Personality Characteristics and Interracial Contact as Determinants of Black Prejudice Toward Whites

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine how interracial contact affects the attitudes of Blacks toward Whites. The study also delineates the personality characteristics predictive ofprejudice and prejudice changes, and how these characteristics differ between Blacks and Whites. The subjects were 112 male inmates (63 Blacks and 49 Whites) newly admitted to a medium security state correctional institution. Over a period of 1 month every new inmate was requested to answer a series of questionnaires to assess his cognitive complexity, self-esteem, attitudes toward people, and prejudice. Three weeks after his first session each subject was requested to respond to a second measure of prejudice. The data indicate that initially Whites were much more prejudiced than Blacks. The contact situation increased prejudice in Blacks and decreased prejudice in Whites. Within each group positive attitudes toward people in general predicted a decrease in prejudice. This was the only variable which functioned the same for both races. Simple cognitive structure, highly predictive of prejudice in Whites, is predictive of a very low level of prejudice in Blacks. Low self-esteem predicted a decrease in prejudice in Whites but an increase in prejudice in Blacks. Implementation of contact situations without adequate insight into the effects on both races is cautioned against.