The Relation between Political Ideology and Attitudes toward Affirmative Action among African-Americans: The Moderating Effect of Racial Discrimination in the Workplace
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online May, 2001
The Relation between Political Ideology and Attitudes toward Affirmative Action among African-Americans: The Moderating Effect of Racial Discrimination in the Workplace
Survey data from two samples of African-American students supported the hypothesis that the association between political ideology and attitudes toward affirmative action (AA) is moderated by the experience of workplace discrimination. Specifically, ideology was associated with support for AA, but only among individuals who had not experienced discrimination. Among these individuals, egalitarians, who view fairness in terms of group equality, were more supportive of AA than were individualists, who view fairness from the perspective of the individual. Conversely, among individuals who had experienced discrimination, ideology was not related to attitude toward AA: support was high and approximately equal regardless of ideology. Findings were interpreted in terms of Referent Cognitions Theory (Folger, 1986).
Arthur, W., Jr , Doverspike, D. & Fuentes, R.Recipients' affective responses to affirmative action interventions: A cross-cultural perspective. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 1992, 10, 229-243.
2.
Barnes Nacoste, R.Sources of stigma: Analyzing the psychology of affirmative action . Law and Policy, 1990, 12, 175-195.
3.
Barnes Nacoste, R.Toward a psychological ecology of affirmative action . Social Justice Research, 1992, 5, 269-289.
4.
Bobo, L. & Smith, R.A.Antipoverty policies, affirmative action, and racial attitudes. In S.H. Danziger, G.D. Sandefur and D.H. Weinberg (Eds), Confronting poverty: Prescriptions for change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994, pp. 365-395.
5.
Bunzel, J.H.Affirmative re-actions . Public Opinion, 1986, February/March, 45-49.
6.
Carter, S.Reflections of an affirmative action baby. New York: Basic Books, 1991.
7.
Clayton, S.D. & Crosby, F.J.Justice, gender, and affirmative action. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1992.
8.
Cohen, J. & Cohen, P.Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1983.
9.
Conti, J.G. & Stetson, B.Challenging the civil rights establishment: Profiles of a new Black vanguard. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1993.
10.
Cose, E.Rage of a privileged class. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
11.
Crosby, E.J.Understanding affirmative action . Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1994, 15, 13-41.
12.
Dion, K.L.Responses to perceived discrimination and relative deprivation . In J.M. Olson, C.P. Herman and M.P. Zanna (Eds), Social comparison and relative deprivation: The Ontario Symposium, Vol. 4. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1986, pp. 158-179.
13.
Eberhardt, J.L. & Fiske, S.T.Affirmative action in theory and practice: Issues of power, ambiguity, and gender versus race. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1994, 15, 201-220.
14.
Fine, T.S.The impact of issue framing on public opinion toward affirmative action programs . The Social Science Journal, 1992, 29, 323-334.
15.
Folger, R.A referent cognitions theory of relative deprivation . In J.M. Olson, C.P. Herman and M.P. Zanna (Eds), Social comparison and relative deprivation: The Ontario Symposium, Vol. 4. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1986, pp. 33-55.
16.
Gamson, W.A.Ambivalences about affirmative action . Society, 36, Sept./Oct., 41-45.
17.
Graves, L.M. & Powell, G.N.Effects of sex-based preferential selection and discrimination on job attitudes. Human Relations, 1994, 47, 133-157.
18.
Greenberg, J.Approaching equity and avoiding inequity in groups and organizations. In J. Greenberg and R. Cohen (Eds), Equity and justice in social behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1982, pp. 389-435.
19.
Harrington, H.J. & Miller, N.Overcoming resistance to affirmative action in industry: A social psychological perspective. In P. Suedfeld & P.E. Tetlock (Eds), Psychology and social policy. New York: Hemisphere Publishing, 1992, pp. 121-135.
Hochschild, J.L.Middle-class blacks and the ambiguities of success. In P.M. Sniderman, P.E. Tetlock and E.G. Carmines (Eds), Prejudice, politics, and the American dilemma. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993, pp. 148-172..
22.
Kinder, D.R. & Sanders, L.M.Divided by color: Racial politics and democratic ideals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
23.
Kluegel, J. & Smith, E.Beliefs about inequality: Americans' views of what is and what ought to be. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1986.
24.
Kossek, E.E. & Lobel, S.A. (Eds) Managing diversity: Human resource strategies for transforming the workplace. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1996.
25.
Kravitz, D.A.Attitudes toward affirmative action plans directed at Blacks: Effects of plan and individual differences . Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1995, 25, 2192-2220.
26.
Kravitz, D.A. , Harrison, D.A., Turner, M.E., Levine, E.L., Chaves, W., Brannick, M.T., Denning, D.L., Russell, C.J. & Conard, M.A.Affirmative action: A review of psychological and behavioral research. Bowling Green, OH: Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology, 1997.
27.
Kravitz, D.A. & Platania, J.Attitudes and beliefs about affirmative action: Effects of target and of respondent sex and ethnicity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1993, 78, 928-938.
28.
Loury, C.One by one from the inside out: Essays and reviews on race and responsibility in America. New York: The Free Press, 1995.
29.
Lynch, E.R.The diversity machine: The drive to change the "white male workplace". New York: Free Press, 1997.
30.
Maio, G.R. & Esses, V.M.The social consequences of affirmative action: Deleterious effects on perceptions of groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1998, 24, 65-74.
31.
McClelland, G.H. & Judd, C.M.Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects. Psychological Bulletin, 1993, 114, 376-390.
32.
Mobley, M. & Payne, T.Backlash! The challenge to diversity training. Training and Development, 1992, December, 45-52.
33.
Nazario, S.L.Policy predicament: Many minorities feel torn by experience of affirmative action . Wall Street Journal, 1989, 27June: Al, A8
34.
Rasinski, K.A.What's fair is fair-or is it? Value differences underlying public views about social justice . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987, 53, 201-211
35.
Riley, J.L.Black conservatives take to the presses . Wall Street Journal, 1995, 17July: A12.
36.
Schuman, H. , Steeh, C., Bobo, L. & Krysan, M.Racial attitudes in America: Trends and implications. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.
37.
Sidanius, J. , Pratto, F. & Bobo, L.Racism, conservatism, affirmative action, and intellectual sophistication: A matter of principled conservatism or group dominance? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1996, 70, 476-490.
38.
Sigelman, L. & Welch, S.Black Americans' views of racial inequality: The dream deferred. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Sniderman, P.M. , Piazza, T., Tetlock, P.E. & Kendrick, A.The new racism. American Journal of Political Science, 1991, 35, 423-447.
42.
Sniderman, P.M. , Tetlock, P.E. & Carmines, E.G. (Eds) Prejudice, politics, and the American dilemma. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993.
43.
Solomon, C.M.Are white males being left out ? PersonnelJournal, 1991, November, 88-94.
44.
Steele, S.The content of our character. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990.
45.
Steinhorn, L. & Diggs-Brown, B.By the color of our skin: The illusion of integration and the reality of race. New York: Dutton, 1999.
46.
Tate, K.From protest to politics: The new black voters in American elections. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
47.
Taylor, B.R.Affirmative action at work: Law, politics, and ethics. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991.
48.
Taylor, M.C.Impact of affirmative action on beneficiary groups: Evidence from the 1990 general social survey . Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1994, 15, 143-178.
49.
Thernstrom, S. & Thernstrom, A.America in black and white: One nation, indivisible. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.
50.
Thomas, D.A. & Ely, R.J.Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity. Harvard Business Review, September-October1996, 79-90.
51.
Tougas, F. & Beaton, A.M.Women's views on affirmative action: A new look at preferential treatment. Social Justice Research, 1992, 5, 239-248
52.
Tougas, F. , Beaton, A.M. & Veilleux, F.Why women approve of affirmative action: The study of a predictive model. International Journal of Psychology, 1991, 26, 761-776.
53.
Tougas, F. & Veilleux, F.The influence of identification, collective relative deprivation, and procedure of implementation on women's response to affirmative action: A causal modeling approach. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 1988, 20, 16-29.
54.
Tougas, F. & Veilleux, F.Who likes affirmative action: Attitudinal processes among men and women. In F.A. Blanchard & F.J. Crosby (Eds), Affirmative action in perspective. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1989, pp. 111-124.
55.
Tuch, S.A. & Martin, J.K. (Eds) Racial attitudes in the 1990s: Continuity and change. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1997.
56.
Turner, M.E. & Pratkanis, A.R.Affirmative action as help: A review of recipient reactions to preferential selection and affirmative action. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1994, 15, 43-69.
57.
Wildavsky, A.The rise of radical egalitarianism. Washington, DC: The American University Press, 1991.
