Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:46:26.095Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Schema-Based Approach to Modeling an African-American Racial Belief System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Richard L. Allen ,
Michael C. Dawson  and
Ronald E. Brown
Richard L. Allen
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
Michael C. Dawson
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
Ronald E. Brown
Affiliation:
Eastern Michigan University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We use a cognitive schema-based approach to model an African-American racial belief system, showing the content of racial belief systems in a national sample to be associated with the individual's degree of sodoeconomic status, religiosity, and exposure to black media. We find that African-Americans with a higher sodoeconomic status are less supportive of black political autonomy and that they feel themselves more distant from black masses and black elites than do those of lower socioeconomic status. Religiosity, while unrelated to black autonomy, strengthens closeness to black masses and black elites. Black television—and, to a much lesser degree, black print media—had a consistent impact on the racial belief system. We conclude by discussing the complexity of the African-American racial belief system and potential directions for future work.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 83 , Issue 2 , June 1989 , pp. 421 - 441
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aberbach, Joel D., and Walker, Jack L.. 1970. “The Meanings of Black Power: A Comparison of White and Black Interpretations of a Political Slogan.” American Political Science Review 64:367–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, Richard L., and Bielby, William T.. 1979a. “Blacks' Attitudes and Behaviors toward Television.” Communications Research 6:437–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, Richard L., and Bielby, William T.. 1979b. “Blacks' Relationship with the Print Media.” Journalism Quarterly 56:488–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, Richard L., and Hatchett, Shirley. 1986. “The Media and Social Reality Effects: Self and System Orientations of Blacks.” Communication Research 13:97–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bagozzi, Richard P., and Yi, Youjae. 1987. “On the Evaluation of Structural Equation Models.” University of Michigan. Typescript.Google Scholar
Banks, Cherry A. McGee. 1977. “A Content Analysis of the Treatment of Black Americans on Television.” Social Education 41:336–39.Google Scholar
Bentler, Peter M., and Bonett, Douglas G.. 1980. “Significance Tests and Goodness of Fit in Analysis of Covariance Structures.” Psychological Bulletin 88:588–606.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence. 1983. “Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45:1196–1210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollen, Kenneth. N.d. Structural Equations with Latent Variables. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ForthcomingCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, Henry E., and Sniderman, Paul M.. 1985. “Attitude Attribution: A Group Basis for Political Reasoning.” American Political Science Review 79:1061–78.Google Scholar
Brown, Ronald E., and Jackson, James S.. 1988. “Church-based Political Participation.” Eastern Michigan University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Carbonell, Jaime G. 1981. Subjective Understanding: Computer Models of Belief Systems. Ann Arbor: UMI Research.Google Scholar
Carmines, Edward G., and McIver, John P.. 1981. “Analyzing with Observed Variables: Analysis of Covariance Structures.” In Social Measurement, ed. Bohrnstedt, George W., and Borgatta, Edward F.. Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Comer, James. 1982. “The Importance of Television Images of Black Families.” In Black Families and the Medium of Television, ed. Jackson, Anthony W.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Bush Program in Child Development and Social Policy.Google Scholar
Cone, James H. 1986. Speaking the Truth: Ecumenism, Liberation, and Black Theology. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Conover, Pamela J., and Feldman, Stanley. 1980. “Belief System Organization in the American Electorate: An Alternative Approach.” In The Electorate Reconsidered, ed. Pierce, John C. and Sullivan, John L.. Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Dangelis, Nicholas L. 1978. “Black Political Participation in the United States: Some Recent Evidence.” American Sociological Review 43:756–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, Michael C. 1986. Race, Class and the Formation of Afro-American Political Attitudes: 1972–83. Ph.D. diss. Harvard University.Google Scholar
Dawson, Michael C., Brown, Ronald E., and Cohen, Cathy. 1988. “Political Party, Public Policy, and African-American Support for the President.” University of Michigan. Typescript.Google Scholar
Drake, St. Clair, and Cayton, Horace R.. 1970. Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City. Rev. and enl. ed. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.Google Scholar
Farley, Reynolds. 1984. Blacks and Whites: Narrowing the Gap? Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Farley, Reynolds, and Allen, Walter R.. 1987. The Color Line and the Quality of Life in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Freeman, Richard B. 1976. Black Elite: The New Market for Highly Educated Black Americans. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Gerbner, George, Morgan, Michael, and Signorielli, Nancy. 1980. “The Mainstreaming of America: Violence Profile No. 11.” Journal of Communication 30:10–29.Google Scholar
Goldberger, Arthur S. 1973. “Structural Equation Models: An Overview.” In Structural Equation Models in the Social Sciences, ed. Goldberger, Arthur S. and Duncan, Otis D.. New York: Seminar.Google Scholar
Greenstone, J. David, and Peterson, Paul E.. 1973. Race and Authority in Urban Politics: Community Participation and the War on Poverty. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Gurin, Patricia, and Epps, Edgar. 1975. Black Consciousness, Identity, and Achievement: A Study of Students in Historical Black Colleges. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Gutterbock, Thomas, and London, Bruce. 1983. “Race, Political Orientation, and Participation: An Empirical Test of Four Competing Theories.” American Sociological Review 48:439–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hargens, Lowell L. 1988. “Estimating Multiequation Models with Correlated Disturbances.” In Common Problems/Proper Solutions: Avoiding Error in Quantitative Research, ed. Long, J. Scott. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hayduk, Leslie A. 1987. Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL: Essentials and Advances. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Hoelter, Jon W. 1983. “The Analysis of Covariance Structures: Goodness-of-Fit Indices.” Sociological Methods & Research 11:324–44.Google Scholar
Hunt, Larry L., and Hunt, Janet G.. 1977. “Black Religion As Both Opiate and Inspiration of Civil Rights Militance: Putting Marx's Data to the Test.” Social Forces 56:1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackman, Mary R., and Jackman, Robert W.. 1983. Class Awareness in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joreskog, Karl G., and Sorbom, Dag. 1984. LISREL VI: Analysis of Linear Structural Relationships by the Method of Maximum Likelihood, 3d ed. Mooresville: Scientific Software.Google Scholar
Kilson, Martin. 1983. “The Black Bourgeois Revisited.” Dissent 30 (Winter 1983): 85–96.Google Scholar
Maruyama, Geoffrey, and McGarvey, Bill. 1980. “Evaluating Causal Models: An Application of Maximum-Likelihood Analysis of Structural Equations.” Psychological Bulletin 87:502–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Arthur H., Gurin, Patricia, Gurin, Gerald, and Malanchuk, Oksana. 1981. “Group Consciousness and Political Participation.” American Journal of Political Science 25:494–511.Google Scholar
Morris, Aldon D. 1984. The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Nie, Norman H., Verba, Sidney, and Petrocik, John R.. 1979. The Changing American Voter. Enl. ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Pierce, Chester M. 1980. “Social Trace Contaminants: Subtle Indicators of Racism in TV.” In Television and Social Behavior: Beyond Violence and Children, ed. Whitey, Steven and Abeles, Ronald. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Reich, Michael. 1981. Racial Inequality. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, Debra. 1987. The Effect of Group Identity among Black Women on Group Consciousness. Ph.D. diss. University of Michigan.Google Scholar
Schuman, Howard, Steeh, Charlotte, and Bobo, Lawrence. 1985. Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Shingles, Richard. 1979. “College As a Source of Black Alienation.” Journal of Black Studies 9:267–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shingles, Richard. 1981. “Black Consciousness and Political Participation: The Missing Link.” American Political Science Review 75:76–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Jacqueline M. 1986. “Church Participation and Morale of the Rural Southern Black Aged: The Effects of Socioeconomic Status, Gender, and Organization Properties.” Ph.D. diss. University of Michigan.Google Scholar
Taylor, Ronald L. 1979. “Black Ethnicity and the Persistence of Ethnogenesis.” American Journal of Sociology 84:1401–23.Google Scholar
U.S. Riot Commission. 1968. Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. New York: New York Times Co.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, and Nie, Norman H.. 1972. Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, and Orren, Gary R.. 1985. Equality in America: The View from the Top. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wald, Kenneth. 1987. Religion and Politics in the United States. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
Weigel, Russell H., Loomis, James W., and Soja, Matthew J.. 1980. “Race Relations on Prime Time Television.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39:884–93.Google Scholar
West, Cornel. 1982. Prophecy Deliverance! An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity. Philadelphia: Westminster.Google Scholar
Wheaton, Blair, Muthen, Bengt, Alwin, Duane G., and Summers, George F.. 1977. “Assessing Reliability in Panel Models.” In Sociological Methodology, ed. Heise, Donald R.. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Wilson, William J. 1980. The Declining Significance of Race. 2d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Yancey, William L., Ericksen, Eugene P., and Juliani, Richard N.. 1976. “Emergent Ethnicity: A Review and Reformulation.” American Sociological Review 41:391–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.