Page 158 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

6. RACE COMPOSITION
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baggage obtained from interactions in other social contexts." In the same
vein, but more narrowly, Brief (1998) addressed the "attitudinal baggage"
people bring to work, particularly their "excess baggage" in the form of
negative racial attitudes. It is this excess baggage that is the next environ­
mental influence to be examined.
Earlier, it was asserted that the negative stereotype of Blacks in America
can be thought of as a "cultural stereotype," one whose content is known
widely. As we proceed, it is important to recognize that mere knowledge of
this stereotype does not equal endorsement (e.g., Bettelheim & Janowitz,
1964; Devine, 1989; but see Crosby, Bromley, & Saxe, 1980). Knowledge
of a negative stereotype translates into prejudice only when that knowl­
edge also represents the personal beliefs of the individual. For now, we are
concerned with prejudice (i.e., negative attitudes toward Blacks) and not
stereotypes per se.
What might produce differences in racial attitudes across communi­
ties? Why, for example, might the attitudes of Whites be more negative
toward Blacks in Detroit than they are in Minneapolis? An answer may
be the local Black population share is larger in Detroit (81.6%) than in
Minneapolis (18.0%). The idea that sizeable minority populations increase
White hostility is not new (e.g., Allport, 1954). Blumer (1958) argued that
racial antagonism arises in defense of a group's position. So, as the pro­
portion of Blacks increases in a community, they are more likely to be seen
by Whites as competitors for scarce economic and/or political resources,
and, such competition is at the heart of realistic group conflict theory (e.g.,
Sherif, 1967). This theory postulates that real, direct competition for valu­
able but limited resources (or the false perception of it) breeds hostility
between groups (LeVine & Campbell, 1972). [Also see Giles and Evans'
(1986) power theory.] Nagel (1995), in summarizing various theoretical
approaches to the influence of resource competition on ethnic relations,
observed that increased interethnic contact, when resource competition is
present, increases the likelihood of racial prejudice.
Taylor (1998) reviewed a variety of indirect sources of empirical evi­
dence pertaining to the notion that, as the proportion of the Black popu­
lation increases, prejudice among Whites increases. Generally, she found
links between local racial composition and "racial inequality in income,
jobs, education, and housing; school and residential segregation; lynching
and incarceration of Blacks; mobilization of Whites against desegregation;
and political party registration and voting among Whites" (p. 514). More
specifically, for example, she noted the following findings: (a) metropoli­
tan concentrations of Blacks were associated with occupational inequality
in the South (Wilcox & Roof, 1978; also see Burr, Galle, & Fossett, 1991);
(b) in Southwestern metropolitan areas, a high percentage of minorities