception and beliefs regarding racism and casteism.

Casteism Study
In the study on Casteism, half of the study saw an essay based on Equality Labs33 material that
outlines the Hindu caste system with some background information. The other half of the study saw an
essay on Jāti and varna, which are broad and overarching systems the Hindu social system operates
with. Below are the two relevant passages.

DEI Casteism Essay

Caste is a Hindu system of oppression that affects over 1 billion people around the world. The word
“caste” stems from the Spanish and Portuguese word casta, which means “race, lineage, or breed.” It
was applied by white colonialists during the 17th century C.E. to refer to the social hierarchy they
observed in South Asia. Caste apartheid is the system of religious exclusion established in Hindu
scripture. Caste is inherited at birth and cannot be changed during a person’s life.

There are four main caste groups. “Upper Castes” are Brahmins (priests, scriptural
knowledge-keepers, and legislators), Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), and Vaishyas (merchants).
Below them are Shudras (peasants). Outside this caste group structure are Dalits, considered lower
than the lowest of castes. Shudras and Dalits are caste-oppressed; they experience profound
injustices, including socioeconomic hardship and brutal violence at the hands of the upper castes.
Dalits live in segregated ghettos, are banned from temples, and are denied access to schools and
public amenities. The 2,500-year old caste system is enforced by violence and maintained by one of
the world’s oldest, most persistent cultures.

Jāti and varna Essay (Control)

Jāti and varna are concepts from India that describe ways people might identify and interact
socially34,35. Jāti refers to groups with common characteristics, including clan, class, language, family
background, region of origin, religion, and occupation36,37,38,39. Varna describes a philosophy in Hindu

33
Zwick-Maitreyi, M., Soundararajan, T., Dar, N., Bheel, R. F., & Balakrishnan, P. (2018). Caste in the United States. A Survey of Caste
among South Asian Americans.
https://equalitylabs.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Caste_in_the_United_States_Report2018.pdf
34
Bayly, S. (1999). Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age. Cambridge University Press (pp.
12-16)
35
Shah, P. (2023). Caste in a new light: Jati in British multiculturalism. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(1), 156–187.
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1333 (p. 161)
36
Bayly, S. (1999). Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age. Cambridge University Press (pp. 1-8)
37
Dirks, N. B. (1992). Castes of mind. Representations, 37, 56–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928654 (p. 59-60)
38
Samarendra, P. (2011). Census in colonial India and the birth of caste. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(33), 51–58 (p. 52)
39
Samarendra, P. (2016). Concept of caste and practices of jati: Exploring roots of incomparability. In R. Kumar, et al. (Eds.), Contemporary
readings in Marxism – A critical introduction (pp. 100-125). Aakar Books. (p. 348)
 20

scripture of understanding human diversity and purpose40,41. In varna, some people are driven to
pursue and impart knowledge and wisdom to society (brahmana/brahmin); some to govern and protect
society (kshatriya); some to create wealth to support society (vaishya); and some to create, make, or
labor to nourish society (shudra)42.

Jāti and varna aren’t fixed characteristics, and changes in both are possible43,44,45. Jāti and varna are
often confused with caste, which does not appear in Hindu scriptures46,47,48. Whereas jāti and varna are
fluid, caste involves unchangeable categories imposed by the British Colonial Government, placing
people into a fixed hierarchy inherited at birth49,50,51,52,53,54. In this idea of caste system, Brahmins are
highest in status and Dalits, a category nonexistent in Hindu scriptures, are lowest and
stigmatized55,56,57,58,59,60,61. Over generations, South Asian social identities became entangled with
British ideas of caste62. When Hindus immigrate, they often lose their attachment to caste, because it
is not a core aspect of their religion6364.

Racism Study

40
Dirks, N. B. (1992). Castes of mind. Representations, 37, 56–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928654 (p. 65)
41
Quigley, D. (2002). Is a theory of caste still possible? Social Evolution & History, 1(1), 140–170. (p. 143)
42
Swami Gambhirananda (1984). Bhagavad Gita with commentary by Shankaracharya, Advaita Ashrama Press. (Chapter 4, Verse 13)
43
Dirks, N. B. (1992). Castes of mind. Representations, 37, 56–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928654 (p. 60)
44
Samarendra, P. (2016). Concept of caste and practices of jati: Exploring roots of incomparability. In R. Kumar, et al. (Eds.), Contemporary
readings in Marxism – A critical introduction (pp. 100-125). Aakar Books. (p. 359-361)
45
Srinivas, M.N. (1965). Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India. Calcutta Press Private Limited. (p. 215)
46
Quigley, D. (2002). Is a theory of caste still possible? Social Evolution & History, 1(1), 140–170., p. 143
47
Samarendra, P. (2011). Census in colonial India and the birth of caste. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(33), 51–58., pp. 51-52
48
Shah, P. (2023). Caste in a new light: Jati in British multiculturalism. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(1), 156–187.
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1333, pp. 163-164
49
Dirks, N. B. (1992). Castes of mind. Representations, 37, 56–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928654 (p. 60 - 73)
50
Quigley, D. (2002). Is a theory of caste still possible? Social Evolution & History, 1(1), 140–170. (pp. 141-142)
51
Samarendra, P. (2011). Census in colonial India and the birth of caste. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(33), 51–58. (p. 52)
52
Samarendra, P. (2016). Concept of caste and practices of jati: Exploring roots of incomparability. In R. Kumar, et al. (Eds.), Contemporary
readings in Marxism – A critical introduction (pp. 100-125). Aakar Books. (p. 348)
53
Shah, P. (2023). Caste in a new light: Jati in British multiculturalism. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(1), 156–187.
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1333 (pp. 179-180)
54
Srinivas, M.N. (1965). Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India. Calcutta Press Private Limited.
55
De Roover, J. (2017). Scheduled castes vs. caste Hindus: About a colonial distinction and its legal impact. Socio-Legal Review, 13(1),
23–50 (pp. 33-40)
56
Dirks, N. B. (1992). Castes of mind. Representations, 37, 56–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928654 (p. 66)
57
Keppens, M. (2017). The Aryans and the ancient system of caste. In Fárek, M., Jalki, D., Pathan, S., & Shah, P. (Eds.), Western
foundations of the caste system (pp. 63–85). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38761-1_7
58
Keppens, M., & De Roover, J. (2020). The brahmin, the aryan, and the powers of the priestly class: Puzzles in the study of Indian
Religion. Religions, 11(4), 6–7. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11040181
59
Quigley, D. (2002). Is a theory of caste still possible? Social Evolution & History, 1(1), 140–170. (pp. 142-143)
60
Samarendra, P. (2011). Census in colonial India and the birth of caste. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(33), 51–58 (p. 57)
61
Shah, P. (2023). Caste in a new light: Jati in British multiculturalism. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(1), 156–187.
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1333 (pp. 160-175)
62
Dirks, N. B. (1992). Castes of mind. Representations, 37, 56–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2928654 (p. 74)
63
Shah, P. (2023). Caste in a new light: Jati in British multiculturalism. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(1), 156–187.
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1333 (pp. 170-178)
64
According to the Carnegie Endowment’s 2020 Social Realities of Indian Americans survey study, 53% of Hindu Americans do not identify
with a caste. Of the 47% that do identify with caste, only 34% are US-born. From Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the
2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey
 21

In the study on racism, half of our respondents were randomly chosen to read a DEI essay based on
the writings of prominent DEI scholars, Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo. The other half were
randomly assigned a control essay on the production of corn in America based on this CNBC article65.
Below are the two essays with each line quoted directly (with only mild edits for clarity) from both
authors. This experiment was done on a Rutgers sample, a general college sample, and a general US
population sample.

Ibram X. Kendi/Robin DiAngelo Essay66

White people raised in Western society are conditioned into a white supremacist worldview67. Racism is the
norm68; it is not unusual. As a result, interaction with White people is at times so overwhelming, draining,
and incomprehensible that it causes serious anguish for People of Color69.

Furthermore, racism is essentially capitalist; capitalism is essentially racist70. To love capitalism is to love
racism71. The U.S. economy, a system of capitalist greed, was based on the enslavement of African people,
the displacement and genocide of Indigenous people, and the annexation of Mexican lands72. We must
deploy antiracist power to compel or drive from power the racist policymakers and institute policy that is
antiracist and anti-capitalist73.

Additionally, the ideologies of objectivity, individualism, and meritocracy are social forces that function
powerfully to hold the racial hierarchy in place.74 White people in North America live in a society that is
deeply separate and unequal by race, and White people are the beneficiaries of that separation and
inequality75. As a result, they come to feel entitled to and deserving of their advantages. The only remedy to
racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.76

Corn Essay (Control)

65
Miller, A. (2022, December 8). How the U.S. became a global corn superpower. CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/06/how-the-us-became-a-global-corn-superpower-.html
66
Note: quotes have been mildly altered for placement and brevity.
67
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (Chapter 10: White Fragility and the Rules of
Engagement, p. 132). Beacon Press.
https://dl1.cuni.cz/pluginfile.php/1170336/mod_resource/content/1/Robin%20DiAngelo%20White%20Fragility.pdf
68
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (Chapter 10: White Fragility and the Rules of
Engagement, p. 129). Beacon Press.
https://dl1.cuni.cz/pluginfile.php/1170336/mod_resource/content/1/Robin%20DiAngelo%20White%20Fragility.pdf
69
Matias, C. E., & DiAngelo, R. (2015). Beyond the face of race: Emo-cognitive explorations of white neurosis and racial cray-cray.
Educational Foundations, 28(1-4), 3-20. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1065640.pdf
70
Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to Be an Antiracist (Chapter 12, p. 163). One World. https://commonreads.com/book/?isbn=9780525509288
71
Kendi, I. X. (2023). How to Be an Antiracist (Chapter 12, p. 163). One World. https://commonreads.com/book/?isbn=9780525509288
72
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (Chapter 10: White Fragility and the Rules of
Engagement, p. 34). Beacon Press.
73
Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to Be an Antiracist (Chapter 18, pp. 231-232). One World.
https://commonreads.com/book/?isbn=9780525509288
74
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (Chapter 1: The Challenges of Talking to White
People about Racism, p. 28). Beacon Press.
https://dl1.cuni.cz/pluginfile.php/1170336/mod_resource/content/1/Robin%20DiAngelo%20White%20Fragility.pdf
75
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (Introduction: We Can’t Get There From Here,
p. 22). Beacon Press. https://dl1.cuni.cz/pluginfile.php/1170336/mod_resource/content/1/Robin%20DiAngelo%20White%20Fragility.pdf
76
Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to Be an Antiracist (Chapter 2, p. 19). One World. https://commonreads.com/book/?isbn=9780525509288
 22

America has just about 90 million planted acres of corn, and there’s a reason people refer to the crop
as yellow gold. In 2021, U.S. corn was worth over $86 billion, based on calculations from FarmDoc
and the United States Department of Agriculture. According to the USDA, the U.S. is the largest
consumer, producer and exporter of corn in the world.

Agricultural economists agree that scientific advancements in crop breeding, pest control, and modern
farming practices have greatly contributed to the United States’ position as the global corn
powerhouse. Corn is in what we buy, including medications and textiles, and corn is turned into
ethanol, which helps to fuel cars across the nation. The rest of the world relies on U.S. corn, as well. At
$2.2 billion in 2019, corn is the most heavily subsidized of all crops in the country.

The federal crop insurance program's net spending is forecast to increase to nearly $40 billion
annually from 2021 through 2025, according to the Congressional Budget Office. At the same time,
farmland values have reached all-time record highs, reflecting the robust agricultural market.

Islamophobia Study

In the Islamophobia study respondents were randomly divided into 2 groups: One group saw a
passage based on the ISPU’s Islamophobia DEI trainings with each line quoted directly from the
training (with only mild edits for clarity), and the other a control essay about corn production in the US.

Islamophobia DEI Training Essay

Islamophobia in the U.S. manifests in many ways – harassment and violence by anti-Muslim hate
groups, institutionalized anti-Muslim legislation77, and bias in the justice system78. The U.S. has a long
history of the legalized othering of Muslims, with legislation like the anti-terror Patriot Act targeting
Muslims as dangerous outsiders whose actions should be surveilled and their movements curtailed79.

Anti-Shariah, anti-immigration, and voter-ID legislation go hand in hand in manufacturing bigotry and
creating fear. Such restrictive measures limit the freedoms of Muslims and minorities80. Muslims are
also subject to harsher criminal charges and sentenced up to four times longer than non-Muslims81.

U.S. officials openly exhibit Islamophobic views, with Islamophobic rhetoric being linked to violent
crime82. Anti-Muslim hate groups have gained traction, driven by a well-funded Islamophobia network83
fueling anti-Muslim activity like mosque vandalism and arson84.

77
Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. (2021, February 23). Countering and Dismantling Islamophobia: A Comprehensive Guide
for Communities and Individuals (p. 3). https://www.ispu.org/countering-islamophobia/
78
Ibid. (p. 7)
79
Ibid (p. 4).
80
Ibid (p. 4).
81
Ibid (p. 8).
82
Ibid (p. 12).
83
Ibid (p. 15).
84
Ibid (p. 20).
 23

To counter these issues, we must challenge the narratives around “terrorism,” confront bias in the
justice system85, and exert public pressure86 to speak up against87 anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions.
We must cultivate allyship through civic action to fight restrictive legislation88, advocate for equal
justice89, and inspire communities to fight hate90.

Corn Training Essay

America has just about 90 million planted acres of corn, and there’s a reason people refer to the crop
as yellow gold. In 2021, U.S. corn was worth over $86 billion, based on calculations from FarmDoc and
the United States Department of Agriculture.

According to the USDA, the U.S. is the largest consumer, producer and exporter of corn in the world.
Agricultural economists agree that scientific advancements in crop breeding, pest control, and modern
farming practices have greatly contributed to the United States’ position as the global corn powerhouse.
Corn is in what we buy, including medications and textiles, and corn is turned into ethanol, which helps
to fuel cars across the nation.

The rest of the world relies on U.S. corn, as well. At $2.2 billion in 2019, corn is the most heavily
subsidized of all crops in the country. The federal crop insurance program's net spending is forecast to
increase to nearly $40 billion annually from 2021 through 2025, according to the Congressional Budget
Office. At the same time, farmland values have reached all-time record highs, reflecting the robust
agricultural market.

85
Ibid (p. 7).
86
Ibid (p. 15).
87
Ibid (p. 23).
88
Ibid (p. 4).
89
Ibid (p. 7).
90
Ibid (p. 15).