SGER: Race and the 2008 Election

本项目研究2008年总统大选期间，种族态度和刻板印象如何影响非洲裔美国学生的政治参与和学业表现。如果一个特定的群体被定型为不太可能参与政治，也不太可能在学业上取得成功，那么这个群体的成员可能会内化这种定型，在相关任务上表现不佳。根据刻板印象威胁的心理学理论，这不是由于有意识地决定表现得与刻板印象一致，而是基于被内化的刻板印象从任务中分散的认知。该研究调查了两种可能使个人或多或少容易受到刻板印象威胁的隐性种族态度。非裔美国学生将参与一项实验，包括完成一项在线调查，内容涉及他们对2008年大选的参与程度、他们对巴拉克•奥巴马（Barack Obama）和约翰•麦凯恩（John McCain）的支持程度，以及他们对一系列种族相关政策（平权法案、政府对黑人的援助和奴隶制赔偿）的看法。为了诱发刻板印象威胁，调查分为两种实验条件，一种是高刻板印象威胁条件，由全白人研究小组向非裔美国人提供指导，另一种是低刻板印象威胁条件，由全黑人研究小组提供指导。隐性种族态度也用反应时间任务来衡量。这项研究将通过更好地理解种族态度和刻板印象如何影响非裔美国人社区的成员，产生更广泛的影响。调查结果将分发给当地社区，目的是提高对种族陈规定型观念后果的认识和理解。此外，该项目将涉及一所历史悠久的黑人大学的研究生和本科生研究助理。这些学生将接受专业培训，丰富他们的学术经验。

This project examines how the political participation and academic performance of African American students was influenced by racial attitudes and stereotypes during the 2008 presidential election. If a particular group is stereotyped as unlikely to participate in politics and unlikely to succeed academically, members of that group may internalize this stereotype and under-perform on relevant tasks. According to the psychological theory of stereotype threat this is not due to a conscious decision to behave stereotype-consistent, but based on being cognitively distracted from the task by the internalized stereotype. The study investigates two types of implicit racial attitudes that may render individuals more or less susceptible to stereotype threat. African-American students will participate in an experiment that involves completing an online survey regarding their participation in the 2008 election, their support for Barack Obama vs. John McCain, and their opinions on a number of race related policies (affirmative action, government aid to Blacks, and slavery reparations). To elicit stereotype threat, the survey is administered under two experimental conditions, a high stereotype threat condition in which an all-White research team gives instructions to African American participants, and a low-stereotype threat condition in which an all-Black research team gives the instructions. Implicit racial attitudes are also measured using reaction time tasks.This research will have broader impacts by generating a better understanding of how racial attitudes and stereotypes affect members of the African American community. The findings will be disseminated to local communities with the goal of raising awareness and understanding of the consequences of racial stereotypes. Additionally, this project will involve graduate and undergraduate student research assistants from a historically black university. These students will receive specialized training that will enrich their academic experiences.