Positive, negative and ambivalent: Attitudes toward white Americans as held by ethnic minorities in the US

Intergroup relations are, by definition, a two-way process, yet the perspectives of minority group members have been given considerably less attention than the perspectives of dominant group members in social psychology (see Shelton, Alegre, and Son, 2010 for further discussion). For decades, researchers have explored the nature of white Americans' attitudes, opinions, stereotypes, and behaviors toward African Americans; however, ethnic minorities' perceptions of white Americans have been grossly understudied (Monteith and Spicer, 2000). The present research aims to diversify the perspectives and approaches that psychologists pursue to understand intergroup dynamics by investigating ethnic minorities' attitudes toward white Americans. In the current study, we surveyed 256 participants in the United States (95 African Americans/Blacks, 96 Asian Americans/Asians, 44 Latinas/os, and 21 individuals who identified as Native American or multiethnic) about their attitudes toward white Americans. Participants were asked to describe and explain their attitudes toward whites in an open-ended format. Following the procedures of Braun and Clarke (2006), two independent coders read and organized participants' responses by thematic content. Three major themes emerged (i.e., positive, negative, and ambivalent) and each included four minor themes. Results indicated differences in positive and negative attitudes toward white Americans among African Americans/Blacks (Positive, 33%; Negative, 45%; Ambivalent, 33%), Asian Americans/Asians (Positive, 55%; Negative, 32%; Ambivalent, 31%), and Latinas/os (Positive, 52%; Negative 32%; Ambivalent, 39%), and differences emerged in negative attitudes between male (Positive, 52%; Negative, 26%; Ambivalent, 39%) and female respondents (Positive, 40%; Negative, 42%; Ambivalent, 30%). Throughout our discussion of these themes, we provide excerpts of participants' responses and draw on extant social psychological theories to frame participants' attitudes. Lastly, we discuss additional trends and future directions for research on intergroup relations. In particular, we elucidate why research should evaluate minorities' perspectives and consider non-Black ethnic minority groups in the U.S. to better understand how to improve interracial relations.