ETHNIC PREFERENCE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR THEIR OWN AND OTHER RACIAL GROUPS

Ethnic preferences of black and white college students were measured using subjects' ratings of employment applications of either Afro-Americans, Asian-Americans, or Whites. Participants rated the “applicants” on items falling into three broad dimensions: inferred traits possessed by the applicant (e.g., intelligence), personal liking for the applicant, and heterosexual attraction to the applicant. The data revealed that whites preferred white applicants and blacks preferred black applicants across all three categories. The findings were weakest in the inferred trait category, but preference for one's own race was extremely strong in liking and heterosexual attraction categories. The present findings contradict earlier studies which suggested that blacks prefer white stimuli.