Group methods for reducing racial prejudice and discrimination

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Steven Edwin Breckheimer (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Rosemery Nelson

Abstract: Evidence that physical integration does not lead to social integration has prompted the use of structured behavioral programs within the classroom to promote interaction between blacks and whites. The implication of these intervention programs, however, for various theoretical accounts of the origins and modification of prejudice has not been thoroughly assessed. The present study was designed to compare four group methods for reducing racial prejudice and discrimination in high school students. Each of the experimental groups was based on one or more theories about prejudice. The groups varied along two dimensions: the emission of motor versus verbal behavior and the use of racial versus non-racial content. The first group was a simple game-playing (GP) group based on Allport's (1954) contact theory of prejudice (sheer interracial contact reduces prejudice). The second group (SI) discussed various school issues with an emphasis on promoting congruent belief, a technique which was based on Rokeach's (Rokeach, Smith, & Evans, 1960) theory. A social learning view of prejudice was examined by the last two groups: racial discussion and racial role-playing. The racial discussion group (RD) consisted of verbalizations about racial prejudice and discrimination, their causes and ways of promoting better interracial cooperation.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1974
Subjects
Racism
Race discrimination
School integration
Race relations

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