Academic Status and Ethnicity as Determinants of Social Acceptance

Abstract

How academic and ethnic considerations combine in the determination of social acceptance was assessed in a short-term longitudinal study. Most previous research suggests that the influence of these status characteristics should aggregate in an additive fashion. Potential shifts were examined in the use of these characteristics in judgments regarding social acceptance across the school year. Seventh-grade Israeli students (N = 721) entering integrated junior high schools responded at the beginning and end of the academic year to the Interpersonal Relationship Assessment Technique. Both academic standing and ethnicity influenced interpersonal acceptance consistently across the school ear, but academic considerations had markedly greater impact. The demographic overlap of these two dimensions in the student population could lead to an inflated estimate of ethnic bias. Furthermore, students tended to express less ethnic bias toward classmates of high academic status.