The relation between expressed self-acceptance and expressed attitudes toward Negroes and whites among Negro children

Theory and Research Concerning the Notion of Black Self-hatred: A Review and Reinterpretation

A review of the theoretical models and supportive research related to the issue of Black self-hatred is presented. The analysis reveals that much of the Black self-hatred literature fails to stand up to conventional standards of validity and reliability, but it also reflects a failure to recognize the cross-cultural nature of Black experience in American society. In addition, the evidence generated by past research is neither consistent nor statistically significant in most cases. Certain cross- cultural approaches to Black social reality are suggested as alternatives to the traditional models and are strong ly recommended for investigations of Black experience in western society.

On the Relationship between Stereotypes and Prejudice: An International Study

This study examined the hypothesis that emotional reactions to national groups would be associated with evaluative responses to the traits forming the stereotypes of these groups. A hierarchical regression analysis of American and Russian subjects' emotional reactions to Americans, Russians, and Iraqis supported this prediction in four of six cases. In addition, simultaneous regression analyses indicated that self-esteem, ethnocentrism, and authoritarianism were each a significant predictor in two of the six analyses, weakly supporting trends found in other research. In general, the personality traits were not as consistently or as strongly associated with emotional reactions to these groups as were the evaluative aspects of stereotypes. A network model of cognition and affect is used to interpret the findings of this and related studies and to address their implications for changing prejudice.

Acceptance: An Historical and Conceptual Review

Recognition of the value of acceptance of the self, others, and the flux of human experience, has philosophical and religious roots that date back thousands of years. The past two decades have witnessed a swell of interest in acceptance, as evidenced by an increase in acceptance-based therapeutic interventions, and a growing appreciation of the paradoxical nature of acceptance and personal change and the role of experiential avoidance in psychopathology. In this article we review historical and contemporary descriptions and definitions of acceptance, measures of acceptance, the relation between acceptance and change, and the role of acceptance in psychopathology and psychotherapy. Our central objective is to delineate a rich conceptual scheme that encompasses the diverse ways in which acceptance has been explicated in classical and contemporary writings, and to highlight the need for further validation of this useful and popular construct.

The development of prejudice towards gays and lesbians by adolescents

The authors studied the development of gay and lesbian prejudice in white, suburban adolescents in grades 7, 9, and 11. Results parallel several major findings with adults: males were more prejudiced than females; this difference was greater towards gay males than lesbians; and same-sex prejudice was greater than opposite-sex prejudice. For males and females prejudice increased between grades 7 and 9, but from grades 9 to 11 it decreased for females and increased for males. These differences were explained by the increased vulnerability of males to defensive reactions in response to the prospect of intimate relationships. None of the personality measures were significantly correlated with prejudice.

‘NEW RACISM’, SELF-ESTEEM, AND ETHNIC RELATIONS AMONG MINORITY AND MAJORITY YOUTH IN THE NETHERLANDS

In Western Europe the concept of ‘new racism’ has emerged. The idea of the incompatibility of different cultures is central to this concept, and this idea leads to the abnormalization and exclusion of ethnic minority groups. This paper studies this form of ethnic prejudice and several of its correlates among ethnic majority and minority youth. The results show, first, that majority youth were more prejudiced than minority youth. Second, that among majority youth prejudice correlated positively with personal self-esteem as well as with self-esteem as an ethnic group member, whereas among minority youth a negative association was found. Third, among majority youth positive ingroup evaluation in combination with prejudice was found, whereas among minority youth a more positive ingroup evaluation was associated with less prejudice. Fourth, among majority youth prejudice was very strongly correlated with a measure of social distance, with rate of voluntary inter-ethnic contacts, and with level of outgroup formation. Among minority youth these associations were much weaker.

Black children's race awareness, racial attitudes and self-concept: a reinterpretation

Results of a study of 130 black preschool children support the previous research finding that black preschoolers show majority group racial attitudes. Eighty percent of the sample obtained positive self-concept scores, while demonstrating pro-white biased cultural values on a racial attitude and preference measure. This significant finding is contrary to previous theorizing and consistent with recent data for a Southern sample (Spencer, 1982a). Few studies have empirically questioned this relationship, assuming less positive self-concepts of black children who have consistently shown pro-white cultural values. Race awareness affected majority group-preferenced racial attitudes. Results suggest that black preschool children effectively compartmentalize personal identity (i.e. self-concept) from knowledge of racial evaluations.

Self-image disparity, ethnic identity and sex-role stereotypes in British and Cypriot adolescents

This study was concerned with the actual and ideal self-perceptions and intergroup stereotypes of male and female British, British Cypriot and Greek Cypriot adolescents. It was predicted that the three cultures would have a different self-image disparity because of the different socialization experiences of the three groups. The British adolescents had the largest disparity scores and the Greek Cypriots the smallest, with the British Cypriots intermediate between the two. A number of sex differences were also found which supported the prediction that various sex-role stereotypes influenced the self-concept. Finally, all three groups showed strong evidence of preferences for members of their own group by rating the in-group stimuli as more positive than out-group stimuli. The results were discussed with reference to minority groups and their attempts at maintaining an ethnic identity.