Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Effects of Strengthened Racial Cues in Candidate Evaluations

本研究的目的是了解强化的种族线索对候选人评价的影响。由于候选人的种族线索通过多种种族指标得到强化，选民对候选人的评价与种族没有得到强化或强化的候选人不同。这项研究在一位非裔美国候选人身上测试了这些影响。该研究确定了受访者对候选人的评价是负面的还是正面的，因为候选人的种族性变得更强，或者被其他种族指标所强化。此外，当种族暗示增强时，选民是否会做出更多的刻板印象判断？当种族暗示增强时，选民的评价是否会更多地基于刻板印象和种族偏见？使用三个指标：种族（如照片所示），种族名，以及成员以黑人为主的组织的成员资格。随着候选人的这些属性越来越多，候选人的种族就会变得越来越强。受访者被要求对候选人的一系列政策问题和意识形态进行评价，并表明他们对非裔美国人的看法。这项研究还测试了当受访者必须从其他种族指标推断候选人的种族时，评估的差异。

The goal of this research is to understand the effects of strengthened racial cues in candidate evaluations. As the racial cue of the candidate is strengthened with multiple indicators of race, voters evaluate the candidate differently from a candidate whose race is not reinforced or strengthened. This research tests these effects regarding an African-American candidate. The research determines if respondents evaluate candidates negatively or favorably as the race of the candidate becomes stronger or is reinforced with other racial indicators. Furthermore, do voters make more stereotyped judgements as the racial cue is strengthened and is evaluation based more heavily on stereotypes and racial prejudice when the racial cue is strengthened? Three indicators are used: race (as indicated in a photo), ethnic first name, and membership in an organizatin whose members are predominatly black. As more of these attributes are present for the candidate, the race of the candidate become stronger. Respondents are asked to evaluate the cadndiate on a variety of policy questions and perceived candidate ideology, and to indicate their perceptions of African Americans. This research also tests for differences in evaluation when respondents must infer the race of the candidate from the other racial indicators.