Is racism dead? Comparing (expressive) means and (structural equation) models

Abstract

Much scholarship suggests that racism--belief in out-group inferiority--is unrelated to contemporary attitudes. Purportedly, a new form of racism, one which relies upon a belief in cultural difference, has become a more acceptable basis for such attitudes. The authors argue that an appropriate empirical assessment of racism (both 'old' and 'new') depends upon (1) clear conceptualization and operationalization, and (2) attention to both mean-level expression and explanatory value in structural equation models. This study assessed the endorsement of racism and belief in cultural difference as well as their association with a measure of general attitude in a secondary analysis of parallel representative surveys of attitudes toward different ethnic out-groups in France, The Netherlands, Western Germany and Britain (N = 3242; see Reif & Melich, 1991). For six of the seven out-group targets, racism was strongly related to ethnic majority attitudes, despite low mean-level endorsement. In a pattern consistent with a 'new', indirect racism, the relationship between British racism and attitudes toward Afro-Caribbeans was mediated by belief in cultural difference.

Against the notion of a ‘new racism’

“…Importantly, this formal expression of racial inferiority is tied to the formal endorsement of important societal policies. Those who formally express racial inferiority also tend to formally express opposition to affirmative action in the Netherlands (Kleinpenning & Hagendoorn, 1993) and the United States (Sidanius et al, 1996) as well as support for the illegal return of immigrants in Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands (Leach et al, 2000). Contrary to what is claimed by the notion of a 'new racism', formal expressions of racial inferiority remain active and consequential in contemporary societies.…”

“…Religion, culture, language, custom, nationality and physical appearance were all important dimensions of the ideology directed at Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Poles and others (Guillaumin, 1995;Miles, 1989). Thus, formal expressions of racial inferiority have less to do with a genetic concept of 'race' than with the notion that some groups are less good, moral and able than others (Leach, Peng, & Volckens, 2000;Todorov, 1984).…”

“…Thus, in contrast to what is suggested by the notion of a 'new racism' that avoids the formal expression of racial inferiority, in 1994 Walker found 27% of a sample of white Australians to explicitly agree with the statement 'One reason why the white and black races can never merge is that the white culture is so much more advanced'. In their analysis of a series of coordinated surveys of attitudes toward seven different ethnic minority groups in Western Europe, Leach et al (2000) found white agreement that they 'may not do as well as the majority' because they come from 'less able races' and 'less well developed cultures' ranged from 26% (in France, regarding North Africans and Southeast Asians) to 41% (in Britain regarding African Caribbeans and Asians).…”

A model for predicting prejudice and stigma expression by understanding target perceptions: The effects of visibility, politicization, responsibility, and entitativity

“…We wish to take seriously the idea that, not so long ago, there was more old-fashioned racism in countries such as the United States and less modern racism (see Leach, Peng, & Volckens, 2000). We argue that the level of variability across time and cultural context demands a level of meta-theoretical sophistication that is currently missing in the field.…”

Differentiating Contemporary Racial Prejudice from Old-Fashioned Racial Prejudice

“…We disagree and suggest that social surveys assessing whites’ racial attitudes should routinely include such indicators because for one thing, they can be important predictors. For instance, Leach, Peng, and Volckens (2000) distinguished ‘means’ from ‘structure’, documenting that declines in race-related survey items’ mean levels are not married to declines in those survey items’ predictive power. In addition, we note that contemporary prejudice may soon become reactive to social desirability (Henry and Sears 2002:274; Tarman and Sears 2005:757).…”