...But I Know It When I See It: Experimental Epistemology of Racism

Two studies were conducted to examine whether African American and White university undergraduates perceived racism in similar ways. Participants read and evaluated short narratives describing interpersonal situations adapted from a study of students' experiences with racism (Reid & Rounds, 2001). Results from Study 1 indicated that the initial finding of no overall racial group difference in the perception of racism obscured other important differences. Both African American and White participants evaluated classically racist situations (e.g., racial slurs) in identical ways, whereas situations exemplary of everyday racism (e.g., poor restaurant service) facilitated group differences in the perception of racism such that members of each group were more likely to evaluate situations representative of the daily life experiences of their respective groups as being racist. Study 2 replicated the results of the first study and showed that narratives describing African American victims were rated by all participants as being more racist than those with White victims. Results are discussed as a function of differing situational stereotypes of racism held by African Americans and Whites.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Reid, Landon Donnell

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rounds, James

• Education, Educational Psychology

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3023180

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82011