Distributing prejudice unequally: Do Whites direct their prejudice toward strongly identified minorities?

Across 6 studies, Whites expressed more negative attitudes toward strongly identified racial minorities than toward weakly identified minorities. Whites who personally endorsed worldviews that legitimize the status hierarchy were particularly likely to express negative attitudes toward strongly identified minorities relative to weakly identified minorities, whereas Whites who personally rejected status-legitimizing worldviews displayed the opposite pattern. In addition, Whites' biases against strongly identified minorities dissipated when strongly identified minorities expressed strong endorsement of status-legitimizing worldviews. These studies suggest that Whites do not distribute their prejudicial attitudes equally among all members of minority groups and that some subsets of minorities (the strongly identified) might bear the brunt of racial prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic Enclaves and the Dynamics of Social Identity on the College Campus: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The effects of membership in ethnic organizations and fraternities and sororities on intergroup attitudes were examined using a 5-wave panel study at a major, multiethnic university. The results showed that these effects were similar for both minority and White students. Membership in ethnic student organizations for minorities and Greek organizations for Whites was anteceded by the degree of one's ethnic identity, and the effects of membership in these groups were similar, although not identical, for both White and minority students. These effects included an increased sense of ethnic victimization and a decreased sense of common identity and social inclusiveness. Consistent with social identity theory, at least a portion of these effects were mediated by social identity among both White and minority students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Case report of Usher''s syndrome in two sisters--first reported case in Singapore

Nursing is still a predominantly White profession, and many nursing students have had little experience with people of diverse races or sexual identities. The purpose of this study was to examine racial awareness and attitudes toward sexual minorities in incoming nursing students. The findings indicated that students had a low awareness of race issues but stated that they felt comfortable working with people of other races. Attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual people were more negative and fewer students reported feeling comfortable working with sexual minorities. Low racial awareness and negative attitudes about sexual minorities were related. Parental attitudes toward sexual minorities were related to student level of comfort working with sexual minorities, but parental attitudes about racial minorities were not related to student level of comfort with people of other races. The correlates of low racial awareness and negative attitudes about sexual minorities were similar.     

Attitudes of white and Negro high school students in a west Texas town toward school integration.

"1. Authoritarian attitudes… were not indicative of negative attitudes toward integration. 2. Negro students… show highly authoritarian attitudes as well as strong positive attitudes toward all areas of school integration. 3. White students in the segregated school systems studied show high authoritarianism though less than Negro students. 4. White students show a number of positive attitude responses toward many aspects of school integration, thus easing the expressed fear of widespread interracial conflicts in integrated schools in this area, though problems may arise in situations necessitating close personal-social contact." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concern for the in-group and opposition to affirmative action.

The present experiments suggest that the desire to benefit the in-group drives dominant-group members' policy preferences, independent of concern for out-groups' outcomes. In Experiment 1, the effect of a manipulation of affirmative action procedures on policy support was mediated by how Whites expected the policy to affect fellow Whites, but not by the expected effect on minorities. In Experiments 2 and 3, when focused on losses for the White in-group, Whites' racial identity was negatively related to support for affirmative action. However, when focused on gains for the Black out-group or when participants were told that Whites were not affected by the policy, racial identity did not predict attitudes toward the policy. In Experiments 2 and 3, perceived fairness mediated these effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning strategies and motivation processes.

We studied how specific motivational processes are related to the salience of mastery and performance goals in actual classroom settings. One hundred seventy-six students attending a junior high/high school for academically advanced students were randomly selected from one of their classes and responded to a questionnaire on their perceptions of the classroom goal orientation, use of effective learning strategies, task choices, attitudes, and causal attributions. Students who perceived an emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom reported using more effective strategies, preferred challenging tasks, had a more positive attitude toward the class, and had a stronger belief that success follows from one's effort. Students who perceived performance goals as salient tended to focus on their ability, evaluating their ability negatively and attributing failure to lack of ability. The pattern and strength of the findings suggest that the classroom goal orientation may facilitate the maintenance of adaptive motivation patterns when mastery goals are salient and are adopted by students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anti-Black racism, self-esteem, and the adjustment of White students in higher education.

The present study examined the negative consequences of racism to White university students. It was hypothesized that anti-Black racism would impact students' self-esteem, college social adjustment, and college personal-emotional adjustment above and beyond academic adjustment. It was further expected that self-esteem would mediate the relationship between racism and college adjustment. In a White university student sample, students reporting attitudes reflecting a combination of overtly racist and egalitarian attitudes toward Blacks also reported lower levels of self-esteem and college social adjustment. Furthermore, self-esteem mediated the relationship between anti-Black racism and college social adjustment. Findings inform the multidimensional nature of negative consequences of racism to Whites in higher education. A discussion of implications from this research with regard to the creation of diverse and culturally sensitive university environments is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents' reference-group choices, self-esteem, and adjustment.

330 Black, Hispanic, Asian, and White high school students reported their reference-group label as mainstream, bicultural, or strongly ethnically identified. Compared with other groups, White students were significantly more likely to be mainstream. Across ethnic groups, students reporting a strong ethnic identification held attitudes that were significantly more separatist, reported more ethnic pride, engaged in less cross-ethnic contact out of school, reported more cross-ethnic conflict, and used English significantly less often than other reference groups. Reference-group label was not associated with significant ethnic differences in self-esteem, social competence, or grade point average (GPA). The generational status of minority students is discussed as a potential influence mediating the impact of reference group on adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Referral patterns in ethnic-specific and mainstream programs for ethnic minorities and Whites.

The present study examined the referral patterns of 1,095 African, 2,168 Asian, 1,385 Hispanic, and 2,273 White Americans (18 years of age and older) in a public mental health system to determine whether group differences in help-seeking and referral patterns were related to participation in ethnic-specific versus mainstream programs. Results indicated that (a) ethnic minorities in both mainstream and ethnic-specific programs were more likely than Whites to have been referred by natural help-giving and lay referral sources (e.g., family or friends, health services, and social services) and (b) ethnic minorities in ethnic-specific programs were more likely than ethnic minorities in mainstream programs to have been referred by natural help-giving and lay referral sources if they were Asian and Hispanic Americans and self-referred if they were African Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School desegregation: The social science role.

Discusses the social science statement supporting the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education US Supreme Court decision. It is contended that the statement was based on well-meaning rhetoric rather than solid research. All that the statement said, in effect, was that because the minority child was now in a classroom with Whites, he or she would no longer have the status of an outcast or a pariah. The "lateral transmission of values" hypothesis contained in a desegregation report by J. S. Coleman et al (1966) predicted that through classroom contact with their White peers, minority pupils would experience a personality change by absorbing the achievement-related values of the Whites. Social science thinking 10 yrs later, when desegregation began to be implemented, was more sophisticated but still unsupported by necessary research. It is concluded that no real evidence has been found for the lateral transmission hypotheses and that research and development as well as systems engineering in the social sciences are needed if some of the social problems in the US, including successful implementation of school desegregation, are to be eventually solved. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of cooperative versus individualized instruction on student prosocial behavior, attitudes toward learning, and achievement.

Compared the effects of structuring classroom learning cooperatively and individualistically on student ability to take the affective perspective of others, altruism, attitudes toward classroom life, and achievement. 30 White, working-class 5th graders matched on previous achievement in language arts were assigned to cooperative and individualized conditions for learning language arts for 45-60 min/day for 17 days. Results indicate that cooperative, compared to individualized, learning resulted in greater ability to take the affective perspective of others, more altruism, more positive attitudes toward classroom life, and higher achievement. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influences of student background and teacher authoritarianism on teacher expectations.

Asked 25 White elementary school teachers to predict the academic grades and occupational attainment of 6 students: a middle-class White boy; a middle-class White girl; a lower-class White boy; a lower-class White girl; a middle-class Asian boy; and a middle-class Asian girl. In addition, teachers were classified as high or low in authoritarianism based on their tolerance of ambiguity and cognitive complexity. It was found that higher grade and occupational expectations were held for middle-class than for lower-class students. Grade expectations were higher for girls than boys and tended to be higher for Asians than Whites. White females were expected to attain higher occupational status than Asian females, but Asian males were expected to surpass White males on this measure. Finally, teachers who were high authoritarians were more likely than low-authoritarian teachers to utilize stereotypes that favored ingroups and tended to be less likely to use stereotypes that favored outgroups. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

White–Black achievement differences: The narrowing gap.

Discusses findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the College Entrance Examination Board that demonstrate consistent reductions during recent years in the size of average achievement differences between White and Black elementary and secondary school students. Societal changes that may have contributed to increasing the average achievement levels for Black students (e.g., desegregation) are examined, and it is noted that these trends are not necessarily due to the effects of educational and social programs designed toward this end. It is argued that the difference in enrollment levels for high school algebra and geometry courses between predominantly White schools and predominantly Black schools accounts for part of the average White–Black difference in 17-yr-olds' mathematics achievement scores. Further, if average enrollments in mathematics courses for Blacks became more similar to average enrollments for Whites, White–Black average mathematics achievement differences might be reduced further. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction.

The present research examined how implicit racial associations and explicit racial attitudes of Whites relate to behaviors and impressions in interracial interactions. Specifically, the authors examined how response latency and self-report measures predicted bias and perceptions of bias in verbal and nonverbal behavior exhibited by Whites while they interacted with a Black partner. As predicted, Whites' self-reported racial attitudes significantly predicted bias in their verbal behavior to Black relative to White confederates. Furthermore, these explicit attitudes predicted how much friendlier Whites felt that they behaved toward White than Black partners. In contrast, the response latency measure significantly predicted Whites' nonverbal friendliness and the extent to which the confederates and observers perceived bias in the participants' friendliness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“What about me?” Perceptions of exclusion and Whites' reactions to multiculturalism.

A 5-study investigation of reactions of dominant group members (i.e., White Americans) to diversity (relative to racial minority reactions) provides evidence of implicit and explicit associations between multiculturalism and exclusion and of a relationship between perceived exclusion and reactions to diversity. In Study 1, Whites but not racial minorities were faster in an implicit association task at pairing multiculturalism with exclusion than with inclusion. This association diminished in Study 2 through a subtle framing of diversity efforts as targeted toward all groups, including European Americans. In Study 3, in a “Me/Not Me” task, Whites were less likely than minorities to pair multiculturalism concepts with the self and were slower in responding to multiculturalism concepts. Furthermore, associating multiculturalism with the self (Study 3) or feeling included in organizational diversity (Study 4) predicted Whites' endorsement of diversity and also accounted for the oft-cited group status difference in support for diversity initiatives. Study 5 showed that individual differences in need to belong moderated Whites' interest in working for organizations that espouse a multicultural versus a color-blind approach to diversity, with individuals higher in need to belong less attracted to organizations with a multicultural approach. Overall, results show that the purportedly “inclusive” ideology of multiculturalism is not perceived as such by Whites. This may, in part, account for their lower support for diversity efforts in education and work settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

White therapist and female minority clients: Gender and culture issues.

Discusses ramifications of a White female therapist working with female minority clients. The personality of the therapist and the meaning of White and minority to him/her appear to be important variables for success with minority clients. It is argued that therapy with minorities must always be viewed in the context of one's own political perspective, attitudes, and biases and that racial homogeneity for client and therapist is less important than interpersonal trust in a situation of gender likeness and equality. (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)     

Cultural mistrust, opinions about mental illness, and Black students' attitudes toward seeking psychological help from White counselors.

Examined the relationship among mistrust of Whites, opinions about mental illness, and help-seeking attitudes among 105 Black college students. Participants completed the Cultural Mistrust Inventory (F. Terrell and S. L. Terrell; see record 1982-29464-001), the Opinions About Mental Illness Scale, the Help-Seeking Attitude Scale (R. Plotkin, unpublished), and the Reid-Gundlach Social Service Satisfaction Scale (P. N. Reid and J. H. Gundlach, 1983). The hypothesis that higher levels of cultural mistrust would predict negative help-seeking attitudes was generally supported through regression analyses. Greater mistrust of Whites was associated with more negative general attitudes about seeking help from clinics staffed primarily by Whites and with an expectation that the services rendered by White counselors would be less satisfactory. Limitations of this study, as well as implications and recommendations for future research and practice, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnicity and perceived discrimination in Toronto: Another look at the personal/group discrimination discrepancy.

Perceptions of personal and group discrimination in 5 domains (jobs, pay, loans, promotions, and clubs) were investigated via telephone interviews with 902 respondents from different ethnic groups in Toronto. The reported analyses concern 6 ethnic groups, representing "visible," racial minorities (Blacks, Chinese, and South Asians) as well as White minorities (Italians, Jews, and Portuguese). The personal/group discrimination discrepancy (i.e., perceiving greater discrimination toward one's group than oneself personally) was observed to varying extent across all domains and ethnic groups, though with some exceptions. Visible minorities perceived greater discrimination toward their group than did White minorities, especially in the economic domains of jobs, pay, and promotions. Among visible minorities, Black respondents perceived higher levels of group and personal discrimination than most other ethnic groups across domains, followed in turn by Chinese and South Asian respondents. By contrast, White minority group members perceived considerably less group or personal discrimination than members of visible minorities, except for Jewish respondents who reported greater group discrimination in joining clubs than any other ethnic group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between the Cup of Principle and the Lip of Practice: Ethnic Minorities and American Psychology, 1966-1980.

By 1980, the previously held dichotomy of Black and White racial identity in America had yielded to a mosaic of red, yellow, brown, black, and white. During the 1960s and 1970s, identity, and thus psychological knowledge, were articulated and differentiated in terms of gender, sexual orientation, and class in unprecedented ways. In this article, the author contextualizes efforts to make mainstream American psychology more receptive to ethnic minorities between 1966 and 1980. Advocacy and activism by ethnic minority psychologists forced American mainstream psychology to yield a place at the table to non-White, non-European individuals. He emphasizes the recruitment and retention of ethnic minority graduate students and faculty, and concludes that many individual psychologists were important in forcing changes in these areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)