Modern racism attitudes among white students: the role of dominance and authoritarianism and the mediating effects of racial color-blindness.
Among 342 white college students, we examined the effects of social dominance orientation (SDO), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and racial color-blindness on modern racism attitudes. Structural equation modeling was used to test the indirect effects of SDO and RWA on modern racism attitudes through color-blind racial attitudes. We found strong indirect effects of SDO and RWA on modern racism through racial color-blindness. We did not find support for an alternative model, in which we tested racial color-blindness as a moderator of the effects of SDO and RWA on modern racism. Findings suggest that highly dominant and authoritarian white students endorse color-blind racial attitudes, although likely for different reasons. In turn, this predicts their modern racism attitudes. These findings indicate racial color-blindness is important to address as part of anti-racism education.
Boston College, Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Campion Hall 307, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. poteatp@bc.edu
V Paul
VP
Poteat
Lisa B
LB
Spanierman
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D001318:Authoritarianism; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011287:Prejudice; D012925:Social Conformity; D012930:Social Dominance; D012945:Social Values; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult