Income Source and Race Effects on New-Neighbor Evaluations1

Two studies investigated the effect of income source and race on ratings of and objections to potential neighbors. Equivalent amounts of income from different sources included work only, work and public assistance, or work and a small inheritance. The race variable included African American, European American, or Hispanic. Subjects for Study 1 were undergraduate psychology students. Subjects for Study 2 were homeowners. Class bias was not a symbolic way to express race bias. There was a clear distinction between class bias and race bias in expression and function. Results indicate that class bias was used when subjects gave ratings of new neighbors. These biased ratings do not correlate with measures of racism. Furthermore, results indicate that objections to the new neighbors were more frequent for those gaining income from sources other than work. The findings indicate that class prejudice based on income source is primary and openly expressed, whereas racial prejudice does not appear as an important contributing factor in this context.