The American South and the Self

Griffin, Larry J.

doi:10.1353/scu.2006.0033

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The fall 1993 survey included a question asking respondents to indicate whether southerners were less hard working, intelligent, and more violent than other Americans. Only about 60 percent of respondents held no negative stereotypes though there were very few differences in views between southerners and nonsoutherners or between black southerners and white southerners (Griffin, ). Southern Focus Polls conducted in fall 1991, spring 1992, fall 1993, and fall 1995 included questions about positive stereotypes of southerners.…”

Section: What We Know (And Do Not Know) About Opinions Toward Southermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Respondents were asked to compare southerners and nonsoutherners across a range of positive traits, such as courteous, religious, and friendly. Just over a quarter of southerners (25 percent of southern blacks and 29 percent of southern whites) indicated that southerners had all or almost all of these characteristics but just 7 percent of nonsoutherners said southerners had all or almost all of the positive traits (Griffin, ).…”

Section: What We Know (And Do Not Know) About Opinions Toward Southermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em? Changing Racial and Regional Differences in Opinions Toward Southerners, 1964–2008*

Cooper

Knotts

2012

Social Science Quarterly

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Objective. We determine whether Americans have reevaluated opinions toward southerners following the transformation of the region in the decades following the civil rights movement, focusing specifically on how opinions toward southerners vary across racial and regional groups. Methods. We use both descriptive and multivariate methods to evaluate opinions toward southerners using American National Election Study (ANES) data from 1964 to 2008. Results. Opinions toward southerners have increased dramatically over time. People living in the South display more positive feelings toward southerners than individuals residing outside the region, although the gap is much smaller today than in previous decades. In addition, southern blacks' opinions toward southerners have improved dramatically. These trends hold even when controlling for a host of other factors. Conclusions. Being a southerner is no longer a pejorative in the minds of many Americans. Blacks, in particular, have reevaluated their opinions of southerners as a group.What do people think of southerners? This question is important for both theoretical and practical reasons. Theoretically, answering this question can help us understand under what conditions and to what extent out-groups, like southerners, can become integrated with the larger culture and viewed as part of the in-group. In addition, investigating this issue can help determine how subgroups, such as southern blacks and nonsouthern blacks, view the outgroup. Practically, investigating whether southerners are viewed negatively has important implications for understanding a range of issues-from hiring and mate selection to whether southern political candidates are disadvantaged at the ballot box.Historian James C. Cobb (2005:3-4) argues that not long after the American Revolution, views toward the South served as a "negative reference point" for a vision of the new nation that "used the southern states primarily as * Direct correspondence to Chris Cooper ccooper@email.wcu.edu . Chris Cooper will share all data and coding for replication purposes.

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Section: What We Know (And Do Not Know) About Opinions Toward Southermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What We Know (And Do Not Know) About Opinions Toward Southermentioning

confidence: 99%

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em? Changing Racial and Regional Differences in Opinions Toward Southerners, 1964–2008*

Cooper

Knotts

2012

Social Science Quarterly

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“…Regional identity is featured prominently in literature focusing on the American South. From Cash's (1941) work on the "mind of the South", to Reed's (1982) examination of a shared regional identity among Southern whites, to Griffin's (2006) summary of the factors underpinning this collective identity, there is something about the South that makes it "distinct" as a region. Southerners are more likely to be conservative with regards to religious, moral, and racial issues (Glenn and Simmons 1967;Hurlbert 1989;Kuklinski, Cobb and Gilens 1997;Rice, McLean, and Larsen 2002).…”

Section: Southern Distinctivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Latitudes, Differences in Attitudes: Assessing the Distinctiveness of Southern State Legislators

Turner

Lasley

Kash

2018

ARP

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A variety of studies have examined the manner in which motivation effects the decisions made, and the activities engaged in, by politicians. However, one area that seems to have been ignored has been whether there are regional differences among state legislators as it relates to ambition and what, if any, effect it has on the preferences of Southern and non-Southern legislators. Utilizing data from a survey administered to state legislators from all 50 states, we are able to demonstrate that legislators from Southern states exhibit significantly higher levels of progressive ambition than those from non-Southern states, and that this increased level of ambition exerts a significant impact on the types of activities Southern legislators would prefer to spend their time engaging in.

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“…Although researchers generally recognize the distinctiveness of the South as a result of these, and other, differences, pinning down what exactly constitutes the nebulous concept of “southern distinctiveness” has been difficult. Scholars have explained parts of southern distinctiveness with the concepts of race, gender, and income among other things (Key, ; Reed, ; Rice and Coates, ; Griffin, ). The difficulty with understanding the role of political culture in shaping political behavior is that it exerts influence at both aggregate and individual levels.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Big Five and Southern Legislative Distinctiveness

Turner

Kash

Lasley

2019

Social Science Quarterly

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Objective Previous research has found that southern state legislators demonstrate more progressive ambition than their nonsouthern counterparts. This presents an interesting puzzle with regard to why this difference exists. In this article, we apply the Five‐Factor Model (conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion) to investigate whether regional personality differences exist that can help explain why southern legislators exhibit greater levels of progressive ambition than nonsouthern legislators. Methods Data from a national survey of state legislator are analyzed using ordinal regression. Results Our findings show that higher levels of extraversion and openness among the legislators are directly related to greater levels of political ambition. More specifically, southern legislators appear to possess disproportionately higher levels of extraversion and openness than their nonsouthern counterparts. This helps explain the greater levels of progressive ambition they express. Conclusions In addition to providing insight into progressive ambition, the results reinforce the notion of southern distinctiveness among state legislatures.

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The American South and the Self

Cited by 15 publications

References 22 publications

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em? Changing Racial and Regional Differences in Opinions Toward Southerners, 1964–2008*

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em? Changing Racial and Regional Differences in Opinions Toward Southerners, 1964–2008*

Changes in Latitudes, Differences in Attitudes: Assessing the Distinctiveness of Southern State Legislators

The Big Five and Southern Legislative Distinctiveness

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