Perceptions of Ethnic Groups: Do They Vary as a Function of Respondents’ Gender and/or Ethnic Group Identity?

Abstract

In the present study 151 college students were asked to describe their perceptions regarding how they act toward various ethnic groups (i.e., Native-American, European-American, Hispanic-American, African-American, and Asian-Americans). This was done in order to determine if hierarchies existed in their actions toward different ethnic groups and/or as a function of the respondents’ gender. The findings indicated that males—more so than females—acted significantly more negatively toward all ethnic groups. Regarding ethnic groups , however, only the African-Americans described themselves as acting more hatefully toward their European-American counterparts. Otherwise, no other significant differences were found between any/all other points of comparison between all the ethnic groups surveyed. Implications of these findings are discussed.