Document Type
Research Paper
Abstract
While there is a fair amount of research on attitudes toward African-Americans, less is known about people's attitudes toward other minority groups, including Mexican immigrants and Bosnian refugees. This study examined people's attitudes toward all three of these groups. Eighty-nine Introduction to Psychology students from the University of Northern Iowa completed several measures assessing their attitudes and stereotypes. Participants also completed measures of authoritarianism, social dominance, and self-esteem and reported on their past experiences with people of different ethnic groups. Participants expressed more prejudiced attitudes toward Bosnian refugees and Mexican immigrants than African-Americans. Participants who were higher in social dominance and authoritarianism were more prejudiced toward all three groups. Most demographic variables showed no differences in prejudice; however, those with a Bosnian friend reported lower levels of prejudice. Those who had more contact with African-Americans tended to report less prejudiced attitudes toward African-Americans. These issues are important due to the recent increases in immigrant populations in Iowa and the Governor's efforts to encourage more immigrants to move to the state.
Publication Date
2001
Journal Title
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference
Volume
5
Issue
1
First Page
121
Last Page
126
Copyright
©2001 by the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Publisher
University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Recommended Citation
Petersen, Amy K. and Harton, Helen C.
(2001)
"The Effects of Personality and Demographics on Attitudes Toward Minority Groups,"
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference: Vol. 5:
Iss.
1, Article 23.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/csbsproceedings/vol5/iss1/23
