This study tests the hypothesis that ethnic groups have consensus about the relative position of ethnic out‐groups in society. A survey among ethnic majority and minority youth in the city of Rotterdam indicated that: (a) each ethnic group preferred the in‐group, (b) there was consensus on an ethnic hierarchy within ethnic groups, and (c) ethnic groups largely agreed on the ethnic rank order. Among the Dutch respondents, the ethnic hierarchy was found to be related to real cultural differences. The scheme of ethnic preferences corresponded inversely to the rank ordering of the ethnic groups in terms of collectivism. Among ethnic minority youth the rank ordering did not correspond to cultural differences but to existing socioeconomic status differences.

In Western Europe the concept of ‘new racism’ has emerged. The idea of the incompatibility of different cultures is central to this concept, and this idea leads to the abnormalization and exclusion of ethnic minority groups. This paper studies this form of ethnic prejudice and several of its correlates among ethnic majority and minority youth. The results show, first, that majority youth were more prejudiced than minority youth. Second, that among majority youth prejudice correlated positively with personal self-esteem as well as with self-esteem as an ethnic group member, whereas among minority youth a negative association was found. Third, among majority youth positive ingroup evaluation in combination with prejudice was found, whereas among minority youth a more positive ingroup evaluation was associated with less prejudice. Fourth, among majority youth prejudice was very strongly correlated with a measure of social distance, with rate of voluntary inter-ethnic contacts, and with level of outgroup formation. Among minority youth these associations were much weaker.

Eleven ethnically Dutch adults, living in an old neighborhood in the center of the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, discussed in twogroups during fourevenings the situation in their neighborhood. Transcripts of the discussions were analyzed focusing on racial attitudes and their expression. Three questionsguided the analysis. First, the relationship between holding strong views and the variability of attitudinal positions expressed in discourse was studied. Second, the question of the meaning of different rhetorical manoeuvres or devices in expressing racism was addressed. Third, some of the ways in which racist views are presented and justified were explored. It is argued, first, that variability in attitude expression depends on the normative position of the speaker Second, it is argued that "rhetorical" manoeuvres are not only strategical but can also have a more genuine meaning. Third, it is shown that using personal experiences is a powerful device for justifying racist talk.

No abstract

In this study the pervasiveness of racial categorization i s investigated among children (10)(11)(12)