Variables Used to Measure Group Position

Three separate sets of items--perceptions of group unfair treatment, experiences with discrimination, and perceived limits on opportunities--were combined to garner a more parsimonious measure of group position.

The first setting was perceptions of unfair group treatment (negative response = yes):

Just your impression, are blacks in your community treated less fairly than whites in the following situations? How about:

A. On the job or at work

B. On public transportation

C. In neighborhood shops

D. In stores downtown or in the shopping mall.

E. In restaurants, bars, theaters, or other entertainment places

F. In dealing with the police, such as traffic incidents.

The second setting was experiences with unfair group treatment (negative response = yes):

Can you think of any occasion in the last thirty days when you felt you were treated unfairly in the following places because you were black? How about:

A. In a store where you were shopping

B. At your place of work

C. In a restaurant, bar, theater, or other entertainment place

D. While using public transportation

E. In dealings with the police, such as traffic incidents

The third setting was perceived limits on life opportunities (negative response = not equal chance):

In general, do you think that blacks have as good a chance as white people in your community to get any kind of job for which they are qualified, or don't you think they have as good a chance?

Again, in general, do you think that blacks have as good a chance as white people in your community to get any housing they can afford, or don't you think they have as good a chance?

A negative response to any of the items in the specific settings (for example, in unfair group treatment, "at your place of work") was treated as an indication of negativity for the entire setting (that is, unfair group treatment). Each respondent received a code of one (negative) or zero (non-negative) for each of the contextual items. A negative response is one that signals a negative racial position, and the three racial contexts reflect blacks' perceptions that they are unfairly treated as a group, that they have been unfairly treated as individuals, and that they have limited opportunities relative to whites. Together, the three contexts make for face-valid indicators of perceived racial group position. As they relate to the group position model, the more negative the perceived position, the more likely the potential for threat, and as a result the greater chance of prejudice.