We like to think of ourselves as open-minded, especially in those proudly “diverse” workplaces. Yet a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Brittany C. Solomon reminds us that distrust doesn’t only creep in along ethnic or cultural lines, it seeps into our political ones, too. And, as it turns out, liberals and conservatives both excel at being suspicious, just not of the same people.
The findings are telling: liberals tend to distrust colleagues with different political views, while conservatives are more likely to distrust those from different racial backgrounds. In a series of field and lab studies involving more than 250 American participants, Solomon found that liberals tend to question the goodness of more conservative peers, whereas conservatives doubt the competence of those who are racially different. In short, both sides are wary, but for very different reasons.
The study was conducted in the United States, but it’s hard to imagine the pattern stopping at the border. These cognitive filters become a collective trap when political or racial diversity fades from our workplaces. Diversity isn’t just about representation; it’s what keeps human ecosystems from turning stale. The problem with distrust, of course, is that we spot it in others far more easily than in ourselves. And that’s perhaps the study’s most valuable lesson: progressives who have worked hard to address bias against minorities might also need to practise a bit more openness of their own.