On the complexity of race.

Although a variety of studies have indicated that using statistical clustering techniques to examine genetic information may allow for geographically based groupings of individuals that tenuously map onto some conceptions of race (P??bo, 2001), these studies have also indicated that the amount of genetic variation within these groupings is significantly larger than the variation that exists between them (even after controlling for "unused" portions of the human genetic sequence). However, irrespective of these problems with the concept of race, the study of race holds a prominent place within the social and behavioral sciences. In their recent article on this topic, A. Smedley and B. D. Smedley (see record 2005-00117-003) acknowledge the problematic position of race at the genetic level. However, Smedley and Smedley do not explicitly relate the nature of the analyses often conducted to discern race on a genetic level (e.g., forms of cluster and profile analysis) to the discussion of race at the social level. Although the problems of interpreting self-categorizations into racial categories as "real" in the same way that a genetic code is "real" are obvious (and thoroughly discussed by Smedley & Smedley, 2005), what is often less recognized is the fact that the human genetic code allows for an amazing amount of plurality, whereas the racial categories used in most psychological research are unbelievably restricting. Forgetting the serious problems associated with attempting to match the phenomenology of human life with a series of acids, at a minimum psychologists should pay more attention to the fact that the measurement of social constructs should be conceived at a level of complexity that is at least partially commensurate with that of the human genome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race as Biology Is Fiction, Racism as a Social Problem Is Real: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives on the Social Construction of Race.

Racialized science seeks to explain human population differences in health, intelligence, education, and wealth as the consequence of immutable, biologically based differences between "racial" groups. Recent advances in the sequencing of the human genome and in an understanding of biological correlates of behavior have fueled racialized science, despite evidence that racial groups are not genetically discrete, reliably measured, or scientifically meaningful. Yet even these counterarguments often fail to take into account the origin and history of the idea of race. This article reviews the origins of the concept of race, placing the contemporary discussion of racial differences in an anthropological and historical context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genes, Race, and Psychology in the Genome Era: An Introduction.

The mapping of the human genome has reawakened interest in the topic of race and genetics, especially the use of genetic technology to examine racial differences in complex outcomes such as health and intelligence. Advances in genomic research challenge psychology to address the myriad conceptual, methodological, and analytical issues associated with research on genetics and race. In addition, the field needs to understand the numerous social, ethical, legal, clinical, and policy implications of research in this arena. Addressing these issues should not only benefit psychology but could also serve to guide such thought in other fields, including molecular biology. The purpose of this special issue is to begin a discussion of this issue of race and genetics within the field of psychology. Several scholars who work in the fields of genetics, race, or related areas were invited to write (or had previously submitted) articles sharing their perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Free at last? Social dominance, loss aversion, and white and black Americans' differing assessments of racial progress.

White Americans tend to believe that there has been greater progress toward racial equality than do Black Americans. The authors explain this difference by combining insights from prospect theory and social dominance theory. According to prospect theory, changes seem greater when framed as losses rather than gains. Social dominance theory predicts that White Americans tend to view increases in equality as losses, whereas Black Americans view them as gains. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors experimentally tested whether groups judge the same change differently depending on whether it represents a loss or gain. In Studies 3-6, the authors used experimental methods to test whether White participants who frame equality-promoting changes as losses perceive greater progress toward racial equality. The authors discuss theoretical and political implications for progress toward a just society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individualistic and collectivistic worldviews: Implications for understanding perceptions of racial discrimination in African Americans and British Caribbean Americans.

Cultural worldviews and perceived racial discrimination were examined among Americans (n = 106) and British Caribbean Americans (n = 95), both of African descent, who were recruited through university student organizations, community organizations, and snowball sampling. Consistent with public perceptions of differences in the experience of race among these 2 groups, multiple regression analyses revealed African Americans were more likely than British Caribbean Americans to perceive racial discrimination in the United States. In addition, a cultural worldview focus on individuality and equality (i.e., horizontal individualism) moderated the relationship between ethnic group and perceived racial discrimination. British Caribbean Americans who endorsed greater agreement with horizontal individualism were less likely to perceive racial discrimination. The same worldview was unrelated to African Americans' perceptions of racial discrimination. The results are discussed with respect to within-group heterogeneity among persons of African descent. Implications for counseling persons of African descent and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the Eye of the Storm: Race and Genomics in Research and Practice.

The difficulties of operationalizing race in research and practice for social, behavioral, and genetic researchers and practitioners are neither new nor related to recent genetic knowledge. For geneticists, the bases for understanding groups are clines, observed traits that gradually change in frequency between geographic regions without distinct identifiable population boundaries and population histories that carry information about the distribution of genetic variants. For psychologists, race may not exist or be a social and cultural construct associated with fluid social inferences. Because definitions of populations and race can be socially and biologically incongruent, the authors suggest that geneticists and social and behavioral scientists and clinicians attend to external validity issues by operationalizing population and racial categories and avoiding race proxies for other biological, social, and cultural constructs in research designs, data analyses, and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brian Smedley: Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest.

Announces Brian Smedley as a recipient of the Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions in the Public Interest for 2002. A biographical statement is included, along with major works and contributions for the field. Smedley received this award for his research and policy work addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health status and other social and economic inequities faces by populations of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Race, evolution, and behaviour: A life history perspective.

Reviews the book, Race, evolution, and behaviour: A life history perspective (2nd special abridged edition) by J. Philippe Rushton (2000). In 1995, Philippe Rushton wrote Race, evolution and behavior, which summarized his ideas about race and racial differences. Rushton assumes that the major racial groupings of humankind represent a deep biological and evolutionary reality, and that there are important racial differences caused by evolutionary differences in reproductive strategies. Rushton claims that Blacks are less intelligent, more sexually precocious and promiscuous, less involved in parenting, and more likely to engage in criminal behaviour than "Mongoloids." "Caucasoids" fall between the two other groups in all those characteristics. The book caused considerable controversy. Rushton has defended abridgements of his book as simply providing briefer, more accessible editions of it. Most of the scientific claims made by Rushton, in either the 1995 book or its subsequent revisions, have been roundly criticized, but Rushton continues to present these same claims as if the criticisms did not exist. In many cases, Rushton's review of the evidence is highly selective. Although space precludes examining all of Rushton's claims about racial differences, Rushton hardly provides a balanced scientific account of the evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lay theory of race affects and moderates Asian Americans' responses toward American culture.

People may hold different understandings of race that might affect how they respond to the culture of groups deemed to be racially distinct. The present research tests how this process is moderated by the minority individual's lay theory of race. An essentialist lay theory of race (i.e., that race reflects deep-seated, inalterable essence and is indicative of traits and ability) would orient racial minorities to rigidly adhere to their ethnic culture, whereas a social constructionist lay theory of race (i.e., that race is socially constructed, malleable, and arbitrary) would orient racial minorities to identify and cognitively assimilate toward the majority culture. To test these predictions, the authors conducted 4 studies with Asian American participants. The first 2 studies examine the effect of one's lay theory of race on perceived racial differences and identification with American culture. The last 2 studies tested the moderating effect of lay theory of race on identification and assimilation toward the majority American culture after this culture had been primed. The results generally supported the prediction that the social constructionist theory was associated with more perceived similarity between Asians and Americans and more consistent identification and assimilation toward American culture, compared with the essentialist theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biological conceptions of race and the motivation to cross racial boundaries.

The present studies demonstrate that conceiving of racial group membership as biologically determined increases acceptance of racial inequities (Studies 1 and 2) and cools interest in interacting with racial outgroup members (Studies 3-5). These effects were generally independent of racial prejudice. It is argued that when race is cast as a biological marker of individuals, people perceive racial outgroup members as unrelated to the self and therefore unworthy of attention and affiliation. Biological conceptions of race therefore provide justification for a racially inequitable status quo and for the continued social marginalization of historically disadvantaged groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood socioeconomic status is associated with psychosocial resources in African Americans: The Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project.

Objective: To determine whether lower childhood socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with fewer psychosocial resources independent of adult SES, and whether these associations differed by race/ethnicity. Method: Cross-sectional study of 342 middle-aged (M = 60.5 ± 4.7) African American (n = 49) and Caucasian (n = 293) adults. Childhood SES and adult SES were assessed via highest parental education and participant education, respectively. Participants completed: (a) 6 days of ecological momentary assessment via electronic diaries to assess social support and the number of social interactions and (b) self-report measures of social support, social network diversity, and coping—specifically, active, planning, and emotion focused coping. Results: The interaction term for childhood SES and race/ethnicity significantly predicted several psychosocial resources. Lower childhood SES was associated with less perceived social support in daily life, a less diverse social network, and more limited use of proactive coping strategies in adulthood among African Americans, regardless of adult SES. Comparable associations were not observed among Caucasians. Conclusions: Childhood SES is associated with psychosocial resources in adulthood among African Americans, independent of SES in adulthood. Given emerging associations between childhood SES and health in adulthood, future studies to disentangle the role of psychosocial resources as a mediating pathway and to further examine racial/ethnic variations across these associations are warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial and ethnic harassment and discrimination: In the eye of the beholder?

The nature, rate, and higher-order relationships among facets of racial/ethnic harassment (REH) and discrimination (RED) were examined across five racial/ethnic groups in a sample of 5,000 US military personnel. Using a hierarchical, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis approach, results suggest that the nature of REH and RED do not differ by race, with behavioral items equally representing REH and RED across the different groups. Further, higher-order relationships among the facets of REH and RED do not vary across race, with a single second-order factor accounting for the relationships. This single factor is theorized to represent a root intergroup prejudice that leads to harassment and discrimination. However, as anticipated, individuals from minority groups generally reported higher levels of REH and RED once measurement equivalence has been established. Together, the results suggest that both intergroup prejudice (which is multidirectional) and racism (which originates in powerful groups against other groups) are operating in REH and RED experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does ethnic identity buffer or exacerbate the effects of frequent racial discrimination on situational well-being of Asian Americans?

A quasi-experimental vignette study was conducted to test whether ethnic identity moderated the effects of frequent racial discrimination on situational positive and negative affect of Asian American college students. Results showed that imagining multiple incidents of racial discrimination was related to higher negative affect than imagining a single incident. Asian Americans with high ethnic identity reported lower positive affect when imagining multiple incidents of racial discrimination compared to individuals with high ethnic identity imagining a single incident; by contrast, Asian Americans with low ethnic identity reported higher positive affect when imagining multiple incidents of racial discrimination compared to individuals with low ethnic identity imagining a single incident of racial discrimination. Results suggest ethnic identity may exacerbate the association between racial discrimination and situational well-being for Asian Americans. Moreover, post hoc analyses indicate that the relationship between ethnic identity and discrimination is more relevant for U.S.-born Asian Americans than it is for immigrant Asian Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Use of Race Variables in Genetic Studies of Complex Traits and the Goal of Reducing Health Disparities: A Transdisciplinary Perspective.

The use of racial variables in genetic studies has become a matter of intense public debate, with implications for research design and translation into practice. Using research on smoking as a springboard, the authors examine the history of racial categories, current research practices, and arguments for and against using race variables in genetic analyses. The authors argue that the sociopolitical constructs appropriate for monitoring health disparities are not appropriate for use in genetic studies investigating the etiology of complex diseases. More powerful methods for addressing population structure exist, and race variables are unacceptable as gross proxies for numerous social/environmental factors that disproportionately affect minority populations. The authors conclude with recommendations for genetic researchers and policymakers, aimed at facilitating better science and producing new knowledge useful for reducing health disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Race and genetics: Controversies in biomedical, behavioral, and forensic sciences": Correction to Ossorio and Duster (2005).

Reports an error in "Race and Genetics: Controversies in Biomedical, Behavioral, and Forensic Sciences" by Pilar Ossorio and Troy Duster (American Psychologist, 2005[Jan], Vol 60[1], 115-128). In this article, Table 1 contains several errors due to an editorial mistake. In the Population and Incarceration columns, the data for Blacks and Whites were transposed. In addition, decimal points were omitted from the data in the Rate (%) of Incarceration per Population columns. The correct version of Table 1 appears in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2005-00117-011.) Among biomedical scientists, there is a great deal of controversy over the nature of race, the relevance of racial categories for research, and the proper methods of using racial variables. This article argues that researchers and scholars should avoid a binary-type argument, in which the question is whether to use race always or never. Researchers should instead focus on developing standards for when and how to use racial variables. The article then discusses 1 context, criminology, in which the use of racial variables in behavioral genetics research could be particularly problematic. If genetic studies of criminalized behavior use forensic DNA databanks or forensic genetic profiles, they will be confounded by the many racial biases of the law enforcement and penal system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kenneth B. Clark in the patterns of American culture.

Kenneth B. Clark is most well-remembered as the social scientist cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in footnote 11 of its decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. His presence in that decision came to symbolize the role that social science could play in changing social policy and public attitudes. As an African American social scientist who was prominent during a time of great turmoil over racial issues in the United States, Clark also became a "participant-symbol" in America's discussion of race. Clark contributed to this discussion in the three books he wrote for the general public: Prejudice and Your Child (Clark, 1955), Dark Ghetto (Clark, 1965), and Pathos of Power (Clark, 1974). In this article, the author discusses how these works document Clark's growing pessimism about the prospects for improving race relations. In addition, Clark's place in contemporary American debates about Brown v. Board of Education and the persistence of racial equality is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial differences in birth outcomes: The role of general, pregnancy, and racism stress.

Objective: This study examined the role of psychosocial stress in racial differences in birth outcomes. Design: Maternal health, sociodemographic factors, and 3 forms of stress (general stress, pregnancy stress, and perceived racism) were assessed prospectively in a sample of 51 African American and 73 non-Hispanic White pregnant women. Main Outcome Measures: The outcomes of interest were birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Only predictive models of birth weight were tested as the groups did not differ significantly in gestational age. Results: Perceived racism and indicators of general stress were correlated with birth weight and tested in regression analyses. In the sample as a whole, lifetime and childhood indicators of perceived racism predicted birth weight and attenuated racial differences, independent of medical and sociodemographic control variables. Models within each race group showed that perceived racism was a significant predictor of birth weight in African Americans, but not in non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions: These findings provide further evidence that racism may play an important role in birth outcome disparities, and they are among the first to indicate the significance of psychosocial factors that occur early in the life course for these specific health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race and Ethnicity in the Genome Era: The Complexity of the Constructs.

The vast amount of biological information that is now available through the completion of the Human Genome Project presents opportunities and challenges. The genomic era has the potential to advance an understanding of human genetic variation and its role in human health and disease. A challenge for genomics research is to understand the relationships between genomics, race, and ethnicity and the implications of uncovering these relationships. Robust and scholarly discourse on the concept of race and ethnicity in genomic research should be expanded to include social and behavioral scientists. Interdisciplinary research teams are needed in which psychologists, as well as other social and behavioral scientists, work collaboratively with geneticists and other natural scientists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic stress burden, discrimination, and subclinical carotid artery disease in African American and Caucasian women.

This study examined the association between a composite index of stress that included measures of life events, ongoing stress, discrimination, and economic hardship and subclinical carotid disease among 109 African American and 225 Caucasian premenopausal women. African Americans reported more chronic stress and had higher carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as compared with Caucasians. Among African Americans only, the composite stress index and unfair treatment were associated with higher IMT. These effects were partially mediated by biological risk factors. African Americans who reported experiencing racial discrimination had marginally more carotid plaque than did those who did not report experiencing racial discrimination. The results suggest that African Americans may be particularly vulnerable to the burden of chronic stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of people of color supervision dyads: Racial identity matters as much as race.

Considering the growing racial and ethnic diversity among supervisees, the number of clinical supervision dyads comprised of supervisees and supervisors of Color is likely to increase dramatically. Although extant research has focused on supervision that involves White supervisors paired with racial, ethnic, and linguistic minority supervisees, few authors have explored the supervisory dynamics between clinicians of color and supervisees of Color. This study used a qualitative analysis of structured survey responses provided by supervisees of Color to argue that racial identity (i.e., supervisors’ and supervisees’ psychological experiences of race), more than race is essential for managing the racial dynamics of supervisory dyads involving two people of Color. Using Helms Racial Identity Social Interaction Model (Helms, 1990, 1995), we use a directed content analysis of participants’ responses to demonstrate common themes that emerge when race is introduced into the supervision relationship. Based on supervisees’ reported experiences, implications for the practice of supervision involving people of Color are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)