Does Race Matter in Neighborhood Preferences? Results from a Video Experiment

Abstract

Persistent racial residential segregation is often seen as the result of the preferences of whites and blacks: whites prefer to live with whites while blacks wish to live near many other blacks. The origin of these preferences and their social psychological underpinnings are hotly debated. Are neighborhood preferences colorblind or race-conscious? Does neighborhood racial composition have a net influence upon preferences or is race a proxy for social class? If preferences are race-conscious, is this more a matter of a desire to be in a neighborhood with one’s “own kind” or to avoid being in a neighborhood with another racial group? We tested the racial proxy hypothesis using an innovative experiment that isolated the net effects of race and social class and followed it with an analysis of the social psychological factors associated with residential preferences. Face-to-face surveys using computer assisted interviewing were conducted with random samples of Detroit and Chicago residents. Respondents were asked how desirable they would rate neighborhoods shown in videos in which racial composition and social class characteristics were manipulated and they also completed—via computer assisted self-interviews—questions tapping into perceptions of discrimination, racial and neighborhood stereotypes, and in-group identity. We find that net of social class, the race of a neighborhood's residents significantly influenced how it was rated. Whites said the all-white neighborhoods were most desirable. The independent effect of racial composition was smaller among blacks and blacks identified the racially mixed neighborhood as most desirable. Hypotheses about how racial group identity, stereotypes, and experiences of discrimination influenced the effect of race of residents upon neighborhood preferences were tested and show that for whites, those who hold negative stereotypes about African Americans and the neighborhoods where they live are significantly influenced by neighborhood racial composition. None of the proposed social psychological factors conditioned African American sensitivity to racial composition of neighborhoods.

The effects of racial heterogeneity on mental health: A study of detained youth across multiple counties.

“…Along these lines, Krysan and Farley (2002) found that blacks were uncomfortable moving into all white neighborhoods because they perceived such neighborhoods as more hostile and feared greater discrimination. In a later experimental study, Krysan, Couper, Farley, and Forman (2009) showed that independent of social class, blacks found diverse neighborhoods to be the most desirable, followed by all black, and all white neighborhoods.…”

“…However, whites' views of diverse neighborhoods also became increasingly negative as their negative stereotypes of blacks and the neighborhoods they reside in increased (Krysan et al, 2009). Whereas perceived discrimination and in-group identity did not significantly influence the neighborhood preferences of blacks, negative racial stereotyping and in-group identity (particularly positive feelings towards one's own group) significantly influenced preferences for whites (Krysan et al, 2009). Overall, the two studies suggest that blacks may perceive the least distress in diverse neighborhoods, whereas whites would be the least distressed in all white neighborhoods and the effects of diverse neighborhoods would depend on the beliefs that whites have of minorities.…”

The Pitfalls and Promise of Focus Groups as a Data Collection Method

“…Still, the researchers were not entirely forthcoming in this group. They did not typically provide the questions used to assess consensus in the focus group, and in one case (Krysan, et al 2009) it was unclear how many groups were carried out in the pretest.…”

“…As Table 2 demonstrates, all four articles that most clearly utilize the group unit of analysis do so as pretests. Two articles (Gibson 2004;Sue and Telles 2007) use focus groups to pretest a survey instrument; one article (Ghazal Read and Oselin 2008) uses them to pretest interview questions; and the fourth article (Krysan, et al 2009) undertakes focus groups as a pretest for an experiment.…”

“…Participants were asked to come to a consensus on how Hispanic they perceived each name to be. Krysan, et al (2009) carried out focus groups in order to pretest a video used in an experiment (Krysan, et al 2009). The researchers wanted to ensure that class and racial cues were properly conveyed in the video.…”