Responses to affirmative action: Is there a question order affect?

This paper analyzes the affect of question order on support for affirmative action. While the literature is replete with studies detailing the racial differences for support for affirmative action, there is a dearth of studies that analyze how probing, using open-ended questions, can influence individuals’ responses. Given this, we seek to analyze and explain how open-ended questions, related to affirmative action, might affect responses to close-ended questions as well as how their joint interaction help us to understand resonant attitudes. Using a split-ballot approach, we found that responses to the closedended question were significantly affected by the experimental design.     

The Impact of Affirmative Action: Black Employment in Six Southern Cities

Objectives. There have been numerous claims about the current role and impact of affirmative action, one of the most controversial public policies. The purpose of this research is to examine data on affirmative action and black employment in six representative Florida cities. Methods. Data were gathered on 167 randomly selected businesses through personal interviews with employers. OLS regression analysis was performed to explore the independent effects of affirmative action in a multivariate path model of employment–related predictors. Results. Employer support for affirmative action has a significant and positive influence on black employment, particularly at higher job levels. Conclusions. Affirmative action has developed a constituency among employers who value diversity in employment due to demographic changes that have altered labor and consumer markets.     

Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Differences in Responding to Distinctiveness and Discrimination on Campus: Stigma and Common Group Identity

The present article examines how the salience of group membership can moderate or diffuse feelings of stigmatization for members of racial and ethnic minorities. A series of studies is presented that demonstrate that the development of a common group identity can diffuse the effects of stigmatization, improve intergroup attitudes, and enhance institutional satisfaction and commitment among college students and faculty. Strategies and interventions designed to address the effects of stigmatization, however, need to consider the different value and importance of racial and ethnic group identities for Whites and for people of color.     

Affirmative Action: Psychological Contributions to Policy

Affirmative action is a controversial policy. Lauded by many, the attempt at social engineering has also been condemned by some as unnecessary and by others as counterproductive to the goal of social equality. As such, affirmative action is ideally situated to benefit from psychological research pertaining to the need for and the effectiveness of the policy. This article discusses both the potential benefits to American society of affirmative action and the potential costs of such a policy. Concluding that affirmative action is useful, we end with a look at ways to make affirmative action programs as effective as possible.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Egalitarianism and Affective Bias: Avenues to Reducing Prejudice Among Adolescents

In an era during which affirmative action in education is in jeopardy, it is important to understand how the ideologies of high-status ethnic group members maintain (or reduce) social inequality. We examine the extent to which the relationship between egalitarianism and prejudice among European American and Asian American adolescents can be explained by outgroup orientation (i.e., how much one values interacting with members of other ethnic groups) and strength of identification with one's ethnic group. Using structural equation modeling, we tested whether these two variables mediate the relationship between egalitarianism and intergroup prejudice. Results revealed that outgroup orientation was a mediator, but ethnic identity was not. Implications for mutual acculturation theory, prejudice-reduction programs, and affirmative action in education are discussed.     

White women and affirmative action in employment in six southern cities

The purpose of this research is to examine data from 167 randomly selected businesses on the impact of affirmative action and white female employment in six representative Florida cities. OLS regression analysis was used to explore the independent effects of affirmative action among other employment-related predictors. While white women are doing relatively well in the job market, employer support for affirmative action has no significant influence on their employment, even at higher job levels.     

Affirmative action in municipal government: Political, structural and demographic determinants of alternative strategies

The 167 members of the California City Managers Association were surveyed regarding the affirmative action policies of their cities. The research sought to determine factors that influence affirmative action efforts. Affirmative action outcomes and policies were measured against the following: minority political power as reflected in the diversity of the city council, frequency of interaction regarding affirmative action between council members and administrators, the ethnic composition of the city, level of advocacy regarding affirmative action in the city and the personal values of the city manager. The finding support the thesis that affirmative action success in government varies directly with the diversity of the population served and the political representation of minorities. Also important was the relationship between managerial values and affirmative efforts. Council manager interaction was directly related to the percentage of minority supervisors and managers.     

The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities*

Objective. This study examines how preferences for different types of applicants for admission to elite universities influence the number and composition of admitted students. Methods. Previous research with these NSCE data employed logistic regression analysis to link information on the admission decision for 124,374 applications to applicants' SAT scores, race, athletic ability, and legacy status, among other variables. Here we use micro simulations to illustrate what the effects might be if one were to withdraw preferences for different student groups. Results. Eliminating affirmative action would substantially reduce the share of African Americans and Hispanics among admitted students. Preferences for athletes and legacies, however, only mildly displace members of minority groups. Conclusions. Elite colleges and universities extend preferences to many types of students, yet affirmative action is the one most surrounded by controversy.     

The Significance of Affirmative Action for theSouls of White Folk: Further Implications of a Helping Model

We develop further our model of affirmative action as help (Pratkanis & Turner, 1996b; Turner & Pratkanis, 1994) by looking at the impact of aid on the donor. White Americans often take one of three approaches toaffirmative action. First, they can reject affirmative action because of their own personal frustrations. Second, they can engage in selective aid that maintains the basic patterns of social dominance. Both of these approaches can damage the psychological functioning of Whites. Third, White Americans can proactively seek to remove discriminatory barriers in a process we call democratic altruism, thereby opening the possibility of learning from diverse others and growth as a person. We conclude by discussing tactics for promoting democratic altruism.     

Ethnic Differences in Predictors of Support for Municipal Affirmative Action Contracting*

Objective. This study explores attitudes toward municipal affirmative action contracting among Anglos, African Americans, and Hispanics, testing predictors of support separately for each group and measuring changes over time. Methods. In five successive annual Houston‐area surveys, U.S.‐born Anglos, African Americans, Hispanics, and Hispanic immigrants evaluated a strong version of the city's affirmative action contracting program. Results. Ethnic contrasts in support were partly mediated by differences on the predictors. The predictors of affirmative action attitudes varied greatly by ethnic group. Changes in support across the five years appeared to be associated with the 1997 campaign surrounding the effort to end the city's affirmative action program, and with subsequent policy modifications. Conclusions. The ethnic divisions and the recent increases among all groups in support for the city's program underscore the value of crafting carefully targeted and flexible policies that are perceived to be responding only to documented disadvantage.     

Faculty job satisfaction across gender and discipline

It is projected that by 2014 colleges, universities, and professional schools will witness an employment growth of 34.3% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005). Thus, issues of faculty satisfaction, retention, and persistence will become increasingly important for university administrators and education policy makers. The need to study faculty satisfaction at universities also stems from the fact that the intellectual and social structures of higher education are changing over time. Increasingly, women and minorities are more likely to occupy higher ranks of the professoriate. The purpose of this research is to explore and compare the job satisfaction rates of faculty members employed in research institutions with special attention paid to differences across gender and disciplines. The study employs data from the 2003 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, which is a biennially collected survey of doctoral awardees and is funded by the National Science Foundation.     

Affirmative Action and the Search for Educational Equity

We discuss the ideas presented by Renner and Moore. We agree that it is a mistake to justify affirmative action solely in terms of diversity, and we think it is vital to note the continuing disparities in the educational opportunities afforded to White students and to other students. We believe that the views expressed by Renner and Moore present an opportunity to think critically about a number of issues related to affirmative action.     

Inequities in Higher Education: Issues and Promising Practices in a World Ambivalent about Affirmative Action

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the legality of race-based affirmative action at universities in 2003. Although the decisions affirmed the legality of considering race in college admissions decisions, their long-term effects are not entirely clear. They neither resolved conflicts nor solved problems affirmative action was intended to address, namely, disparities in educational outcomes between Whites and ethnic/racial minorities. Although disparities have diminished since 1965, policies and practices to sustain and further increase diversity in higher education without affirmative action are needed. This article provides historical and conceptual grounding for this JSI issue, which examines approaches for attaining campus diversity. Collectively, the issue provides approaches for increasing diversity as well as strategies for managing and benefiting from diversity in postsecondary environments.     

Equality and efficiency tradeoffs in affirmative action—Real or imagined? The case of women in policing

This article investigates rival predictions about the consequences of affirmative action on behalf of women in one previously male-dominated public sector occupation—police service. While some predict that the enhanced use of women police officers will diminish the quality of public services, others argue precisely the opposite point of view. It is suggested here that such predictions have much more to do with the political and ideological perspectives of advocates and opponents of affirmative action than with empirical observation. It is suggested further that this question of the impact upon the quality of public service of enhanced utilization of women is much deserving of careful empirical study. Such an analysis is presented here, and the results observed indicate that little if any effect upon police agency performance can be attributed to differing levels of female police officers.     

Nice to Know You? Testing Contact,Cultural, and Group Threat Theories of Anti‐Black and Anti‐Hispanic Stereotypes*

Objective. Many racial/ethnic policies in the United States—from desegregation to affirmative action policies—presume that contact improves racial/ethnic relations. Most research, however, tests related theories in isolation from one another and focuses on black‐white contact. This article tests contact, cultural, and group threat theories to learn how contact in different interactive settings affects whites' stereotypes of blacks and Hispanics, now the largest minority group in the country. Method. We use multi‐level modeling on 2000 General Social Survey data linked to Census 2000 metropolitan statistical area/county‐level data. Results. Net of the mixed effects of regional culture and racial/ethnic composition, contact in certain interactive settings ameliorates anti‐black and anti‐Hispanic stereotypes. Conclusions. Cultural and group threat theories better explain anti‐black stereotypes than anti‐Hispanic stereotypes, but as contact theory suggests, stereotypes can be overcome with relatively superficial contact under the right conditions. Results provide qualified justification for the preservation of desegregation and affirmative action policies.     

Breaking Silence,Building Solutions: The Role of Social Justice Group Work in the Retention of Faculty of Color

In spite of their many diversity initiatives, predominantly White colleges and universities have a poor track record in the recruitment and retention of faculty of color. This article unpacks the White privilege inherent in barriers to retention by focusing on three standards commonly used to make promotion and tenure decisions: teaching, service, and scholarship. A story of two Native American women faculty members denied academic advancement at a predominantly White university 30 years apart illustrates the White racism that underscored these decisions. Approaches to social justice group work are suggested for addressing the retention of faculty of color in the future.     

Inter–Group Helping Relations as Power Relations: Maintaining or Challenging Social Dominance Between Groups Through Helping

The article presents a model which proposes that groups may establish or challenge dominance through helping. It begins by noting the centrality of inequality in helping and inter–group relations. The implications of this to affirmative action programs are noted. Following this, a model of inter–group helping relations is proposed. It suggests that when the high status group provides to the low status group dependency oriented help, it may do so in order to establish dominance. The willing receptivity of the low status group may indicate its acceptance of the inequality, and lack of receptivity for such help may be motivated by the desire to achieve social equality. Empirical findings that are relevant to this analysis are presented in studies using Israeli students as research participants.     

Beliefs About Affirmative Action and Diversity and Their Relationship to Support for Hiring Policies

Two hundred seventy-three White undergraduates participated in an investigation of how beliefs relate to support for affirmative action (AA) policies. Beliefs included belief in the fairness of AA, belief in merit, and belief in the value of diversity. Analyses predicted support for a general affirmative action policy, a tiebreak policy, and a policy using banding from beliefs and individual-level variables such as future benefit from AA and demographics. For the general policy, each belief predicted support for AA. Fairness and value of diversity predicted support for a tiebreak policy. Value of diversity predicted support for aptitude testing. Individual characteristics improved prediction for AA in general but not for tiebreak policy or aptitude testing. We discuss predictions and results in terms of procedural and distributive justice, fairness heuristic theory, and models of support for AA.     

Affirmative Reaction: The Influence of Type of Justification on Nonbeneficiary Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Plans in Higher Education

It is popularly believed that justifying an affirmative action plan (AAP) through emphasizing the advantages that diverse students can bring to a college campus will increase nonbeneficiary support for the program. However, there has been little empirical support for this proposition, perhaps because previous research has not directly articulated to participants the value of a diverse student body. As such, the current study sought to determine how the explicit framing of an AAP influences subsequent reactions. Both quantitative and qualitative data from 216 White undergraduate participants revealed that the utilitarianism justification that highlighted the benefits of the AAP to both minority and majority students, was the most effective means of increasing support for the plan.     

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: The Elusive Search for Racial Equity in Higher Education

In 1965, when affirmative action officially became part of the national consensus to achieve racial social justice, it was based on the compelling justification of establishing equality and remedying the effects of past discrimination. Since then, there has been a slow but steady shift from "equity" to "diversity" as its rationale. The shift has had a negative effect on achieving the original goal of racial equality. The diversity rationale has permitted parallel procedures to evolve that provided majority students with an even larger differential advantage than that conferred on minority students by affirmative action. In addition, we continue to have massive segregation. Minorities are concentrated in second level schools in urban areas, while whites are concentrated in higher quality institutions in the educational suburbs. It is without factual or legal foundation that whites can argue that they (relative to minorities) are the victims of discrimination through unfair and unequal educational policies and practices that determine access to higher education.