Reconsidering the Environmental Determinants of White Racial Attitudes

In: American journal of political science: AJPS, Band 44, Heft 3, S. 574-589

Abstract

Most research on the environmental determinants of whites' racial attitudes focuses on the "threat" hypothesis, ie, that white racism increases with the competition posed by a larger black population. We argue that in the segregated US contextual effects are more complicated than this, involving both race & socioeconomic status. Cross-level data on individual racial attitudes & the environment's racial & education composition, constructed from the 1991 Race & Politics Survey & the 1990 Census, support this assertion. Living among more uneducated whites has a greater impact on whites' racial attitudes than does living among more blacks. Further analysis shows that the sources of this effect come less from interracial competition & more from a psychological response of outgroup hostility generated by low status contexts. We also find that whites' views on racially targeted policies are shaped by racial contexts but only where the contextual parameter coincides with the policy outcome. Our findings suggest specific limitations to the threat thesis & highlight other ways that social contexts shape racial attitudes. 4 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 42 References. Adapted from the source document.