Subjective Impressions of Minority Group Representation in the Media: A Comparison of Majority and Minority Viewers’ Judgments and Underlying Processes

Consumers’ judgments of the frequency with which members of an ethnic minority are represented in advertisements can depend on the processing strategies they employ both at the time the ads are first encountered and at the time the judgments are reported. These strategies, in turn, can depend on whether the consumers personally belong to the minority group in question. European American and African American participants received a series of advertisements that varied in terms of the relative numbers of Black and White models that were portrayed. European Americans overestimated the number of Black models that appeared in the ads when the actual incidence of these models was low, but this overestimation decreased (and thus they became more accurate) as the number of ads containing these models increased. In contrast, African Americans were accurate when only a small number of Black models were presented, but became less accurate as the actual incidence of the models became greater. European Americans apparently based their estimates on the ease of recalling individual instances at the time of judgment, whereas African Americans appeared to perform an online tally of the number of Black models shown at the time they encountered them.     

Status-based asymmetry in intergroup responses: Implications for intergroup reconciliation

We studied intergroup responses as a function of relative intergroup status and familiarity. In Study 1, 34 African Americans and 34 European Americans interacted with two members of the out-group in separate, 20-min dyadic interactions. Intergroup perception, affect, and behavior were asymmetric; Blacks differentiated the traits of and the quality of interactions with Whites, whereas Whites did not make these differentiations. Blacks and Whites predicted that different out-group partners perceived them similarly. Study 2 showed that the failure to differentiate an out-group member is due to intergroup status differences. Asymmetric intergroup responses pose a barrier to intergroup reconciliation and explain, in part, why increased interracial contact has not eradicated disparities in life outcomes for Black Americans.     

Clinical Utility of the Rorschach With African Americans

In this study we sought to identify Rorschach differences between African Americans and White Americans and to understand these differences within a social and cultural framework. Data from the Exner (1993) Comprehensive System normative sample (N = 700) was used to form a group of 44 African Americans and 44 White Americans matched for age, sex, education, and socioeconomic status. Twenty-three Rorschach variables were chosen a priori and group differences were analyzed. The only clinically significant difference found was that African Americans offered significantly less cooperative movement. This lower frequency of cooperative movement may suggest African Americans do not anticipate cooperative interactions with others as a routine event. This may reflect a shared feeling among African Americans that most members of our society are less likely to be sensitive to or responsive to their needs relative to others. However, the study demonstrates a striking similarity between the groups, supporting the clinical use of the Rorschach with African Americans.     

Clinical utility of the Rorschach with African Americans.

In this study we sought to identify Rorschach differences between African Americans and White Americans and to understand these differences within a social and cultural framework. Data from the Exner (1993) Comprehensive System normative sample (N = 700) was used to form a group of 44 African Americans and 44 White Americans matched for age, sex, education, and socioeconomic status. Twenty-three Rorschach variables were chosen a priori and group differences were analyzed. The only clinically significant difference found was that African Americans offered significantly less cooperative movement. This lower frequency of cooperative movement may suggest African Americans do not anticipate cooperative interactions with others as a routine event. This may reflect a shared feeling among African Americans that most members of our society are less likely to be sensitive to or responsive to their needs relative to others. However, the study demonstrates a striking similarity between the groups, supporting the clinical use of the Rorschach with African Americans.     

Ethnicity in America and feeling "American"

Ethnic group acculturation remains a concern in the United States today. In the present study, the authors explored the extent to which members of three ethnic groups (White American women, African American women, and Cuban American women) perceived themselves to be "American," how much each group felt that its members were perceived as being American by White Americans, and how these perceptions related to beliefs about their own group's economic and social status. The results showed that African Americans felt American but felt that they were not perceived as such by White Americans. African Americans also reported feeling economically and socially excluded. In contrast, Cuban Americans reported neither feeling they were American nor believing they were perceived as such by White Americans, but feelings of inclusion increased with length of residence. Implications of these results for the common ingroup identity model are discussed.     

Community and Christianity in the Black Church

The authors explore the experience of Christian religion for many African Americans. In response to racial discrimination and prejudice within churches, African Americans developed a Christian tradition with distinct meanings, beliefs and practices. This tradition provides a foundation for social activism within the church, community and American society, as well as community among church members. The recent Black church burnings are discussed with respect to the more traditional Christian African American view of religion. Implications for incorporating the religious traditions of Christian African Americans into counseling practice are explored. (The authors use the term Black church or African American church as a surrogate for Christian African American church throughout the article. The terms Black and African American will also be used interchangeably).     

The Response of African Americans to the Rorschach: A Review of the Research

Studies exploring the performance of African Americans on the Rorschach were reviewed. The review revealed the limited number of studies done in this area of study, as well as the fact that the research paradigm for all of this research has been limited to comparing the Rorschach performance of African Americans to that of Whites. However, no one has offered a rationale for such a research paradigm. Without a scientific reason to expect personality to be a function of race, another research design was recommended, one that explores the effect of a variety of aspects of living conditions on the development of the personality of African Americans.     

Perceiving personal discrimination: the role of group status and legitimizing ideology

It was hypothesized that relative group status and endorsement of ideologies that legitimize group status differences moderate attributions to discrimination in intergroup encounters. According to the status-legitimacy hypothesis, the more members of low-status groups endorse the ideology of individual mobility, the less likely they are to attribute negative outcomes from higher status group members to discrimination. In contrast, the more members of high-status groups endorse individual mobility, the more likely they are to attribute negative outcomes from lower status group members to discrimination. Results from 3 studies using 2 different methodologies provide support for this hypothesis among members of different high-status (European Americans and men) and low-status (African Americans, Latino Americans, and women) groups.     

Grief among near-death experiencers: pathways through religion and meaning

This study has three specific aims. The first is to see if social relationships in the church influence social relationships in the secular world. Data from a longitudinal nationwide survey provide support for this view. The second goal is to see if church-based social relationships are more likely to arise from church teachings at worship services or through informal reinforcement by fellow church members (as assessed by spiritual support). The findings suggest that informal spiritual support is more likely than attendance at worship services to bolster social relationships in the church. The third goal is to explore the influence of race. The results reveal that African Americans and Caucasian Americans get the same amount of support from secular social network members. However, the data further reveal that secular social ties among African Americans can be attributed to the social relationships they maintain in the church, but the same is not true for Caucasian Americans.     

Heaven and Health: How Black,Latino, and Korean Christians View the Relationship Between Faith and Health

Religious congregations have increasingly been viewed as potential access points to health care in underserved communities. Such a perspective stems from a robust literature identifying the unique civic role that churches potentially play in African American and Latino communities. Yet, research on congregational health promotion has often not considered how congregants view the connections between religious faith, physical health, and the church community. In order to further interrogate how congregants view the church’s role in health promotion, we compare views on the relationship between faith and health for two groups that are overrepresented in American Christianity and underrepresented in medical careers (African Americans and Latinos) with a group that is similarly religious but comparatively well-represented in medical professions (Korean Americans). Drawing on data from focus groups with 19 pastors representing 18 different congregations and 28 interviews with church members, we find that churches across all three groups promote initiatives to care for the physical health of their members. Nonetheless, notable differences exist in how each group frames the interface between religious faith and physical health. African Americans and Latinos highlighted the role of faith in providing physical healing while Korean Americans saw the support of the religious community as the main benefit of their faith. Distrust of medicine was primarily articulated by members of African American churches. The results offer important implications for the future potential and nature of health initiatives in racial minority communities.     

Too Many Blacks,Too Many Whites: Is There Racial Balance?

Racial conflict between African Americans and Whites has been observed to occur most frequently at two critical points: when African Americans make up approximately 30% of a given group or when African Americans make up approximately 50% of a given group. These two critical ratios are referred to as the J and (inverted) U patterns of racial conflict, respectively. To date, most of the data supporting either the J or U models have been derived from large demographic studies that do not directly assess individual perceptions. Thus, little is known about the individual reactions of members from either racial group to varying percentages of group racial composition. This small-group experiment examined the responses of African-American and White subjects to their inclusion in four-person groups of varying racial compositions. Three racial configurations were created and included the following percentages of African Americans: 25%, 50%, and 75%. The results support the U model of racial conflict. Moreover, the U model fit the data equally well for African Americans and Whites.     

African American Couples in the 21st Century: Using Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) to Translate Science into Practice

The complexity of the African American community in the United States continues to evolve. The growing number of professional African Americans who grew up in the postcivil rights era combined with the persistent reminders of inequity paints a complex backdrop for understanding African American relationships. The majority of our knowledge about African American couples disproportionately comes from nonclinical social science fields such as sociology and demography. Unfortunately, the scholarly literature on how to work with African American couples is relatively scant. This paper seeks to add to this limited literature by providing clinicians and scholars with a proposed set of issues to consider when conceptualizing and treating African American couples. In particular, the complexity and nuance needed to work with African American couples are best done by using an integrative model. Thus, this paper will discuss how the Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) model is particularly well suited for working with African American couples. This paper will summarize the science on African American marriages with a focus on salient factors such as gender, SES, and trust, which will then be translated into clinical practice by utilizing a case example. The case example will be of a middle‐class couple in order to delineate the challenges and the growing heterogeneity of African Americans. The article will conclude with a commentary on the evolving heterogeneity of African Americans, which sheds light on how an integrative perspective is important for disentangling and embracing the growing complexity of African American couples.     

Social Relationships in the Church During Late Life: Assessing Differences Between African Americans,Whites, and Mexican Americans

The purpose of this study is to see if there are differences in the social relationships that older African Americans, older whites, and older Mexican Americans form with the people where they worship. Data from two large surveys are pooled to see if race differences emerge in eleven different measures of church-based social relationships. These measures assess social relationships with rank-and-file church members as well as social relationships with members of the clergy. The findings reveal that older African Americans tend to have more well-developed social relationships in the church than either older whites or older Mexican Americans. This is true with respect to relationships with fellow church members as well as relationships with the clergy. In contrast, relatively few differences emerged between older Americans of European descent and older Mexican Americans. However, when differences emerged in the data, older whites tend to score higher on the support measures than older Mexican Americans.     

Relations Among Ethnicity, Gender, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Intention to Pursue a Career in Information Technology

Using data from 159 African Americans and 98 Anglo Americans, we examined relations among ethnicity, gender, information technology (IT) self-efficacy, occupational stereotypes, attitudes toward IT, and IT career intentions. Results revealed that IT self-efficacy and occupational stereotypes were related to attitudes toward IT jobs, and these attitudes were positively related to career intentions. In addition, there were ethnic and gender differences in IT self-efficacy and occupational stereotypes. In particular, African American men reported higher levels of IT self-efficacy, whereas Anglo American women reported lower levels of IT self-efficacy than did members of all other groups. Furthermore, Anglo Americans had more negative stereotypes of IT professionals than did African Americans. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Anxiety disorders research with African Americans: current status

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in the general population of the United States. Recent findings indicate that the prevalence of certain anxiety disorders may be higher in African Americans. In addition, anxiety disorders in African Americans may be manifested differently. Despite the high prevalence and the suggestion of different patterns of manifestation, a paucity of research exists on anxiety disorders in this population. This may be due in part to the pattern of help-seeking behavior among African Americans, a negative perception of research by members of this community, the small number of African American researchers, and perhaps to some extent a general disinterest on the part of researchers. The available research on anxiety disorders in African Americans is critically reviewed, the need for research in the area is highlighted, and ways to facilitate such research are discussed.     

Spirituality Among Older African Americans

Recent changes in gerontology have drawn attention to the role of spirituality among older adults. Demographic trends suggest that the number of African Americans over the age of 65 is increasing, with the largest shift to occur in persons 85 years of age and older. Given the paucity of information available regarding the relationship between spirituality and aging along with the increase in the number of older African Americans, a literature review of these concepts is sorely needed. This paper provides a thorough profile of older African Americans, with a review of historical and cultural factors that have informed the spiritual development of this population. Additionally, attention is given to methodological issues such as definitions, measures, sampling, and research designs at the interface of development and spirituality in this population. The paper also reviews findings to date about the effects of spirituality on physical and mental health among older African Americans.     

Mental health counselling in the Black American Church: reflections and recommendations from counsellors serving in a counselling ministry

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between “The Black Church”, the mental health needs of its members, and addressing those needs from the perspective of counsellors within the church. Four in-depth interviews were conducted with members of the mental health counselling team at one large, African American-serving church in the Midwest to explore their thoughts about their church pastor’s desire to expand their current ministry to a fully operating counselling centre. The findings suggest that “the Black Church” not only has a role and responsibility in addressing the mental health needs of African Americans within and outside of the church but can also use religiosity as a facilitator rather than a barrier to mental health service use among African Americans.     

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 America 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 American 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.     

African Americans’ and European Americans’ Mutual Attributions: Adjective Generation Technique (AGT) Stereotyping1

The Katz/Braly line of research is reviewed, along with efforts to improve stereotype measurement. Mutual stereotyping by African Americans and European Americans and in-group bias effects were examined employing the Adjective Generation Technique (AGT). Results showed that each group's conception of the other differed from its own-group conception. Both groups saw European Americans as tending to be inventive, educated, smart, rich, and greedy, but African Americans added corrupt and prejudiced, while European Americans added lazy. African Americans were seen by both groups as tending to be corrupt, funny, friendly, independent, and poor. While mostly African Americans saw their own group as smart and strong, mostly European Americans attributed athletic, humorous, and loud to African Americans. The in-group bias effect was confirmed for both groups in terms of FAVorability and ANXiety values assigned to generated words. However, African Americans showed a stronger bias effect on the FAV measure. The expectation that in-group members would have more constructs applicable to their own group than to the other group was supported only for African Americans. There was also evidence that the powerless know the powerful more than the other way around. Implications for the study of stereotype content, the in-group bias effect, intergroup anxiety, and strength of own group identity are discussed.