The Effects of Race on the Perception of Racism for White Participants
Racism in today's society remains a fact of life. Whites currently represent the majority population in the United States and their understanding of racism sets the tone for the nation. The present study investigates how White students perceive racism. The question is posed: How does the race of the victim in a situation affect Whites' attributions of racism?
The aim of the present research is to examine the relation between a victims race and the perception of racism for White students. Data were 489 person narratives describing the experiences with racism reported by White undergraduates at a large, Midwestern university collected by Reid and Rounds (2002). Reporters rated the degree that they believed the experience was attributable to racism or to other factors (e.g., chance). Based on social identity theory, I predict that when the reporter and the victim are of the same race, reporters are more likely to attribute the situation to racism and less likely to attribute the situation to racism when the race of the reporter and victim differ. The present research helps clarify how ingroup bias contributes to the perception of racism.
The aim of the present research is to examine the relation between a victims race and the perception of racism for White students. Data were 489 person narratives describing the experiences with racism reported by White undergraduates at a large, Midwestern university collected by Reid and Rounds (2002). Reporters rated the degree that they believed the experience was attributable to racism or to other factors (e.g., chance). Based on social identity theory, I predict that when the reporter and the victim are of the same race, reporters are more likely to attribute the situation to racism and less likely to attribute the situation to racism when the race of the reporter and victim differ. The present research helps clarify how ingroup bias contributes to the perception of racism.
School:
Grambling State University
Department:
Psychology
Research Advisor:
James Rounds and Hsin-Ya Liao
Department of Research Advisor:
Educational Psychology
Year of Publication:
2002