Race, class, and the attributional process.

Two experiments examined the process and content of attributional thinking in Black and White children who differed in socioeconomic status (SES). In Exp I, 171 7th graders subdivided into middle-SES Black, middle-SES White, low-SES Black, and low-SES White groups imagined that they succeeded or failed at an examination, with the cause of the outcome specified. Their perceptions of the dimensional properties of causes (locus, stability, and controllability), expectancy for success, teacher evaluation, and affective reactions were reported. Similar judgments were made in Exp II, with 148 of the Ss from Exp I, in response to actual rather than hypothetical success and failure, and Ss' causal attributions for their performance were reported. Analyses revealed that Blacks did not display a less adaptive attributional pattern than did Whites following actual performance, and no differences existed in Ss' understanding of the meaning (dimensional placement) of causes. A linkage between the locus of causes and affect also was documented in all race?×?SES groups. In contrast, race and class differences occurred in Ss' perceptions of predicted stability–expectancy and controllability–evaluation causal linkages. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observed IQ as a function of test atmosphere, tester expectation, and race of tester: A replication for female subjects.

Investigated performance on the WISC among 208 Black and 208 White female junior high and high school students under 16 yrs of age. The variables of test atmosphere (evaluative or gamelike), tester expectation (high or low), race and sex of tester, and race and socioeconomic status (SES; above or below the median) of S were placed in a 2–6 factorial design. The variables of atmosphere, expectation, and SES interacted significantly with the race of the S in determining mean IQ. High-SES Blacks exposed to what had been predicted to be optimally motivating conditions achieved mean IQs equaling or exceeding those of low-SES Whites. Ss generally performed better in the presence of a female tester. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of affective meaningfulness and self-concept in the verbal learning styles of White and Black children.

White and Black 5th graders, representing 2 social class and 2 self-concept (Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale) levels, recalled nouns which they had prerated for likability in a multitrial free recall format. While self-concept failed to have any noticeable influence on the total sample, it interacted significantly with race. As predicted, the high self-concept White Ss recalled positively rated words more readily than negatively rated words, while their low self-concept peers showed no memory predilection. Although the low self-concept Black Ss also reflected no preference for their affective evaluations, the high self-concept Black Ss showed a greater propensity to recall their negatively rated words. Social class had a negligible effect on affective learning styles. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and race effects in the conformity behavior of upper-elementary school-aged children.

Reports 2 experiments with a total of 368 Black and White lower- and middle-class 9-12 yr olds in which a novel technique was used to study sex and race effects on children's conformity behavior. Neither the White, lower-class Ss nor the White, middle-class Ss showed any consistent tendency to conform differentially to Black and White models. A tendency of Blacks in Exp I to conform more to White than to Black models constituted the only race effect of any consequence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black children's use of nonstandard grammar: Two years later.

A Berko-type task requiring Ss to derive the present, plural, possessive, and time extension forms of nonsense syllables was administered to 115 Black and White 2nd graders and readministered to a subsample of these same children upon their reaching the 4th grade. At both 2nd- and 4th-grade levels, White Ss supplied significantly more standard English responses and Black Ss significantly more hypothesized nonstandard English responses to each of the 4 tasks. Additionally, Ss of both races showed significant increases in standard English usage and significant decreases in nonstandard English usage over the 2-yr period. The possibility that grammatical differences between Black Ss and White Ss might disappear given more time is discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral correlates for the MMPI standard F scale and for a modified F scale for Black and White psychiatric patients.

Investigated the behavioral correlates for the standard F scale and for an alternate MMPI F scale derived from responses of normal Black Ss. 157 Black (mean age 33.75 yrs) and 157 White (mean age 36.75 yrs) psychiatric patients were given the MMPI and were rated on psychiatric and nurses' rating scales. Black and White Ss did not differ significantly on either of the 2 F scales. Fewer significant correlations were obtained between standard F scale scores and behavioral ratings for Black Ss than for White Ss. For White Ss, some significant correlations were obtained between the alternate F scale scores and behavioral ratings, but no significant correlations were obtained between alternate F scale scores and behavioral ratings for Black Ss. It is concluded that for Black patients, the alternate F scale is not related to psychopathology in the same way that the standard F scale is for White patients. Further, it appears that the standard and alternate F scales are assessing similar characteristics of test Ss. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Story recall in young Black and White children: Effects of racial group membership, race of experimenter, and dialect.

Tested the effects of racial group membership, race of E, and dialect on unstructured and probed recall. l6 Black and 16 White 4-6 mo old children were Ss. Subgroups of 4 Ss within each racial group were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions such that order of exposure to E (Black and White) and dialects Standard English vs Black English vernacular) were counterbalanced. Results show that Whites performed better than Blacks in Standard English, Blacks performed better than Whites in Black English vernacular, Blacks tested in Black English vernacular were equivalent to Whites tested in Standard English, and Whites performed better in Standard English than in Black English vernacular. When probed with questions, there was an overall increase in the proportion of correct information for both racial groups. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative analysis of Black women's and White women's sex-role attitudes.

An assessment of the sex-role attitudes (using J. P. Gump's Revised Fand Inventory) of 77 Black and 40 White female undergraduates refuted the characterization of the Black woman as matriarchal and the White woman as home centered and submissive. Black Ss, in comparison with White Ss, were more likely to define their identity with respect to the roles of wife and mother and were more home centered and more submissive; White Ss expressed significantly more interest in furthering their own development than in fulfilling the traditional role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rumours greatly exaggerated: Allport and Postman's apocryphal study.

Assessed the potential impact of stereotypical information on memory, using 107 undergraduates. Ss saw a series of slides depicting a violent knifing incident between 2 men on the London Underground. Half were shown the altercation as occurring between 2 White men and half between a Black and a White man. In all cases, the critical slide in which the knife was presented showed it to be in the hand of the White man. After a distraction interval of 45 min Ss were given forced-choice recognition and recall tests. The latter required the Ss to write a brief account of the event while the former required Ss to choose between 2 slides. Results indicate that, when the recognition test preceded the recall test, Ss who had seen the slides with the Black and White protagonists were less accurate than those who had seen only White protagonists. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores of Black and White police applicants.

Administered the 100-item Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH) and the full WAIS to 83 Black and White police applicants. Ss' mean age was in the early 20's, and their mean educational level was 21/2 yrs of college. Results reveal considerable overlap in the distributions of individual WAIS Full Scale IQ between the Black and White Ss, but 2 totally nonoverlapping distributions of scores on the BITCH, with no White Ss scoring above Black Ss. BITCH means were as follows: White females, 60.9; White males, 64.1; Black females, 86.7; and Black males, 83.9. The corresponding WAIS Full Scale IQ means were 117.2, 117.8, 110.2, and 101.6, respectively. Correlational analyses between the BITCH and each of the 14 WAIS measures revealed no relation between score on the BITCH and score on the WAIS. It is concluded that the lack of concurrent validity for the present form of the BITCH and its lack of adequate ceiling for Black applicants presents problems for its use in a program of police selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of eyewitness identification in a field setting.

64 White and 9 Black 17–60 yr old clerks working alone in convenience stores were asked by "law interns" to identify from photograph lineups (prepared by the local police department) 2 male customers, one Black and one White, who had been in their store 2 hrs earlier. Ss were able to make correct identifications about one-third of the time. Even when no-guesses were omitted, identifications were correct less than half (46.8%) of the time. There was a substantial relationship between accuracy and Ss' confidence that they were correct. Only slight evidence of an own-race bias in accuracy was found among the Whites. White Ss' ability to identify the Black customer was significantly related to the amount of self-reported cross-racial experiences. The attractiveness and distinctiveness of the customers was related to the frequency of correct identifications, as was the effective size and functional size of the lineups used. Black Ss showed better overall recognition accuracy than did White Ss. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pupil behaviors and interactions in desegregated urban junior high activity-centered science classrooms.

Pupil classroom behavior was observed in 26 Black and 26 White 8–9th graders from 14 activity-centered science classes in 4 urban junior high schools. Classroom behaviors were observed for 10 6-min periods each over 3 mo. 19 behavior categories were coded and later combined to form categories labeled learning, attending, and nonattending. Interpersonal interactions were coded as cross- or within-race and on- or off-task. Entering California Achievement Test mathematics and reading scores (CAT-M and CAT-R, respectively) and final grades were obtained from school records. No significant race differences were found in in-class behavior, few hostile interactions were observed, there were more within- than cross-race interactions, and cross-race interactions were more apt to occur during learning than during nonattending. Reading and math scores were correlated with final grade for both groups. Learning behavior accounted for significant variance in final grade, after removing effects of CAT-M and CAT-R, for Black but not for White Ss. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task performance of black and white children across levels of presentation variability

This study is an examination of the task performance patterns of Black and White, working and middle-class American children across a nonvaried and a varied presentation format condition: the relation of such patterns to activity levels in the home and to standardized achievement was also examined. Performance was better under the varied than the nonvaried format condition. This pattern held for all ethnic group/class combinations with the exception of Black middle-class children, for whom performance under the two conditions was virtually identical. Moreover, Black children, especially Black working-class children, reported greater home activity levels than did their White counterparts. Neither home activity level nor achievement was functionally related to patterns of performance.     

Family socialization and the IQ test performance of traditionally and transracially adopted Black children.

Compared mean IQ test performance and response styles to cognitive demands of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) among 23 Black children (aged 7–10 yrs) who had been adopted by middle-class White families (i.e., transracially adopted) and 23 age-matched Black children who had been adopted by middle-class Black families (i.e., traditionally adopted). Findings indicate that while the traditionally adopted Ss received normal IQ scores, transracially adopted Ss showed nearly 1 standard deviation Full-Scale Scoring advantage over them. A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated significant differences in the styles of responding to test demands demonstrated by the 2 groups of Ss, which were conceptualized as contributors to the difference in average test score observed between them. Multivariate analysis of the helping behaviors adopted mothers exhibited when helping their children solve a difficult cognitive task revealed significant differences between Black and White mothers, which were conceptualized as culturally determined. White adopted mothers tended to release tension by joking, grinning, and laughing, while Black adoptive mothers more often released tension in less positive ways such as scowling, coughing, and frowning. White adoptive mothers were more likely than Black adoptive mothers to provide positive evaluations of their children's problem solving efforts. It is concluded that the ethnicity of the rearing environment exerts a significant influence on children's styles of responding to standardized intelligence tests and on their test achievement. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer acceptance and school-related variables in an integrated junior high school.

Interracial peer acceptance at the junior high school level was related to 9 predictor variables: grade point average (GPA), IQ, attendance, self-concept of academic ability, sex, race, age, years in the school, and classroom racial composition. 322 7th- and 8th-grade students from predominantly lower-middle-class backgrounds were administered modified Syracuse Scales of Human Relations, measuring academic and social acceptance. Analysis of variance results show that White Ss slightly preferred Whites for the satisfaction of their academic and social needs. However, with stepwise multiple regression analysis, race was not a significant predictor variable for academic or social acceptance by White Ss. GPA and sex were the most prominent predictors of acceptance. Black Ss accepted both Black peers and White peers equally for academic interaction but preferred Blacks for social interaction. Race was a significant predictor variable for academic and social acceptance by Black Ss. However, race was secondary to GPA and/or sex for academic acceptance by Black females and Black males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial and behavioral cues in Black and White children's perceptions of ambiguously aggressive acts.

Examined the way in which the interpretation of ambiguous social behavior is influenced by racial stereotypes and cultural differences. 40 Black and 40 White 6th-grade males were shown a variety of ambiguously aggressive behaviors performed by Black and White stimulus figures. As predicted, both Black and White Ss rated these behaviors as more mean and threatening when the perpetrator was Black than when he was White. In contrast, ratings of personal characteristics were in general determined by individual behavior rather than by group stereotypes, although Blacks, whether they were the perpetrator or the recipient of the behaviors, were rated as stronger than their White counterparts. Cultural differences between S groups were apparent in the greater tendency of the White Ss to read threat into ambiguously aggressive behaviors involving no physical contact and to assume that the perpetrators of such behaviors were stronger than the recipients. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluative race–class stereotypes by race and perceived class of subjects.

80 Black and 74 White college students assigned traits, from a list of 80, to the Black lower class, Black middle class, White lower class, and White middle class. Each S rated the 5 or fewer traits that he or she had chosen as being most typical of the respective race–class groups from –5 (unfavorable) to +5 (favorable) for the given groups. Ss also assigned themselves to 1 of 4 classes: lower class, working class, middle class, or upper class. On the basis of these judgments, the Ss within each racial group were classified as perceiving themselves to be above or below the median of their own race's distribution. White Ss assigned more favorable characteristics to the middle than to the lower class and did not rate Blacks lower than Whites. Black Ss made a similar, but smaller, social class distinction and, in addition, generally perceived Blacks more favorably than Whites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)