West Virginia miners enacted opposite racial norms coexisting in different settings

Evidence

Minard (1952) studied coal miners in West Virginia. While below the ground, Black and White miners worked together in complete integration without substantial racial conflict, but above ground practiced almost complete segregation. It may seem the miners were inconsistent: they were racist above ground and antiracist below. However, the miners were consistent with prevailing social norms in different contexts. Underground work rules had developed that tolerated and promoted integration, but societal rules above ground promoted segregation. The workers moved between the two worlds without conflict because they adhered to the norms in both places. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1889

Categorization

• XREF: A crisp case study of situational norm-following, parallel to Zimbardo’s prison experiment and Milgram obedience findings on context overriding disposition.
• CANDY: A clean, vivid anecdote: miners integrated below ground, segregated above, both without conflict.