The O. J. Simpson criminal verdict as a racially symbolic event: A longitudinal analysis of racial attitude change

White college students' racial attitudes were assessed before and after the O. J. Simpson criminal verdict. The authors tested two models, derived fro m the Symbolic Racism perspective, to examine potential changes in racial a ttitudes following the verdict. According to the construal model, racial at titudes influence how individuals construe race-related events. Therefore, the construal model suggested that pre-verdict racial altitudes would predi ct perceptions of the Simpson verdict. The symbolic event model, however, s uggested that the verdict itself shaped racial attitudes and that perceptio ns of the verdict would predict changes in racial attitudes, independent of the effect of pre-verdict racial attitudes. The symbolic event model was l argely supported; perceptions of the verdict predicted changes in racial at titudes, and racial attitudes became more crystallized following the verdic t. The construal model, however, was only weakly supported; pre-verdict rac ial attitudes predicted the Perceived fairness of the verdict, but only for those whose attitudes were well-crystallized.