White guilt links to prejudice independent of political orientation
Evidence
Rather than measures of ease in interpersonal contact not being good measures of prejudice, it is possible that the prejudice measures that were correlated with White guilt are more accurately described as measures of political orientation than as measures of prejudice (Sniderman & Tetlock, 1986). This suggests that the relationship between White guilt and prejudice may be a function of the overlap with political orientation. Yet the data do not support this argument. The results from all four studies indicate that White guilt remains correlated with the prejudice measures after removing the variance due to self-identification as a liberal or conservative [Study 1: r(99) = .26, –.19, and –.30, p = .003, .03, .001, for partial correlation of White guilt with Black thermometer rating, subtle derogatory beliefs, and private rights, respectively; Study 2: r(45) = .42, p = .002, for partial correlation of White guilt with Black thermometer rating; Study 3: r(312) = –.07, p = .09, for partial correlation of White guilt with affective reactions to Blacks; Study 4: r(115) = –.26, p = . for partial correlation of White guilt with modern racism]. Thus, it is more likely that there are different manifestations of prejudice (as suggested by the different subcomponents of the MRAI), with some manifestations being more closely related to White guilt than others. — Janet K. Swim and Deborah L. Miller, White Guilt, 139
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the reading purpose concern about whether salient group identity drives guilt or defensive reinterpretation — dominant-group identity effects often ride on political orientation, which this study partially rules out. — connects to: White guilt independently predicts affirmative action support beyond prejudice and ideology — Janet K. Swim and Deborah L. Miller, White Guilt: Its Antecedents and…, 68
Broader Connections
- White guilt independently predicts affirmative action support beyond prejudice and ideology
#expands(0.75) — Janet K. Swim and Deborah L. Miller, White Guilt, 68