NCJ Number
204276
Journal
Youth & Society Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 293-322
Date Published
March 2004
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined the underlying reasoning processes used to make decisions about racial exclusion.
Abstract
Previous research has established that intimate relationships differ from nonintimate relationships on many levels, including passion, long-term commitment, and emotional involvement. Yet few studies have focused on the way in which race influences evaluations of close relationships. The contextual nature of decisions regarding racial exclusion was investigated by analyzing why individuals might accept members of other racial groups into certain types of social relationships, but exclude them from other types of social relationships. Two studies were conducted; Study 1 examined how young adults evaluated decisions involving exclusion based on race in three contexts that varied in degree of intimacy. Study 2 probed which components of intimate relationships were viewed as important when making decisions about cross-race and same-race relationships. Study 1 participants were 292 college students who attended a large public university. Participants responded to questions regarding three hypothetical scenarios that depicted a White female making a decision about a Black male. Results of repeated measures ANOVA analysis revealed that racial exclusion is more likely to be condoned as a personal choice issue and less likely to be viewed as overt racism in intimate, rather than nonintimate, relationships. Study 2 participants were 196 college students at the same university. Participants answered questions about scenarios involving eight different social relationships. Half of the scenarios involved relationships with high physical contact and half involved low physical contact relationships. Results of ANOVA analysis indicated that participants considered it more wrong to exclude others from cross-race relationships than from same-race relationships. Moreover, when cross-race and same-race relationships involved a high amount of physical contact, they were viewed as issues of personal choice. The findings of the two studies help explain the substantial contextual differences in which the exclusion of racial groups is viewed as acceptable or unacceptable. While racial exclusion that operates at the nonintimate group level is usually espoused as a form of overt racism, the two studies indicated that racial exclusion that operates at the level of intimate relationships is usually viewed as a personal choice and not as overt racism. Research should continue exploring how and why race continues to be pervasive in psychological judgments and attitudes. Tables, references, appendix