INEQUALITY - ITS ALL IN THE WAY YOU LOOK AT IT

The influence of race, education, and information seeking are explored as factors determining perceptions of the nature and extent of racial inequality. African Americans and Whites are seen to differ significa ntly in their estimates of White and Black poverty, the extent to whic h African Americans are worse off than Whites, and the circumstances t hat explain this disparity. Exposure to news and other information abo ut race and affirmative action has a significant main effect on social comparisons and attributions, consistent with the cultivation hypothe sis. Tendencies toward mainstreaming or convergence of opinion under c onditions of close attention to racial news and information are observ ed only with regard to estimates of the proportions of racial groups i n poverty.