Inconceivable Middle-Class Black Space: The Architecture and Consequences of Space-Focused Stereotype Content at the Race–Class Nexus

Abstract

White Americans tend to stereotype a Black neighborhood as lower class and less desirable than a similar White neighborhood. A strong mental image of Black areas, in general, as lower class and undesirable contributes to this perceptual race-gap. The present studies show that a weak mental image of middle-class Black space as middle class and desirable may also contribute. First, stereotype content analyses reveal how Whites’ diffuse mental image of middle-class Black space—rundown, suburban, clean, crime-ridden—overlaps with both Black and middle-class space stereotypes. Second, the more difficulty Whites experience imagining middle-class Black space as invariably middle class and desirable, the more likely they are to stereotype a Black (vs. White) neighborhood as low quality, feel less connected to it, and devalue a house there. Whites’ diffuse mental image of middle-class Black space may thus contribute to ongoing racial injustices (e.g., wealth disparities, residential segregation).