偏见是指对某一群体或其成员的消极态度，它一直广泛存在于人类社会的各个层面，并对社会和谐造成了破坏。研究者们探索了诸多减少偏见的策略，例如，增加群际接触和建立共同身份认同等。这些策略的有效性纷纷指向了一个核心心理过程——观点采择。观点采择是指个体从他人或他人所处情境出发，想象或推测他人观点与态度的心理过程。然而，一些研究发现，观点采择可以有效减少偏见；另一些研究发现，观点采择反而会增加偏见。因此，有必要探讨是什么因素影响了观点采择和偏见的关系。 我们认为，个体的调节定向影响了观点采择和偏见的关系。对已有研究总结和分析发现，在观点采择减少偏见的研究中，个体往往秉持追求动机，追求良好的社会关系和高自我价值等积极结果，因此他们把与外群体互动视为机会，进而产生更多积极和接近的态度。而在观点采择增加偏见的研究中，个体往往秉持回避的动机，回避可能的损失和来自外群体的消极评价等消极结果，因此将外群体视作威胁，产生更多消极和回避的态度。也就是说，个体的趋利-避害动机可能是观点采择减少/增加偏见的边界条件。Higgins提出的调节定向理论将趋利-避害动机划分进两种调节定向：促进定向和防御定向。调节定向是指个体在实现目标的自我调节过程中会表现出特定的方式或倾向。促进定向的个体更关注追求和成就，对积极结果是否出现更加敏感。防御定向的个体关注安全和责任，对消极结果是否出现更加敏感。因此，我们推测：在观点采择过程中，促进定向的个体会倾向于追求积极结果，对外群体表现出更积极、接近的态度，因而观点采择降低偏见；防御定向的个体会倾向于回避消极的观点采择结果，对外群体表现出消极、回避的态度，因而观点采择增加偏见。 本研究通过三个研究来验证假设。在研究一和研究二中，我们研究了汉族人对维吾尔族人的偏见，并考察调节定向对观点采择与偏见关系的影响。在研究一中我们操纵观点采择，告知被试根据维吾尔族人的照片想象对方的想法和感受，并书写关于维吾尔族人生活的短文，然后测量汉族被试的调节定向以及对维吾尔族的偏见；研究二使用和研究一相同的方法操纵观点采择，同时操纵调节定向，最后测量汉族人对维吾尔族人的偏见。两个研究一致表明，调节定向调节观点采择和偏见的关系。促进定向的条件下，观点采择减少偏见；防御定向条件下，观点采择增加偏见。 为了验证研究假设的跨文化适用性，在研究三中，我们测量了美国非穆斯林的观点采择能力、调节定向和他们对穆斯林的偏见。结果同样验证了调节定向对观点采择影响偏见的调节作用，但与前两个研究的结果略有不同，对于促进定向个体，观点采择能力负向预测偏见；而对于防御定向个体，观点采择能力不能预测偏见。这一结果差异可能是因被试群体或测量方法等因素所导致的。 本研究理论贡献在于，从调节定向的角度解释了观点采择增加/减少偏见的两种矛盾结果；把调节定向理论应用于群际关系问题，拓展了该理论的适用性；验证了区分趋利动机和避害动机的合理性。在实践意义方面，本研究验证了通过改变认知的方法可以有效减少偏见。这为完善采用观点采择进行的干预提供了重要参考，即可以通过设置收益框架等办法使个体处于促进定向，从而确保观点采择有效减少偏见。

Prejudice, namely people’s negative attitudes toward members of specific groups, is quite widespread in human society. Throughout history, division and conflicts caused by prejudice have dramatically damaged social harmony. Scholars have proposed different measures such as intergroup contact and creating a common identity to reduce prejudice. The effectiveness of these strategies is determined by a key psychological process: perspective-taking, which is defined as the process of imagining the world from another’s vantage point or imagining oneself in another’s shoes. However, some studies show that perspective-taking reduces prejudice, while other studies indicate that perspective-taking increases prejudice. Therefore, the present research aimed to explore what influence the relationship between perspective-taking and prejudice. We proposed that regulatory focus could moderate the effect of perspective-taking on prejudice. Looking through the previous studies on perspective-taking and prejudice, we have found some common. In the studies of decrease in prejudice, individuals have a motivation of pursuing positive results such as better social bonds and closeness, thus they consider interaction with outgroups as a chance and take approaching strategy. Whereas in the studies of increase in prejudice, individuals have a motivation of avoiding negative results such as loss of resources and negative evaluation, thus they consider outgroups as a threat and take avoiding strategy. Therefore, approaching motivation and avoiding motivation may influence the relationship between perspective-taking and prejudice. Higgins has distinguished approaching motivation and avoiding motivation by two kinds of regulatory focus: promotion focus and prevention focus. Regulatory focus is the specific trendy of individuals during the self-regulation and goal achievement process. Promotion focus involves sensitivity to presence or absence of gain and pursuit of hopes. Prevention focus involves sensitivity to presence or absence of loss and attention to responsibilities. We assumed that individuals with promotion focus would pay attention to positive results during perspective-taking process, thus they would tend to approach outgroups and show less prejudice. On the contrary, individuals with prevention focus would prevent negative results, thus they would tend to avoid outgroups and show more prejudice. Three studies were conducted to examine the hypothesis. In Studies 1 and 2, we focused on Han Chinese’s prejudice toward Uyghurs. In Study 1, we manipulated perspective-taking by asking Han Chinese participants to take the Uyghur man’s view and write a short narrative essay about a typical day of his life according to a photo. Meanwhile, we measured Han Chinese’s regulatory focus and their prejudice toward Uyghurs. In Study 2, we conducted a 2 (perspective-taking/control condition) × 2 (promotion focus/prevent focus) design with manipulating perspective-taking and regulatory focus simultaneously. Meanwhile, we measured Han Chinese’s prejudice toward Uyghurs. The results of two studies demonstrated that, for Han Chinese with promotion focus, perspective-taking reduced prejudice, while for those with prevention focus, perspective-taking increased prejudice. In Study 3, to increase applicability of findings among different cultural backgrounds, we extended the current research to the relationship between non-Muslims American and Muslims. We measured non-Muslims American’s general perspective-taking ability, regulatory focus and their prejudice toward Muslims. Along with Study 1 and Study 2, the result revealed that, for non-Muslims American with promotion focus, perspective-taking negatively predicted prejudice. However, for non-Muslims American with prevention focus, perspective-taking surprisingly could not predict prejudice. The sample and methods of Study 3 might be the reason of inconsistency. The findings confirmed that regulatory focus moderated the effect of perspective-taking on prejudice. In theoretical level, the current research explained the contradictory effects of perspective-taking on prejudice from aspect of regulatory focus. Meanwhile, we applied regulatory focus theory to intergroup relation study, which extended the applicability of this theory. In addition, different effects of promotion and prevention focus supported that it was reasonable to distinguish approaching motivation and avoiding motivation. In practical level, the current research confirmed the cognitive method could be used to reduce prejudice, which provided some reference on improving the perspective-taking intervention. We should consider the backfire effect of perspective-taking approach in prevent focus condition. In future applications, combining the manipulation of promotion focus with perspective-taking approach could guarantee that perspective-taking decrease prejudice.