Interracial Seating Patterns on New Orleans Public Transit

Davis, Morris A.; Seibert, Robert W.; Breed, Warren

doi:10.1525/sp.1966.13.3.03a00050

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While density is an objective measure of the number of people in a given space, crowding refers to an individual's psychological response to density-whether to feel crowded, threatened or that personal space is being invaded (see Altman, 1975b;Crothers, Kearns, & Lindsey, 1993;Gove, Hughes, & Galle, 1979;Jazwinski, 1998). Similarly, Davis et al (1966) found that as the number of individuals increased, so did segregation. Davis et al suggest that this pattern might be interpreted in terms of a cueing of a sense of racial threat by an increase in the number of individuals on the bus, which would in turn lead to a tendency to self-segregate.…”

Section: Ergonomic Factors and The Prediction Of Segregationmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…On the basis of their study of seating patterns on New Orleans buses soon after desegregation, Davis et al (1966) observed that few passengers violated the previously legally enforced rule of White precedence. Although not explicitly investigated in our study, during the process of data collection and coding of the photographs, it was noticed that many individuals tended to sit in the same place in a lecture venue, even in different classes, throughout a semester.…”

Section: Explaining the Persistence Of Segregation Habitmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Naturalistic Observational Study of Informal Segregation: Seating Patterns in Lectures

Koen

Durrheim

2009

Environment and Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In spite of the removal of legislated racial segregation, a number of observational studies in South Africa and elsewhere have shown that "informal," nonlegislated segregation persists in spaces of everyday interaction. Most of these have been case studies of segregation at single sites. The authors seek to quantify segregation in a sample of sites, in order to develop models of the factors that predict segregation. To this end, the authors use photographs of 67 first-year university classes, taken during the first 2 weeks of the semester, and then again during the last 2 weeks of the semester. Segregation is analyzed using Campbell and colleagues' measure of seating adjacencies. Across the classrooms, segregation correlates with class size, venue size, and class density, and results show higher levels of segregation in the second observation in comparison with the first. The authors conclude that interracial contact at university does not lead to the formation of cross-race friendships and consider a number of ergonomic factors that affect segregation.

show abstract

Section: Ergonomic Factors and The Prediction Of Segregationmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Explaining the Persistence Of Segregation Habitmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Naturalistic Observational Study of Informal Segregation: Seating Patterns in Lectures

Koen

Durrheim

2009

Environment and Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Patterns of resegregation in formally desegregated settings have been documented in various domains including educational settings (Campbell, Kruskall, & Wallace, 1966;Schofield, 1986) and even public transport (Davis, Siebert, & Breed, 1966). More recently, Fisher and Hartmann (1995) found that the majority of Black and White students at an American university admitted to maintaining a high degree of separation, contributing to the presence of same-race cliques.…”

Section: The Spatial Dimension Of Segregationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Spaces between Us: A Spatial Analysis of Informal Segregation at a South African University

Alexander

Tredoux

2010

Journal of Social Issues

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In many contemporary societies, the potential benefits of racial integration are undermined by de facto or informal segregation. The present research focuses on this phenomenon, and its role in (re)producing group boundaries, particularly those realized spatially. A multimethod approach was employed. Naturalistic observational techniques were used to examine the seating patterns of 26 undergraduate tutorial groups across a full academic year. Results from the longitudinal study show strong patterns of racial segregation. Focus group discussions were conducted in order to explore the social practices and processes that underlie informal segregation. We argue that an implicit system of unofficial rules governs intergroup relations and shapes contact opportunities among students. The perpetuation of racially homogenous spaces-intentionally or incidentally-is proposed as both a key outcome and as a key determinant.

show abstract

“…Thus, the appear ance of a racially diverse cafeteria and opportunity for interracial contact masked continued segregation along racial lines. Exposure and dissimilarity indices have also been used in observational studies of interracial contact in other unstructured social environ ments such as public beaches and buses (cf., Davis, Seibert, & Breed, 1966;Dixon & Durrheim, 2003). The general finding in each of these studies is that Whites (who were in the numerical majority in each sample) tend to self-segregate (i.e., cluster to gether) at levels exceeding chance, particularly when ethnic mi nority groups increase in relative size (see review in Dixon et al, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Same spaces, different races: What can cafeteria seating patterns tell us about intergroup relations in middle school?

Echols

Solomon

Graham

2014

Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using 2 segregation indices--an exposure index previously used in cafeteria studies and an entropy index used for the first time, to our knowledge, in this study--we examined racial segregation in seating patterns among ethnically diverse middle school students in their school cafeteria over a 2-week period. Given the representation of groups in the cafeteria each day, results indicated the expected amount of contact between Asian and White students, but more limited contact between Asian and Latino students and between White and Latino students. Latino students, who were in the numerical majority in the sample, appeared least likely to contribute to overall segregation in the cafeteria. Implications for using the cafeteria methodology to examine intergroup relations were discussed.

show abstract

Interracial Seating Patterns on New Orleans Public Transit

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

A Naturalistic Observational Study of Informal Segregation: Seating Patterns in Lectures

A Naturalistic Observational Study of Informal Segregation: Seating Patterns in Lectures

The Spaces between Us: A Spatial Analysis of Informal Segregation at a South African University

Same spaces, different races: What can cafeteria seating patterns tell us about intergroup relations in middle school?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About