THE SOCIAL-CONSEQUENCES OF AFFIRMATIVE-ACTION - DELETERIOUS EFFECTS ON PERCEPTIONS OF GROUPS

It has been suggested that the existence of affirmative action program s may create or exacerbate negative perceptions of groups that benefit from these programs. To test this hypothesis, the authors presented 5 1 participants with a (fictitious) editorial describing a relatively u nfamiliar immigrant group in a positive manner and manipulated whether the group was described as being able to benefit from affirmative act ion programs. Participants then rated their perceptions of and attitud es toward the group. Participants also indicated their attitudes and t houghts about the group's immigration and their attitudes toward immig ration in general. Results indicated that when affirmative action was mentioned, participants expressed less favorable perceptions of and at titudes toward the group and were less favorable toward immigration by the group. Interestingly, when affirmative action was mentioned, part icipants were also less favorable toward immigration in general. Overa ll, these findings indicate that the existence of affirmative action p rograms can have far-reaching effects on attitudes toward groups.