Cross-ethnic friendships, perceived discrimination, and their effects on ethnic activism over time: a longitudinal investigation of three ethnic minority groups

This research examines cross-ethnic friendships as a predictor of perceived discrimination and support for ethnic activism over time among African American, Latino American, and Asian American undergraduate participants from a multi-year, longitudinal study conducted in the United States. Our research builds on prior cross-sectional research by testing effects longitudinally and examining how relationships among these variables may differ across ethnic minority groups. Results indicate that, over time, greater friendships with Whites predict both lower perceptions of discrimination and less support for ethnic activism among African Americans and Latino Americans, but not among Asian Americans. Implications of these findings for future research on inter-group contact, minority-majority relations, and ethnic group differences in status are discussed.     

Stereotype Threat Effects on the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices Scores of African Americans1

The present experiment examined stereotype threat effects on the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (Raven) scores of African Americans. Support was found for Hypothesis 1, which stated that African Americans would experience significantly greater stereotype threat than Whites during an IQ testing situation. Hypothesis 2 proposed that a significant Race x Test Diagnosticity Condition interaction would occur in which the mean difference in intelligence test scores between African Americans and Whites (favoring the latter group) would be largest when the test was framed as a measure of intelligence, and smaller when framed as nonindicative of intelligence. Limited support for Hypothesis 2 was found in that a marginally significant Race x Test Diagnosticity Condition interaction was obtained. However, the interaction failed to reach conventional levels of statistical significance. Although preliminary, the present findings provide some support for the notion that stereotype threat compromises the intelligence test performance of African Americans.     

The Impact of Race,Racial Attitude,and Gender on Reactions to the Criminal Trial of O. J. Simpson1

Opinions about the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson, as well as general racial attitude, were assessed in different samples of African Americans and Whites in three studies: during jury selection (Study 1), after closing arguments (Study 2), and after the jury verdict was reached (Study 3). We assessed the effects of respondent race, gender, and general racial attitude on case opinion factors and guilt judgments at each point in time. Race was strongly related to case opinions and guilt judgments in all three studies. Racial attitude related significantly to guilt judgments only in Study 1 for Blacks and in Study 3 for Whites. Guilt judgments of Whites were more strongly predicted by the case opinion factors than were those of African Americans. General racial attitudes and opinions about the criminal justice system were more positive for Blacks in Studies 2 and 3, while they did not differ across studies for Whites. A hindsight bias was found for Whites but not for African Americans. Race had a more powerful impact than did gender. Across-study comparison suggested that very few respondents changed their views appreciably over the year-long trial.     

Differences between African Americans and Whites in reactions to affirmative action programs in hiring, promotion, training, and layoffs

This study examines the reactions of African Americans and Whites to affirmative action programs (AAPs) applied to 4 human resource activities: hiring, promotion, training, and layoffs. The results of a scenario-based experimental study conducted on a large sample (N > 800) of advanced undergraduate and MBA business school participants generally supported the hypothesis that human resource activity elicited systematic differences in reaction to AAPs between African Americans and Whites. The authors also replicated previous research on the effect of AAP strength and prior discrimination by the organization on reactions to AAPs. Results indicated that AAP strength levels moderated racial differences in reaction to AAPs, while the moderating role of prior discrimination by the organization was not supported. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Attributions and Race Are Critical: Perceived Criticism in a Sample of African American and White Community Participants

The current investigation had two principal goals: (a) to examine whether attributions regarding the intentions underlying criticism from one’s relative predict perceived criticism from that relative and (b) to explore differences between African Americans and Whites in attributions and perceived criticism. A new measure, the Attributions of Criticism Scale, was employed in the present study to assess attributions of perceived criticism. Results showed that the attributions scale demonstrated good psychometric properties in a sample of African American (n = 78) and White (n = 165) community participants. As hypothesized, attributions were correlated with perceptions of criticism. When racial differences in attributions and perceived criticism were explored, results showed that African Americans made more positive attributions but also perceived more destructive criticism than Whites. No racial differences were observed on overall and constructive criticism, but there was some evidence to suggest that African Americans made more negative attributions than Whites. However, these results were inconsistent across recruitment method. Taken together, these findings suggest that positive and negative attributions are important factors in the perception of criticism and that mean levels of attributions and perceived criticism may differ by race. Possible explanations for effects as well as clinical implications and directions for future research are considered.     

Religion, Ethnicity, and Attitudes Toward Psychotherapy

Many presume that White culture supports psychotherapy utilization. However, cultural analyses suggest that many aspects of White culture are antithetical to the values and practices underlying psychotherapy, which appear more congruent with Ashkenazic Jewish attitudes and values. The current research empirically tested this possibility by comparing older Jewish White people, non-Jewish Whites, and Black participants on attitudes relevant to psychotherapy. Results indicated that Jews had greater confidence in a therapist's ability to help, were more tolerant of stigma, and more open to sharing their feelings and concerns than participants in the other groups. Furthermore, initial differences between Whites and African Americans were lessened when Jewish identity was included in the analysis. Results suggest that Jewish culture is relatively accepting of psychotherapy, and that previous reports of different rates of mental health seeking attitudes and utilization by Whites and Blacks may be due, in part, to the inclusion of Jewish individuals in these samples.     

Solo status and self-construal: being distinctive influences racial self-construal and performance apprehension in African American women

A preliminary study and main experiment tested the hypothesis that racial solo status (being the only member of one's race in a group) increases racial self-construal among African Americans. The preliminary study showed that African American men and women reported greater collectivist (i.e., group-based) over individualist self-construal under solo compared to nonsolo status, whereas Whites did not. The main experiment showed that the increased collectivism among African American solo women appears to be strongly reflected in racial identity becoming a salient aspect of self-construal. African American participants were also more likely than Whites to perceive that their anticipated performance would be generalized to their race, to feel like representatives of their race, and to show greater performance apprehension (indirectly evidenced by increased self-handicapping) when in racial solo status. The implications of solo status for African Americans in evaluative situations (such as academic testing sessions) are discussed.     

Care and Justice Moral Orientation Among African American College Students

The current study assessed the moral orientation of African American college students. In addition, we examined whether or not they exhibit the gender difference in moral orientation hypothesized by Gilligan. One hundred sixty-six African American undergraduates at an historically Black university completed the Moral Orientation Scale, which measures care versus justice moral orientation. The students selected an average of 4.39 care-oriented responses (out of 12). In contrast to predictions that African American culture would lead to the development of a care focus, most participants had a justice focus. In fact, these students were significantly more justice oriented than male law students, who were the most justice oriented of the groups studied by N. Yacker and S. L. Weinberg (1990). There was no evidence of a gender difference in moral orientation. If future research replicates this finding, then Gilligan's theory may need to be modified with regard to African Americans.     

Whites’ Favorability Toward African Americans: The Influence of a Bargainer or Challenger Strategy1

The purpose of this research is to examine how Whites respond to African Americans who differ in their attitudes about racism and strategies for handling racism. In one condition, White participants read about an African American student who described racism as a minor problem and expressed an individualistic strategy for dealing with it (bargainer). In another condition, the student described racism as a large problem and endorsed a more collective strategy (challenger). Results showed that the bargainer was perceived more favorably; however, participants low in modern racism gave higher favorability ratings to the challenger than did those high in modem racism. Results are discussed in terms of the limitations of the bargainer approach, as well as its appeal to Whites.     

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.     

In the Wake of Violence: Enacting and Witnessing Hope Among People

In the territory of violence and despair, hope is rare. Recent work on hope has shifted attention from hope as a feeling to hope as a practice that people can do together. This case report of a family exposed to domestic violence highlights the role played by a South African police officer in the mother's actions to separate from the context of violence. As a witness to the violence, the police officer acted from an ethic of justice and an ethic of compassion. Outsider witnessing of a counseling session resulted in the recruiting of a community of acknowledgement for the mother, the police officer, and an Assistant Commissioner of Police. Listening carefully and doing hope together gave rise to alliances against practices of violence. As a step of accountability, the authors used reflexive practices to question their responses and to avoid colonizing practices.     

The Role of Prototypical Situations in the Perceptions of Prejudice of African Americans1

Inman and Baron (1996) found that African Americans and Whites possess prototypes for racist behavior that involve Whites oppressing African Americans. However, prototypical content may be more detailed and specific for African Americans because of differing cultural experiences. In the present experiment, undergraduates read stories about interpersonal encounters representing prototypical and nonprototypical situations. Actor race ambiguity was manipulated by the presence or absence of photographs. As expected, Whites tended to make equal ratings of prejudiced behavior for prototypical and nonprototypical situations. However, African Americans perceived more prejudice in prototypical vignettes than in nonprototypical vignettes. They also perceived stronger prejudicial displays and more dispositional motivation for targets in prototypical vignettes. The results suggest that African Americans have heightened sensitivity to prejudice in specific situations, a factor that may contribute to racial confrontations and misunderstandings.     

Ethnic differences in subclinical paranoia: an expansion of norms of the paranoia scale

The Paranoia Scale (PS) was designed to assess subclinical paranoid ideation (A. Fenigstein & P. A. Vanable, 1992). Despite its established validity, the PS has several problems that need to be addressed. There are no normative data on ethnic minority groups such as African Americans, making it difficult to interpret this group's performance on the PS. Data from the present research revealed that African Americans scored higher on the PS than non-Hispanic Whites. However, interpretation of these findings should be tempered as they may reflect other contextual factors such as discrimination and the impact of racism. Implications for using the PS with African Americans and possible explanations for the observed results were discussed.     

Differences Between African American and White Research Volunteers in Their Attitudes,Beliefs and Knowledge Regarding Genetic Testing for Alzheimer’s Disease

Genetic susceptibility testing for common diseases is expanding, but little is known about race group differences in test perceptions. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between African Americans and Whites in knowledge, attitudes, and motivations regarding genetic susceptibility testing for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Before enrolling in an AD genetic testing research trial, 313 first-degree relatives of AD patients (20% African American; 71% female; mean age = 58 years) were surveyed regarding: (1) knowledge about genetics and AD risk; (2) concerns about developing AD; and (3) reasons for seeking testing. In comparison to Whites, African Americans were less knowledgeable about genetics and AD risk (p < .01) and less concerned about developing AD (p < .05), with lower levels of perceived disease risk (p = .04). The results suggest that African Americans and Whites differ notably in their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding genetic testing for AD. Additional research with more representative samples is needed to better understand these differences.     

Examining Perceptions of Ambiguous and Unambiguous Threats of Racial Harassment and Managerial Response Strategies1

Scenarios involving ambiguous or unambiguous threats of racial harassment were crossed with four managerial response strategies (taking action, acknowledgment, reframing, denial). Results suggest that minority members are more likely to view repeated racial jokes as severe and are more likely to report the behavior to a manager. For minority group members, racial identification moderated the relationship between type of harassment and perceived severity. For majority group members, blindness to privilege and unawareness of racial issues moderated the relationship between type of harassment and likelihood to report the incident. Taking action was associated with more positive perceptions of organizational justice and a belief that the organization would be less tolerant toward future incidents involving racial harassment. Differences across groups (Whites, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and Asians) were found, suggesting a perceptual gap based on racial schema.     

Interethnic Differences (or Similarities?) in the Relative Individuation of Women and Men

What roles do ethnicity, gender, and attitudes play in determining whether a person will be perceived as a unique individual versus a homogenized group member? Attitudes toward women’s roles have been found to predict Whites’ relative individuation of women and men; however, African Americans were found to individuate women and men equally, regardless of attitude (Stewart et al. 2000). Using a name–trait matching paradigm, the present research found that when targets were identified as African American, African American participants’ (18 male and 35 female college students) attitudes toward women’s roles predicted their individuation of men and women. These results suggest that an ethnic out-group homogeneity effect, rather than gender-egalitarian attitudes, contributed to the previous finding of equivalent individuation.     

Uncovering the mystery: factors of African American suicide

Traditionally, African Americans have registered lower rates of suicide than other ethnic groups. In the last 20 years this pattern has changed, particularly among young African Americans. To date, the research conducted regarding this phenomenon has been limited for a variety of reasons and previous research has been inconclusive in determining risk factors of African American suicide. The purpose of this paper is to identify risk and protective factors specific to African American suicide. To determine the factors, the 1993 National Mortality Follow-back Survey was analyzed. The risk factors identified include being under age 35, southern and northeastern residence, cocaine use, firearm presence in home, and threatening others with violence. Some of the protective factors associated with African American suicide include rural residence and educational attainment. These results provide valuable information about completed African American suicides in relation to Whites. Several of these factors are unique to African Americans.     

An Indecent Proposal: The Dual Functions of Indirect Speech

People often use indirect speech, for example, when trying to bribe a police officer by asking whether there might be “a way to take care of things without all the paperwork.” Recent game theoretic accounts suggest that a speaker uses indirect speech to reduce public accountability for socially risky behaviors. The present studies examine a secondary function of indirect speech use: increasing the perceived moral permissibility of an action. Participants report that indirect speech is associated with reduced accountability for unethical behavior, as well as increased moral permissibility and increased likelihood of unethical behavior. Importantly, moral permissibility was a stronger mediator of the effect of indirect speech on likelihood of action, for judgments of one's own versus others' unethical action. In sum, the motorist who bribes the police officer with winks and nudges may not only avoid public punishment but also maintain the sense that his actions are morally permissible.     

Spirituality and Subjective Religiosity among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites

Patterns and correlates of self-perceptions of spirituality and subjective religiosity are examined using data from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. Demographic and denominational correlates of patterns of subjective religiosity and spirituality (i.e., religious only, spiritual only, both religious/spiritual and neither religious/spiritual) are examined. In addition, the study of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks permits the investigation of possible ethnic variation in the meaning and conceptual significance of these constructs within the U.S. Black population. African Americans and Caribbean Blacks are more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to indicate that they are "both religious and spiritual" and less likely to indicate that they are "spiritual only" or "neither spiritual nor religious." Demographic and denominational differences in the patterns of spirituality and subjective religiosity are also indicated. Study findings are discussed in relation to prior research in this field and noted conceptual and methodological issues deserving further study.