TOO MANY BLACKS, TOO MANY WHITES - IS THERE A RACIAL BALANCE

Racial conflict between African Americans and Whites has been observed to occur most frequently at two critical points: when African America ns make up approximately 30% of a given group or when African American s make up approximately 50% of a given group. These two critical ratio s are referred to as the J and (inverted) U patterns of racial conflic t, respectively. To date, most of the data supporting either the J or U models have been derived from large demographic studies that do not directly assess individual perceptions. Thus, little is known about th e individual reactions of members from either racial group to varying percentages of group racial composition. This small-group experiment e xamined the responses of African-American and White subjects to their inclusion in four-person groups of varying racial compositions. Three racial configurations were created and included the following percenta ges of African Americans: 25%, 50%, and 75%. The results support the U model of racial conflict. Moreover, the U model fit the data equally well for African Americans and Whites.