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Abstract:
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The present study examined the presence of racist attitudes on a small, liberal arts
campus. Though overt racism is no longer condoned in American society, it has been
demonstrated that implicit or unconscious racism is still at work today. Whether known
to the individual or not, racist beliefs and attitudes could greatly affect one’s behavior
toward a member of another race. This may be especially true if that person is in need of
help. This study was designed to examine whether undergraduates would respond
differently to a hypothetical White versus a Black woman when she was in need of
assistance. I hypothesized that students on this particular campus – a campus that is
predominately Caucasian – would treat the Black woman differently than the White
woman. On numerous occasions, participants judged the woman’s emotions and desires
for help based on race. There were also several occasions in which the race of the
hypothetical woman and the blame scenario she was in interacted. In addition, when the
participants were divided into groups based on gender, racial groups, empathy groups, or
political parties, decisions about how to react to a woman in need of a particular race
differentiated these groups. Based on these results, I believe that racial biases do exist on
the Washington College campus and that these biases may lead to exhibitions of behavior
driven by racism – whether it is conscious or unconscious, deliberate or automatic –
which could influence the lives of members of minorities on a daily basis. |
