Accent Controllability Beliefs and Bias against Nonnative English Speakers

An abundance of research in the social sciences has demonstrated a persistent bias against nonnative English speakers (Giles & Billings, 2004; Gluszek & Dovidio, 2010). In the United States, nonnative English speakers are conferred lower status and evaluated negatively across a variety of employment settings compared to native speakers. Yet, organizational scholars have only begun to investigate the underlying mechanisms that may be driving these negative perceptions toward nonnative speakers and subsequently, to design interventions to mitigate these biases. In two studies, we investigated the extent to which people’s belief about the controllability of accents might affect attitude towards nonnative speakers. In Study 1, participants listened to and evaluated a business pitch presented by either a native or a nonnative English speaking entrepreneur. We measured participants’ belief about the extent to which accents were within the control of the speaker. We found that participants who were high, compared to low, on the belief that accents are controllable evaluated nonnative English speaking entrepreneurs more negatively. In Study 2, we experimentally manipulated accent controllability belief and replicated Study 1 findings. People’s attribution about the speaker’s motivation to assimilate into dominant American culture mediated the relationship between accent controllability belief and evaluation of nonnative speakers. Taken together, these studies identify conditions under which accent-based bias is most likely to occur, and offer insights on interventions aimed to reduce bias against nonnative speakers.