2017/12/20 by David C. Wilson, Darren W. Davis · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
paper · doi:10.1093/poq/nfx050
openalex publication_date 2017/12/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/24
In the wake of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, political observers were quick to assert that Barack Obama won the African American vote because he was Black, and more generally, that African Americans were motivated by race above all other considerations. As this racial reductionist stereotype has the potential to trivialize African Americans’ voting behavior and diminish the significance of the election of Barack Obama, this research examined how much support exists for the stereotype. We also examined whether a racial double standard motivates the application of this stereotype, and if so, the degree to which it is grounded in a broader antipathy toward Blacks. Several experiments embedded in two large national public opinion surveys show that there is indeed a racial double standard in the application of the racial reductionist stereotype; moreover, the attribution is connected to racial resentment.