Attitudes toward Aboriginal Australians in city and country settings

The reasons behind the attitudes of non-Aboriginal Australians toward Abori ginal Australians has not been examined empirically. Neither has the relati onship between such attitudes and false beliefs about Aboriginal people and entitlements, and "political correctness". Two random surveys were conduct ed in 1997 in a city location (Perth, Western Australia) and a country mini ng town (Kalgoorlie, Western Australia). Three major findings emerged. Firs t, modern prejudice (a subtle form of prejudice with a veneer of egalitaria nism) was more prevalent than old-fashioned prejudice (a blunt, segregation ist form of prejudice) in both locations, although Kalgoorlie residents sco red significantly higher than Perth residents on modern prejudice. Second, political correctness was predicted by prejudice, which related (directly o r not) with age, education, political orientation, and false beliefs. Third , attitudes toward Aboriginal people served both a value-expressive functio n (to do with values and beliefs) and an experiential-schematic function (t o do with personal experience). However, the latter function was more preva lent in Kalgoorlie compared to Perth. Overall, the results support previous findings regarding the declining prevalence of old-fashioned prejudice, bu t indicate that prejudice is still commonplace. Additionally, the findings - especially those concerning false beliefs - suggest that the public shoul d be given more information about Aboriginal history and issues, and that o ther strategies be put into place to address the problem of prejudice withi n Australian society.