Subtle and Blatant Prejudice in Europe T. Pettigrew & R. Meertens
Types of Prejudice
• Much prejudice now covert: “new racism,” “latent” prejudice, “aversive” racism, “symbolic racism”
• Blatant: hot, close, direct
• Subtle: cool, distant, indirect
– [ parallels Kovel’s dominative & aversive? ]
Blatant & Subtle Prejudice
• Blatant: inferiority & avoidance of contact
• Subtle:
defense of traditional values
exaggeration of cultural differences
denial of positive emotions
Hypotheses
1. Blatant & subtle can be distinguished and measured
2. Will be moderately inter-correlated
3. Will be similar in characteristics which predict them
4. Will predict different responses to out-groups & immigrant policy
Samples: 1988 Survey
• France about Asians & North Africans
• Netherlands about Turks & Surinamers
• England about West Indians & Asians
• West Germany about Turks
Scale Construction
• Survey contained 50 items (questions) about ethnic attitudes
• Used “exploratory” factor analysis to find related Q-s
• Then must show reliability and validity– Reliability: Crombach’s alpha– Validity: similar predictors + dif outcomes
Vocabulary
• Item: 1 question or task
• Scale: Set of items that measure a single
trait or characteristic
• Test: Usually large set of items thatmeasure one or several traits
May consist of several scales or“subtests” (IQ; SAT; ACT)
Likert Scale
• Item with following response forms:Strongly Strongly
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Strongly Strongly Agree [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Disagree
Reliability
Does test consistently measure what it measures?
Internal consistency
Test-retest reliability
Validity
Does test measure what it aims to measure?
Convergent Validity: Correlations with other measures of same trait.
Divergent Validity: Non-correlation with measures of different traits.
Correlation• Strength of association of scale measures
• r = -1 to 0 to +1
+1 perfect positive correlation
-1 perfect negative correlation
0 no correlation
• Interpret r in terms of variance
Survey of Classn = 42
• Height• Mother’s height• Mother’s education• SAT• Estimate IQ• Well-being
(7 pt. Likert)
• Weight• Father’s education• Family income• G.P.A.• Health (7pt Likert)• How many pieces of
cherry pie could you eat if you had to?
Height Father Height
Mother Height
Weight Pie Pieces
Father Educ
Mother Educ
G.P.A. S.A.T. I.Q. Income Health Happy
Height 1.0 .36* .57*** .59** .57*** .20 .05 .04 .21 .25 -.09 .06 .10
F Height 1.0 .30 .05 .16 .23 .08 .25 .38* .37* -.04 -.40* -.01
M Height 1.0 .19 .29 .08 .003 .05 .001 .09 -.23 -.10 .03
Weight 1.0 .54*** -.06 -.10 -.02 .04 .05 -.07 .16 -.09
Pie 1.0 .16 .19 .03 .25 .35* .03 .21 -.02
F Educ 1.0 .62*** -.21 -.02 .10 .29 -.32* -.06
M Educ 1.0 -.07 .06 .23 .30 .005 .22
G.P.A. 1.0 .63*** .51*** -.19 .13 .10
S.A.T. 1.0 .67*** -.22 .15 .28
I.Q. 1.0 -.14 .25 .19
Income 1.0 -.15 -.23
Health 1.0 .36*
Happy 1.0
Weight Pie Pieces G.P.A. S.A.T. I.Q. Health Happy
Height .59** .57*** .04 .21 .25 .06 .10
Weight .54*** -.06 -.10 .05 .16 -.09
Pie Pieces .03 .25 .35* -21 -.02
G.P.A. .63*** .51*** .13 .10
S.A.T. .67*** .15 .28
I.Q. .25 .19
Health .36*
Weight Pie Pieces
G.P.A. S.A.T. I.Q. Health Happy
Height .59** .57*** .04 .21 .25 .06 .10
Weight .54*** -.06 -.10 .05 .16 -.09
Pie Pieces
.03 .25 .35* -21 -.02
G.P.A. .63*** .51*** .13 .10
S.A.T. .67*** .15 .28
I.Q. .25 .19
Health .36*
Scale Construction
• Blatant Prejudice Scale (10 items)– Threat & rejection items – 6 items
– Anti-intimacy items – 4 items
• Subtle Prejudice Scale (10 items)– Traditional values items – 4 items
– Cultural differences items – 4 items
– Positive emotions items -- 2 items
Independent Variables(these will predict types of prejudice)
• Ethnocentrism
• Approval of racist movements
• Intergroup friends
• Political conservatism
• Group relative deprivation
Results
• Ethnocentrism blatant & subtle
• Racist movement approval blatant (strong) & subtle (weak)
• Conservatism blatant & subtle
• Intergroup friends blatant & subtle
• Relative Deprivation blatant
Dependent Variables( types of prejudice will predict these )
• Rights of immigrants
• Immigration policy
• Preferred means to improve relations
How to remedy “problem”?
• Bigots: send immigrants back
• Subtles: teach tolerance in schools
• Egalitarians: make citizenship easier & prosecute hate crimes
Conclusions• Validity of types
– Scales can be created (distinct & reliable)– Factor analyses– Specific correlates of each (indep. vars.)– Specific effects of each (dep. vars.)
• Subtle Prejudice:“The socially acceptable rejection of
minorities for ostensibly non-prejudicial reasons…”
Conclusions• Results support other theories:
• Authoritarian personality– Cluster of ethnocentrism, political
conservativism, national pride predicts prejudice
• Contact theory– More friends less prejudice
• Relative deprivation (group)– Deprived & alienated more prejudice
Conclusions
“Western European countries have been developing a norm against Blatant Prejudice… Egalitarians internalize this norm, Bigots ignore or reject it. Subtles comply with the norm, and express their negative inter group views only in ostensibly non-prejudiced ways that ‘slip under the norm.’”