Dissertation Research: Admissions and Success in Education and the Labor Market.

当白人面对在当前的游戏规则下亚洲人似乎正在超越白人的情况时，他们对传统精英标准重要性的看法会改变吗？在美国，与白人相比，亚洲人在各种社会经济地位指标（大学学位、收入中位数、专业管理职业集中度）上的相对成功，以及精英高等教育机构中亚洲人的过多代表，呈现出一种新兴的社会背景，在这种背景下，可以研究大学录取标准所表明的对精英管理理念的承诺。通过对1000名加州成年人的随机抽样进行调查实验，对不同大学环境中的大学生进行实验室实验，以及深入访谈，本项目测试了基于社会学和政治心理学的关于种族、公众舆论和公共政策之间关系的理论：这里是公立大学的录取标准。在竞争激烈的本科招生环境中，标准化的考试准备课程和大学申请私人导师已经成为一笔巨大的财富和全球化的业务，而密集的大学预科指导和计划可以早在幼儿园前就开始，本研究揭示了构成当前学术大学录取标准支持的观念成分（例如个人主义和群体态度）。如果对当前录取标准的支持，作为精英管理的指标，不仅基于对个人主义和公平的价值承诺（例如，对努力工作的奖励），而且还作为种族化群体为争夺稀缺和有价值的高等教育资源而进行高风险竞争的守门机制，传统上代表性不足的群体应该被迫参与讨论，重新构想大学录取标准，既要奖励努力学习，又不要被用来再现群体劣势和不平等。这项研究的结果可以为围绕基于群体的态度和不平等、政治价值观和高等教育政策的讨论和进一步研究提供更确定的基础。

SES-0802645David GruskyFrank SamsonStanford UniversityDo whites' views about the importance of traditional meritocratic criteria become malleable when they are confronted with circumstances in which Asians appear to be surpassing whites under the current rules of the game? The relative success of Asians compared to whites in the United States on various socioeconomic status indicators (college degrees, median earnings, and professional-managerial occupational concentration) as well as the over-representation of Asians at elite higher educational institutions present an emerging social context in which to study commitment to the idea of meritocracy, as indicated by university admissions criteria. Using a survey-based experiment of a random sample of 1000 California adults, lab-based experiments of college students in various university settings, and in-depth interviews, this project tests sociological and political psychology-based theories about the relationship between race, public opinion, and public policy: here, public university admissions criteria. In a hyper-competitive undergraduate admissions context where standardized test prep courses and college application private tutors have become both big money and globalized businesses, and intense college preparatory instruction and planning can commence as early as pre-Kindergarten, this study sheds light on the ideational components (e.g. individualism and group attitudes) that constitute support for current academic university admissions criteria. If support for current admissions criteria, as indicators of meritocracy, have a basis in not only value commitments to individualism and fairness (e.g. rewards for hard work) but also serve as gate-keeping mechanisms amidst racialized groups vying in high-stakes competition for the scarce and valued resource of higher education, traditionally underrepresented groups should be compelled to participate in discussions that re-conceive of university admissions criteria that can reward hard work yet not be used to reproduce group disadvantages and inequalities. The results of this research can provide a more certain footing for discussion and further research around group-based attitudes and inequalities, political values, and higher education policy.