Social Position and Self-Evaluation: The Relative Importance of Race

Yancey, William L.; Rigsby, Leo C.; McCarthy, John

doi:10.1086/225328

Cited by 78 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In contrast to this theoretical premise, a number of studies in the 1970s reached markedly different conclusions: Surprisingly, the vast majority of studies offer little support for the conclusion that minorities (racial, religious, or ethnic) have appreciably lower self-esteem. A number of the best-controlled studies suggest that minorities may even have somewhat higher self-esteem (Bauchman 1970;Rosenberg 1973;Rosenberg and Simmons 1972;Rosenberg and Turner 1981;Simmons et al 1978;Trowbridge 1972;Yancey et al 1972). For example the self-esteem of Black school children is strongly related to their perception of what their parents, teachers, and friends think of them.…”

Section: Explainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gazing into a Distorted Looking Glass: Masculinity, Femininity, Appearance Ideals, and the Black Body

Ford

2008

Sociology Compass

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This article reviews socio-psychological literature on racial identity development and feminist work on the body in an effort to better understand past and present constructions of the Black body. I begin by providing a brief overview of previous research on Black identity and self-image, noting how these theories have been applied to appearance. I then historically trace the unique raced and gendered constructions of Black masculinity and femininity -showing how the experiences of Black men and women differ from the White hegemonic paradigm. Finally, I review current research on the Black body and highlight areas of inquiry where the field can be further expanded.

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Section: Explainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gazing into a Distorted Looking Glass: Masculinity, Femininity, Appearance Ideals, and the Black Body

Ford

2008

Sociology Compass

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“…Kessler and Neighbors (1986), for example, show that except at lower income levels, blacks have no more psychological distress than others. On the other hand, Yancey, Rigsby, and McCarthy (1972), in regard to selfesteem, detect "no evidence of a systematic effect of race when other relevant dimensions of social position are taken into account" (p. 356). The present study also examines subjective well-being, but differs significantly from previous work by focusing not just on racial differences in subjective well-being, but on race-specific factors that enhance (or hinder) black and white subjective well-being.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, research supports the view that blacks evaluate their general quality of life more negatively than whites (e.g., Alston, Lowe, and Wrigley 1974;Jackson, Chatters, and Neighbors 1986;Andrews and Withey 1976;Bracy 1976). Studies reaching a slightly different view include research on mental illness (e.g., Veroff, Donovan, and Kulka 1981;Warheit, Holzer, and Avery 1975), psychological distress (e.g., Kessler and Neighbors 1986), and self-esteem (e.g., McCarthy and Yancey 1971;Yancey, Rigsby, and McCarthy 1972). They find that either racial effects can be accounted for by social class, or race and social class interact to determine well-being.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of Satisfaction for Blacks and Whites

Thomas

Holmes

1992

The Sociological Quarterly

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The study analyzes the determinants of satisfaction for blacks and whites with data from the Quality of American Life survey conducted in 1971 and replicated in 1978. A domain satisfaction scale is the dependént variable and a series of demographic, social relationship, SES, and religion variables are used as independent variables. Separate regression analyses by race, and tests for the significance of the interaction of the independent variables with race reveal (1) perceived quality of important relationships (i.e., friends, neighbors, children, parents, and siblings) more strongly affects levels of satisfaction for both blacks and whites than demographic variables. SES, or religion; (2) black females report significantly lower levels of satisfaction than any other gender/race group; (3) blacks living in the East report lower satisfaction than any other region/race group; (4) feeling close to their parents more strongly impacts black than white levels of satisfaction; (5) religion is more important for blacks than for whites in producing satisfaction; and (6) SES is more important for whites than blacks in producing satisfaction. Theoretical interpretations are presented.

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“…The history of marginalization of African Americans in the political process raises a fundamental paradox: Why do African Americans demonstrate high levels of political efficacy in some surveys despite their history of marginalization and oppression? Shingles () attributes this to the emergence of Black consciousness which led African Americans to blame the system, rather than themselves, for marginalization and oppression, resulting in high efficacy coupled with cynicism about government ( see also : Hulbary, ; Institute for Social Research, ; Yancey, Rigsby, & McCarthy, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive Representation, Political Efficacy, and African Americans in the 2008 Presidential Election

Merolla

Sellers

Fowler

2012

Political Psychology

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Political efficacy is an important psychological orientation that has been used extensively by scholars to help explain voting and other forms of participation. However, very few scholars have sought to treat political efficacy as a dependent variable. In this research note, we look at the linkage between descriptive representation and political efficacy. Drawing from existing literature, we argue that an increase in descriptive representation positively affects levels of political efficacy. We examine support for this argument by looking at whether levels of efficacy increased among African Americans after the election of Barack Obama using data from the 2008–2009 American National Election Studies (ANES) panel study. We find that the effects of descriptive representation on efficacy varied depending on one's partisanship. Black Republicans, Independents, and weak Democrats experienced an increase in efficacy. However, Black Democrats and White Democrats who strongly identify with the party experienced a similar boost in efficacy, which suggests that partisanship can override the effects of having a descriptive representative.

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Social Position and Self-Evaluation: The Relative Importance of Race

Cited by 78 publications

References 31 publications

Gazing into a Distorted Looking Glass: Masculinity, Femininity, Appearance Ideals, and the Black Body

Gazing into a Distorted Looking Glass: Masculinity, Femininity, Appearance Ideals, and the Black Body

Determinants of Satisfaction for Blacks and Whites

Descriptive Representation, Political Efficacy, and African Americans in the 2008 Presidential Election

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