Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 12210017
12/95/

ERIC TITLE NUMBER: 73-06204 AUTHOR: Ward, Dana


TITLE: Generations and the expression of symbolic racism.

YEAR PUBLISHED: 1985
JOURNAL: Political-Psychology; 1985 Mar Vol 6(1) 1-18

ABSTRACT: Attempted to illustrate how parental attitudes
influence the underlying affective orientation toward
racial minorities while social and political factors
influence cognitive judgments on racial issues. Data were
collected from interviews with the 30 adult children (aged
18-42 yrs) of the 15 men first interviewed by R. E. Lane
(1962). These offspring primarily came from working-class
backgrounds, and half graduated from high school while half
received at least 2 yrs of college education. Ss with
fathers who opposed miscegenation tended to oppose quotas,
affirmative action, and bussing. The present author argues
that the familial atmosphere produced a reservoir of racism
beneath the surface of the otherwise tolerant beliefs. The
fathers' opposition to miscegenation may have established
a negative affective evaluation of Blacks within the 2nd
generation which remained even after schools, peers, the
media and other socializing agents fundamentally
transformed the cognitive constructions through which
opinions about race relations were expressed. Issues laden
with racial symbolism would then activate the negative
affect, producing opposition to policies designed to
achieve equality between races. (11 ref) (PsycLIT Database
Copyright 1986 American Psychological Assn, all rights
reserved)

KEY DESCRIPTORS: RACIAL-AND-ETHNIC-ATTITUDES; PARENTAL
ATTITUDES; SOCIALIZATION-; ADULT-OFFSPRING; ADULTHOOD-


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