Houston-area Whites (n = 414), Blacks (n = 392), American-born Hispanics (n = 162), and Hispanic immigrants (n = 177) evaluated a self-defined "typical" affirmative action plan (AAP) and a tiebreak AAP that applies under conditions of equal qualifications and underrepresentation. Whites preferred Tiebreak; Blacks and Hispanics preferred the typical AAP. The groups differed in beliefs about the procedures and fairness of affirmative action (AA), perceptions of workplace discrimination, and political orientations. Perceived fairness predicted support for both AAPs in all American-born groups, but the impact of other predictors varied greatly across AAPs and ethnic groups. The results clarify the bases for Whites' opposition to AA as they construe it. The results also underscore the importance of specifying the AAP procedures, of uncovering the predictors of AA attitudes among target-group members, and of conducting separate analyses in each ethnic community.

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Two studies assessed beliefs and attitudes toward affirmative action in the workplace. Opposition to affirmative action was most strongly associated with respondent race (White) and political conservatism, the belief that it involves strong actions (preferential hiring and setting aside jobs), and the expectation that it will hurt company performance. Attitudes were also positively associated with perceived frequency of employment discrimination experienced by the target group and negatively associated with their resulting employment opportunities. Regression results revealed that economic consequences for the company overwhelmed beliefs about target group employment opportunities in predicting affirmative action attitudes. Respondents associated aftirmative action most strongly with Black and Hispanic targets, and White respondents whose affirmative action schemas featured these 2 targets had the most negative attitudes.

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The study investigated the notion that images of the distant future are available for the projection of wish-fulfilling fantasies in childhood, but become increasingly constrained by realistic considerations with the attainment of adolescence. There were four groups of Ss: normal (N = 23) and maladjusted children (N = 24), aged 10.5 to 12.5; and normal (N = 22) and maladjusted adolescents (N = 21), aged 13.5 to 16.5. Each of the 90 Ss was individually interviewed to assess 6 different aspects of his orientation toward the future. The data were consistent with the hypotheses. The relationship between indexes of maladjustment and measures of orientation toward the distant future was positive in childhood but negative in middle adolescence. Moreover, future orientation increased from childhood to adolescence among the normal controls, but decreased among the maladjusted Ss during this period.Fraisse (1963) asserted that "there is no future without at the same time a desire for something else and an awareness of the possibility of realizing it [p. 174]." The crucial dimension in this equation is the nature of the individual's concept of "realizability. " Several writers (e.g., Bleuler, 1951; Bios, 1962; Lewin, 1942 Lewin, , 1951 have suggested that a primary difference between the child and the adult is the relative lack of differentiation in the child's thought between unattainable -wishes and realizable expectations. The process of bringing one's aspirations into line with reality is a continuous one, but there are compelling reasons to expect that it is during the period of adolescence 1 This report is based on a dissertation presented to Harvard University for the PhD degree. The study was conducted while the writer was in France, under a scholarship from the Alliance Frangaise de New-York. The advice and assistance of Paul Fraisse (Paris), Roger Brown, and Jerome Kagan are gratefully acknowledged.