ARE AMERICANS AMBIVALENT TOWARDS RACIAL POLICIES

Theory: The variability in individual respondent's considerations over racial policy may be due to uncertainty or to ambivalence. Ambivalenc e is distinct from uncertainty in that it stems from incommensurable c hoices, and cannot be altered with additional information. Methods: Us ing a heteroskedastic probit technique, we consider six separate core beliefs potentially relevant towards racial policy choice (modem racis m, antiblack stereotyping, authoritarianism, individualism, and anti-S emitism) for four different policy choices. We evaluate two separate m odels for the source of individual variance: conflicting values and di rect effects of values. Results: Our analysis indicates that modern ra cism trumps rival explanatory variables in explanations of racial poli cy choice, and that variability in attitudes toward racial policy is d ue to uncertainty, and not to ambivalence.