The Relation between Political Ideology and Attitudes toward Affirmative Action among African-Americans: The Moderating Effect of Racial Discrimination in the Workplace

Abstract

Survey data from two samples of African-American students supported the hypothesis that the association between political ideology and attitudes toward affirmative action (AA) is moderated by the experience of workplace discrimination. Specifically, ideology was associated with support for AA, but only among individuals who had not experienced discrimination. Among these individuals, egalitarians, who view fairness in terms of group equality, were more supportive of AA than were individualists, who view fairness from the perspective of the individual. Conversely, among individuals who had experienced discrimination, ideology was not related to attitude toward AA: support was high and approximately equal regardless of ideology. Findings were interpreted in terms of Referent Cognitions Theory (Folger, 1986).