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doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.06.007 
Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Received 29 July 2005;
Abstract
In two studies, we document “failure to warn”—a reduced likelihood of warning Black students against potential academic difficulty compared to White students. In both studies, participants placed in the role of academic advisors saw a highly challenging academic course plan, attributed to either a Black or a White student, and gave Black students less warning about the potential negative consequences of taking on the proposed plan. Study 1 (N = 172) demonstrates this effect using undergraduate peer academic advisors, and Study 2 (N = 58) provides evidence that this effect is moderated by Internal Motivation to Respond Without Prejudice (Plant & Devine, 1998), suggesting that this effect is driven by the fear that discouraging an ambitious Black student might reflect prejudice. This well-intentioned concern can have the ironic consequence of leading the recipients of this advice into academic difficulties.
Keywords: Academic advice; Norms against prejudice; Course load; Academic feedback; Concerns with prejudice; Differences in advice; Race; Intergroup perception
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This research was supported by a Clara Mayo Grant from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. We are grateful to Diann McCants and Valerie Purdie-Vaughns for their assistance with administering Study 1, as well as the following research assistants: Alison Cordeiro, Kali Cyrus, Sarah Degerman, Owen Frivold, Damien Jackson, Famia Nkansa, Katrina Redfern, and Kathleen Ryou. We are grateful to Sapna Cheryan, Jennifer Eberhardt, Brian Lowery, Claude Steele, and Julie Turchin for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030, USA. 
