White opposition to racial transformation. Is it ?

Kevin Durrheim School of Psychology, University of Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa E-mail: [email protected]

This article endeavours to investigate predictors of opposition to different categories of policy that aim to bring about racial transformation in South Africa. A sample of 134 white university students was used to investigate the structure of racial attitudes and the predictors of racial policy opinion. Factor analysis showed clear distinctions between opinions towards three categories of policy: competitive policy, non-competitive reconstruction and development policy, and legislation to outlaw racial . On the basis of a review of studies conducted in the USA, three sets of variables were included as predictors of racial policy opinion: (a) “symbolic” and “old-fashioned” racism, (b) political and economic intergroup comparisons, and (c) beliefs and values, including egalitarianism and individualism. Regression analysis showed that each type of policy opinion had a different profile of predictors, but that old-fashioned racism was the strongest predictor in all three instances.

Does racism continue to shape the political opinions of white SOCIAL CHANGE AND RACIAL ATTITUDES: THE USA South Africans? Judging from discussions in the media, there are AND SOUTH AFRICA at least two reasons why the answer to this question is not The victories of the in the 1960s obvious. First, while blacks continue to proclaim that they are prompted a significant shift in the structures and institutions of victims of racism, whites deny that they are racist. In the racism in the (Bobo, 1988; Sears, 1998). First, the thinking of many whites, racism is a thing of the past: it died a Jim Crow two-caste system of race relations was dismantled as timely death along with the demise of . Indeed, at least and exclusion (e.g. in churches, schools, and in their public expressions, many whites deny that they are in residences) were found to be unconstitutional and outlawed denial, rejecting accusations that they ever were racist supporters (Banks & Eberhards, 1998). Later, during the 1970s, institutions of apartheid. This first obscuring factor is compounded by a and structures were formed to bring about social transformation, second, namely, the expanding category of acts and statements for example, by promoting integration of schools through that are labelled racist. Is Tony Leon really being racist when he mandatory “busing”. At the same time, affirmative action argues that Thabo Mbeki’s views about HIV/AIDS amounts to programmes were implemented broadly in public and private little more than “snake-oil cures and quackery”, or is Mbeki institutions in an attempt to achieve equal participation and conveniently labelling Leon a racist for political advantage? opportunity. These latter changes constituted a victory by blacks This combination of accusations and denials of racism has made and other racial minorities in the USA, for the principle of it difficult to know exactly what racism is, and hence, difficult to collective equality over the principle of equality of individuals determine the role that racism plays in shaping whites’ political (Omi & Winant, 1994). opinions. These changes in the structures of intergroup relations and racial In response to this confusion, it has become increasingly hierarchy prompted numerous investigations of racial attitudes difficult to use the concept of racism in a progressive political among . In addition to the scores of specialist sense. When whites resist policies such as affirmative action, studies that have measured race attitudes with a view to testing employment equity, or transformation in sport, are they (really) theory, race attitudes are routinely measured in national, state being racist; or are counter-accusations of racism merely (unfair) and county surveys. These studies have shown overwhelmingly political ploys? When blacks argue that their individual or that the legal and institutional changes correlated with a collective lack of advancement in their jobs or schools is due to profound shift in race attitudes and beliefs (Pettigrew, 1979; racism, are they trying (unfairly) to make personal or group Schuman, Steeh, Bobo & Krysan, 1997). For example, as early gains; or are whites (really) being racist? What seems clear is as 1967 there was found to be a dramatic increase in the that the old criteria by which to judge racism no longer apply as proportion of the population who would endorse statements such widely as they did. Certainly, blatant racism continues to as, “Negroes should have as good a chance as to manifest itself in acts of violence, and in clear cases of get any kind of job”, or “Blacks should go to the same school as discrimination. But often the judgement of racism is highly whites” (Greeley & Sheatsley, 1971; Schwartz, 1967). This shift contestable, with different conceptions of racial motives and in attitudes, prompted by social change, involved (a) a rejection being pitted against each other. of racial segregation, (b) a rejection of “crude” racial , such as the belief in racial inferiority, and (c) Do racial attitudes play a role in opposition to social change support for equal treatment of blacks and a rejection of among white South Africans? This article investigates a number discrimination. of different predictors of racial policy opinion to determine whether racial attitudes predict white opposition to policies, Despite these changes, there is still considerable opposition to such as affirmative action, reconstruction and development and racial policies aimed at eradicating racial disadvantage and redistribution of wealth, which are designed to bring about racial segregation in American society. How then are we to understand transformation. Since no research on this topic has been the ostensible shift in racial opinion among white Americans, as conducted in South Africa, the article begins by considering the seen in responses to survey questions? This question has been impact that social change has had on whites’ racial opinions in the primary concern of race attitude research since the 1980s. Is the USA; and provides an overview of three explanations of it simply the case that changing social norms have created opposition to racial policy in that context. stronger demands for whites to hide their racism; and have they

Durrheim, K. (2003). White opposition to racial transformation. Is it racism? South African Journal of Psychology, 33(4), 241-249. merely become better at disguising their negative attitudes, mayoralty campaign in Los Angeles, which pitted a conservative especially when completing survey questionnaires? Or has there white incumbent (Sam Yorty) against a liberal black city been a genuine shift in attitudes; have racist attitudes councillor (Tom Bradley). To determine whether white disappeared as whites embrace egalitarian principles? Although opposition to Bradley was motivated by racism, it was necessary much research has recorded the attitudinal correlates of to construct a new measure of racism. Opinion polls at the time historical change (cf. Bobo, 1988), there is still a great deal of indicated dramatic shifts in about traditionally uncertainty in this field, and intense debate rages on in a number racist issues such as segregation and biological inferiority (see of areas. Pettigrew, 1979; Hyman & Sheatsley, 1964). In addition, Kinder and Sears noticed that the white vote was not dominated by The South African situation is of special theoretical interest crude old-fashioned racism, but by “abstract moralistic racial because research techniques that have been developed in the resentments: that blacks are too pushy, that blacks were getting USA over the past 40 years can be applied locally to investigate more than they’re entitled to, that blacks on welfare were lazy attitude shifts in early stages of social change. Social and don’t need the money, that blacks receive attention from transformation in South Africa may provide a contrasting case to government they don’t really deserve” (Kinder, 1986, p. 153). appreciate Pettigrew’s (1979, p. 127) advice that “attitudes must Perhaps opposition to Bradley was motivated by the belief not be seen in their full social context”. that blacks should not have an of contesting a democratic election, but that Bradley represented an instance of There are crucial historical, economic and social differences blacks gaining unfair advantage. between the changes that took place in South Africa in the 1990s and in the USA in the 1960s. In South Africa, it was a numerical This constellation of anti-black sentiment and abstract moralistic minority of whites who oppressed a majority of blacks; and reasoning was termed symbolic racism, which is defined as the South African whites now find themselves threatened in a “conjunction of racial and traditional American different way to white Americans of the early 1970s. As a group, values” (Kinder, 1986, p. 154, original emphasis). Prejudice and whites have lost political power in a democratic South Africa values had become intertwined in a way that produced a new and, while they continue to maintain control of economic form of racism that is symbolic in the sense that it is fused with institutions, their position on the social and political hierarchy is abstract values and principles of fairness and just deserts. a lot more precarious than that of their American counterparts. Symbolic racism acts as a political force since it is covert in the Also, racism under apartheid took a particularly harsh, blatant, sense that an individual may still be racist at the same time as and oppressive form, and the effects of racism in terms of racial practising equality. For example, “if negative affect towards disparities in wealth, living conditions, and access to resources blacks motivated some whites to increase the importance they such as land, education and health are extreme in South Africa. attach to values on which they see whites as excelling, then these individuals may be said to be motivated by a fusion of racist Despite these differences, South African transformation parallels negative affect and traditional values even if they apply those that in the USA in many respects, making for a clear basis of values even-handedly to blacks and whites” (Wood, 1994, p. comparison. In both cases, racial transformation involved 681). Likewise, if whites (who dominate commerce) define dismantling the legacy of by (a) scrapping policy commercial merit (business sense or acumen) in terms of and legislation that enshrined and/or condoned segregation and characteristics they see themselves possessing (e.g. hardworking discrimination, (b) developing anti-racist legislation which and a “proper” English accent), as measured by their standards, outlawed “” and acts of discrimination, and (c) then they can apply those standards in a way they consider even- instituting policy intended to make reparations for the past by handed (non-racist) and yet maintain racial exclusion. Their ensuring that blacks and whites can compete on an equal footing, racism is symbolic due to the conjunction of racist negative despite the history of oppression. affect and traditional values.

There have been very few investigations of racial attitudes in Sears and Kinder (1971) argue that symbolic racism has its roots South Africa since political transformation. The studies that have in early childhood socialisation in which individuals learn racial been conducted – for instance, by MacDonald and Gibson stereotypes together with deep-seated feelings about social (2000) and Schlemmer (2001) – have ignored the substantial morality. Among the values they learn are the values of equality American literature, and have not employed measures of and democracy, and they thus grow up to support racial symbolic racism, or tested alternative explanations of resistance integration and equal opportunity, but express anti-black affect to racial policy. There are indications, however, that there may in symbolic ways and in showing a lack of sympathy and be a similar “racial ambivalence” (Katz, Wackenhut & Hass, absence of positive emotions towards blacks (Sears, Van Laar, 1986) in South Africa as in the USA. For instance, on the basis Carrillo & Kosterman, 1997; Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). of a nationally representative sample of race policy attitudes, Macdonald and Gibson (2000) conclude that a more nuanced Symbolic racism scale items are symbolic in three senses: they definition of racism is required to accommodate their findings are abstract (they refer to blacks as a category), they have a that the majority of whites who supported racial integration in moral tone (blacks violate traditional values, such as hard work (their?) schools and communities were nonetheless opposed to and self-discipline), and they avoid references to tangible threats affirmative action. This study aims to determine whether old- that blacks pose to the personal situation of whites (Kinder, fashioned or symbolic racism, racial intergroup comparisons, or 1986). In American research, the items measuring symbolic political values and beliefs are associated with resistance to racism can be divided into three categories, measuring (a) white different kinds of racial policy among white South Africans. antagonism toward blacks’ demands (e.g. blacks are getting too demanding in their push for equal rights), (b) white resentment Symbolic Racism about special favours for blacks (e.g. blacks receive more, Symbolic racism emerged as an explanatory construct in the economically, than they deserve), and (c) a denial of continuing wake of institutional and structural change in American race discrimination (e.g. discrimination against blacks is no longer a relations. Sears and Kinder (1971) proposed the term to explain problem in the United States) (cf. Kinder, 1986; Henry & Sears, the reactions of white suburbanite Californians to the 1969 2002; Sears, 1988).

242 South African Journal of Psychology • 2003, 33(4) A number of studies have sought to determine whether symbolic between them empirically, as they have been shown to have racism plays a role in shaping attitudes towards racial policy by different sets of predictors and correlates (see Sears, 1988). pitting the symbolic racism hypothesis against a personal threat Measures of symbolic racism appear to have a stronger hypothesis. The proposition is that early socialisation leaves a independent effect as predictors of racial policy opinion than do residue of symbolic racism that is more important in shaping measures of old-fashioned racism (Sears, 1988; Sears et al., opposition to social change than the direct personal threat that 1997). such policies pose for individuals and their families. There is now a substantial body of literature that supports this proposition Racial intergroup comparisons (e.g. Kinder & Sears, 1981; Kluegel & Smith, 1983; McConahay In their critical review of symbolic racism, Sniderman and & Hough, 1976; Sears and Allen, 1984). Opposition to Tetlock (1986a) argued that the early research on symbolic affirmative action, busing and black political candidates in the racism relied on a very narrow and individualistic understanding USA is less strongly determined by subjective or objective of interests. They claimed that it was premature to conclude that threats to whites in the areas of crime, schools, neighbourhoods threat played no role in shaping reactions to racial policy when and their jobs than it is by symbolic racism. Sears (1998; Sears the only kind of threat that was investigated was direct personal et al., 1997) concludes that while crude old-fashioned racism threat impacting on individuals and their families. It may be may be a spent force, white opposition to racial policies threat to the group as opposed to individuals that shapes continues to be motivated by new forms of racism, and not by reactions to racial policy. any direct threat that these policies pose to the lives of whites, e.g. crime, unemployment or poor education. A number of social psychological theories point to the importance of threatening aspects of group relations in As can be expected from a theory that purports to identify new determining social attitudes. In social evaluations and in racists, the theory of symbolic racism has proved to be reactions to political policies and events, individuals respond as controversial and has been subjected to some scathing criticism. group members rather than as individuals (Tajfel & Turner, Three lines of attack will be considered here: that opposition to 1979). In particular, these responses are shaped by perceptions transformational racial policy is motivated by (a) old-fashioned of the status of the ingroup in comparison with outgroups racism rather than symbolic racism, (b) collective threat rather (Runciman, 1966; Walker & Pettigrew, 1984). The outcomes of than individual threat, and (c) other (non-racial) beliefs and these comparisons define the perceptions of being relatively values. better off (advantaged) or worse off (disadvantaged) than other groups in a society. Old-fashioned racism A number of authors reject the idea that a new form of Bobo (1988) has applied theories of group conflict to the (symbolic) racism has emerged (Raden, 1994; Sniderman & analysis of racial attitudes in the USA, especially in explaining Tetlock, 1986a, 1986b; Weigel & Howes, 1985). Sniderman and the attitudes of whites. He argues that a sense of group position Tetlock (1986a), for example, suggest that symbolic racism shapes policy opinion. Attitudes towards racial policy are researchers have “discount[ed] the tenacity, and strength, of “directly concerned with the competitive aspects of group prejudice”, and they conclude that “insofar as symbolic racism is relations and attempts to alter those relations” (p. 95). “Feelings new it is not racism; and insofar as it is racism, far from being of competition and hostility emerge from historically and new, it is very old indeed” (p. 148). They argue that “old- collectively developed judgements about the positions in the fashioned racism” still plays a role in shaping political opinion, social order that ingroup members should rightfully occupy and suggest that the word “racism” should only be used to refer relative to an outgroup” (Bobo & Hutchings, 1996, p. 655). to “genuine prejudice – a deep-seated, irrational insistence on According to the theory, individuals will support racial policies the inferiority of blacks, and contempt and hostility towards that will enhance or secure their sense of group position; and them“ (Sniderman & Tetlock, 1986b, p. 186). whites who make unfavourable intergroup comparisons will have more negative attitudes towards transformational racial In contrast to the abstract and covert nature of symbolic racial policy. opinion, old-fashioned racism involves the expression of coarse and blatant racist beliefs that were popular in the heyday of Beliefs and values apartheid and of segregation in the American South. Old- A further hypothesis states that opposition to racial policy is fashioned racism is manifest in “the overt expression of negative motivated, not by racism or intergroup comparisons, but by non- feelings towards blacks in negative beliefs and open acts of racial beliefs and values, for example, beliefs and values about discrimination“ (McConahay, 1982, p. 705); and is measured the desirability of government intervention in any effort of social with the use of attitude items expressing traditional racial engineering (Sniderman & Tetlock, 1986a). A number of stereotypes – especially biological inferiority – and open support different beliefs and values have been proposed as explanations for segregation and discrimination. of racial policy opinion. The first is “principled ”, which includes opposition to government intervention to secure Researchers typically include measures of both old-fashioned groups rights and support for reduced government social and symbolic racism in order to determine which set of attitudes spending. Sniderman and Tetlock suggest that opposition to correlate with racial policy opinion. Factor analytic research policies such as affirmative action stems from conservatism from , the USA and suggests that it is possible rather than racism; and they criticise symbolic racism measures to distinguish symbolic racism from old-fashioned racism for confounding racial prejudice with conservative values. A (McConahay & Hough, 1976; Pedersen & Walker, 1997; closely related value is that of individualism. Gilens, Sniderman Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). However, other research has and Kuklinski (1998) argue that whites’ “anger over affirmative found symbolic and old-fashioned racism scores loading on a action stems less from a concern with than from single factor (Raden, 1994); and even where the two forms have a commitment to individual achievement and self-reliance” (p. been distinguished by factor analysis, they normally correlate 159). Egalitarianism has been proposed as a third explanatory very strongly. Thus, the two forms of racism appear to have value: individuals who oppose government racial much in common. Nevertheless, it is important to distinguish transformation programmes have a more hierarchical view of

South African Journal of Psychology • 2003, 33(4) 243 society. Finally, Kluegel (1990; Kluegel & Smith, 1983) argues Measures that people’s beliefs about the impact of racial discrimination on Racial policy evaluation the current social status quo have a determining impact on racial Racial policy evaluation was measured in terms of self-reported policy opinion. Individuals who believe that a history of racial support for, or opposition to a number of policies, using a discrimination has produced the inequalities of the present are method adapted from Tuch and Hughes (1996). Respondents more likely to support policies that aim to effect racial were asked to indicate, on 5-point Likert scales, the degree to transformation. which they favoured or opposed different policies. A first list of policies was introduced as “a few things that the government in This study aimed to determine the extent to which support for, or South Africa might do, to deal with the problems of poverty and opposition to a number of different racial policies can be unemployment among black South Africans”: (1) giving accounted for in terms of the variables discussed above. preferential contracts and tax breaks to black businesses, (2) Regression procedures were used to determine the extent to spending more money on the schools in largely black which measures of racial attitudes predict policy evaluation, neighbourhoods, especially for preschool and early education over and above the influence of other factors, such as beliefs or programmes, (3) redistributing land, by settling black South values and intergroup comparisons. Like much other research in Africans on white owned farms, (4) building houses and this field, this was a questionnaire-based correlational study that providing water and electricity for , and (5) paying used regression methods to isolate explanatory primacy. In the victims of apartheid money as reparation for the history of contrast to the best of this research, unfortunately, conclusions discrimination. were drawn on the basis of a non-random sample of university students. Elsewhere, researchers have used data drawn from The following statement introduced a second list: “Some people nationally representative samples. Nevertheless, a sample of think blacks have been discriminated against, and government white university students at a traditionally liberal English- should help them, while others are against special treatment for speaking university was deemed appropriate for the collection of blacks”. Respondents indicated whether they were in favour or initial data to explore hypotheses. Attitude research has against (6) racial quotas in national sports teams, (7) preferential consistently shown English-speaking whites to be significantly hiring and promotion of blacks in employment, and (8) less racist and authoritarian than Afrikaans-speakers in South affirmative action policies in admitting black students to Africa (Foster & Nel, 1991), and research has also shown racism universities. to be negatively correlated with education (Jackman & Muha, 1984). Therefore, possibly more than many other populations of The final two items pertained to recent racial legislation: (9) the whites in South Africa, we expected this group not to manifest Discrimination Act, which made racism a criminal offence, and old-fashioned racism, but to display attitudes most similar to (10) the Employment Equity Act, which made it a criminal whites in other Western democracies. In other words, this sample offence to discriminate against people on the basis of their skin should provide a strong test of the hypothesis that old-fashioned colour. These were introduced as “anti-discrimination racism no longer plays a role in the policy evaluations of white legislation”, which the “government had recently passed in order South Africans. to address the history of discrimination in South Africa”.

METHOD Beliefs and values Procedure and sample The following measures were employed to estimate beliefs and In 2000, questionnaires were handed out to students during values that have been argued to be relevant to racial policy lectures. Classes were asked to complete the questionnaire evaluation. All measures employed a 5-point Likert-type anonymously and to return them to the researcher at the next response format. lecture. Participation was thus voluntary. To ensure sample diversity, an attempt was made to recruit students from both the Egalitarianism: The items were drawn from Katz and Hass agriculture and social science faculties. The sample was selected (1988): (1) One should be kind to all people. (2) Those who are from undergraduate classes in community resource unable to provide for their basic needs should be helped by management, zoology, geography, psychology, and political others. (3) Everyone should have an equal chance and an equal science; and from postgraduate classes in psychology, say in most things. (4) In dealing with criminals the courts geography, microbiology and plant pathology. An incentive of should recognise that many are victims of circumstances. three R100 prizes was offered to boost participation, but the response rate was low. Of the total of 700 questionnaires that Discrimination: Respondents were asked to indicate “How much were distributed, we received back 247, by respondents who discrimination there is that”: (1) hurts the chances of blacks to identified themselves respectively as black (N = 63, 25.5%), get good paying jobs, or (2) makes it hard for blacks to buy or white (N = 134, 54.3%), Indian (N = 46, 18.6%), and coloured rent housing wherever they want. Responses were given on (N = 3, 1.2%). 3-point Likert scales with the following choices: “A lot”, “Some” and “None”. Only the data from the white subjects were used in the analyses reported in this article. The sample was composed of 134 Conservatism: (1) Respondents indicated their political opinions undergraduate (first and second year of registration, N = 100) along a 7-point scale, ranging from “Very Liberal” to “Very and postgraduate (fourth and fifth year of registration, N = 34) Conservative”. Although this method is of questionable students. Ninety percent of the sample was between the age of as an index of a general trait of conservatism (Durrheim & 17 and 23. There were 83 females (62%) and 51 males (38%). Foster, 1995), it is used frequently to measure political This sample was relatively wealthy (modal household income = conservatism in surveys. (2) Respondents indicated their R12 000 to R20 000 per month) in comparison with a sample of political party identification by indicating whether they would black students from whom data were also collected (modal “most likely support in the upcoming election” either the African category

244 South African Journal of Psychology • 2003, 33(4) Intergroup comparisons comes out of Africa. Cantril’s Self-Anchoring Scale was used to determine perceptions of the relative economic and political standing of Absence of positive emotions: (1) Have you ever felt sympathy blacks and whites. Respondents were provided with a ladder, for black/Indian/white people living here? (2) Have you ever felt with rungs labelled 1 to 10, representing either the economic or admiration for black/Indian/white people living here? political “life circumstances in South Africa”. They were asked to imagine that “the top of the ladder represents the best possible ANALYSIS life circumstances that you could hope for in this country, while Racial policy evaluation the bottom represents your ideas of the worst possible life in this The intercorrelations between the ten policy-related items were country”, and to indicate where they thought blacks and whites factor analysed, using the principal component method. Three stood “as a whole”, (1) at the present time, (2) five years ago, factors were extracted by means of the scree test. They explained and (3) where they will stand in five years time. 25.24%, 18.04% and 16.23% of the variance, respectively. The factor structure was then rotated using the varimax method (see Composite indices of perceptions of relative group status were Table 1). The pattern of factor weights allowed a relatively computed as follows. Firstly, perceptions were obtained for the unambiguous interpretation of the factors, which were named as groups in comparison with each other at the three time periods follows: (white versus black today, past and future) by subtracting the Affirmative Action (Policy_AA): Policies of government score for whites from the score for blacks on the respective intervention to give blacks a competitive advantage (Cronbach a items. This yielded three indices, labelled, black/white/past, = 0.76). black/white/present, and black/white/future. Secondly, Reconstruction and Development (Policy_RD): Policies of basic perceptions of the changing status of each group over time were non-competitive black upliftment through donations and grants. computed by subtracting the past score from the present score, This kind of policy was central to the reconstruction and and the future score from the present score for each group. This development programme (Cronbach a = 0.62). yielded four indices, namely, present/past/black, Law (Policy_Law): The two items that referred to recent present/future/black, present/past/white, present/future/white. antiracism legislation (Cronbach a = 0.70). Thus, in total, there were seven indices of intergroup comparisons in each the political and economic spheres. The average unweighted sum of the items with factor loadings greater than 0.4 was used as an index of policy evaluation in the Racism three domains. High scores on each of these measures indicate A set of items measuring the dimensions of racism listed below opposition to the policy. was compiled from various sources, including Duckitt (1991), Pettigrew and Meertens (1995), Tuch and Hughes (1996), Table 1. Factor analysis of racial policy evaluation Kinder and Sears (1981), and McConahay and Hough (1976). AA RD Law Old Fashioned Racism: (1) The races are different due to a Giving preferential contracts and tax breaks to divine plan. (2) Blacks come from a less able race. (3) White black businesses. 0.543 people have a right to keep blacks out of their neighbourhoods. Redistributing land, by settling black South Africans on white owned farms. 0.414

Symbolic Racism: (1) There has been a lot of real change in the Paying the victims of apartheid money as position of black people in the past few years. (2) The reparation for the history of discrimination. 0.522 government in this country cares too much about white people and not enough about the average South African. (3) Blacks are Quotas in national sports teams. 0.713 getting too demanding in their push for equal rights. (4) The Preferential hiring and promotion of blacks in police usually pay less attention to black crime victims than to the employment sector. 0.839 white victims. (5) The media continues to represent black people Affirmative Action policies in admitting black unfavourably. (6) Other people in this country have overcome students to universities. 0.741 prejudice and worked their way up. Blacks should do the same by working harder. (7) I would not mind if a person of another Spending more money on the schools in largely black neighbourhoods, especially for race group who had a similar economic background as mine preschool and early education programs. 0.790 joined my close family by marriage. (8) If blacks would only try harder they would be just as well off as other groups. (9) I would Building houses and providing water and willingly have a sexual relationship with a member of another electricity for black people. 0.790 race group. (10) Generations of colonialism and apartheid have The Discrimination Bill that makes racism created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their an offence. 0.87 way out of the lower classes. (11) Black people should not push The Employment Equity Bill which makes it themselves in where they are not wanted. (12) I would not mind a criminal offence to discriminate against if a person of another race group was appointed as my boss. (13) people on the basis of their skin colour. 0.85 I would be very unhappy if a child of mine had children with a Note: person of a very different colour and physical characteristics to Only weights greater than 0.40 are reported my own. (14) Over the past few years blacks have got less than they deserve. Policy_RD was correlated with both Policy_Law (r = 0.29, p < Anti-African: (1) It is just as likely that a cure for AIDS will be 0.001) and Policy_AA (r = 0.38, p < 0.0001), but Policy_Law found in Africa as in any other continent. (2) African countries and Policy_AA were not significantly correlated (r = 0.16, p < are just as democratic as Western countries in Europe and 0.07). Related samples t-tests indicated that respondents were America. (3) African solutions to social problems amount to more opposed to (i.e. scored higher on) Policy_AA (M = 3.10, little more than superstitious remedies. (4) Nothing good ever SD = 0.64) than to Policy_RD (M = 1.37, SD = 0.94) (t = 21.914,

South African Journal of Psychology • 2003, 33(4) 245 p < 0.0001); and scored higher on Policy_RD than Policy_Law ANOVA showed mean differences between these indices of (M = 1.15, SD = 0.97) (t = 2.167, p < 0.032). racism (F = 38.52, df = 3, p < 0.0001, h2 = 0.23). Post-hoc tests showed that the sample scored significantly higher on Anti- Racism intimacy (M = 2.2) than on Unsympathetic feeling (M = 1.69) Intercorrelations between the racism items were factor analysed, and Anti-African (M = 1.79); and the sample scored lowest on using the principal components method. Numerous analyses Old-fashioned racism (M = 1.36). were performed and the factor structures were rotated using both orthogonal and oblique methods to find simple factor structure. The Anti-African scale was not correlated with any of the other Eventually five factors were extracted by means of the scree test, measures, but the remainder were intercorrrelated. Old- explaining 16.761%, 12.912%, 9.931%, 5,947% and 5.486% of fashioned racism was correlated with Anti-intimacy (r = 0.51, p the variance, respectively. In order to develop internally < 0.0001) and Unsympathetic feeling (r = 0.44, p < 0.0001); and consistent measures, item analysis was conducted on the items Anti-intimacy and Unsympathetic feeling were correlated (r = making up each of the factors. The following four indices of 0.30, p < 0.0001). racism were eventually isolated. Beliefs and values Old-fashioned racism: This measure included the following Item 1 of the Egalitarianism scale was excluded due to a low items: (1) Blacks are getting too demanding in their push for item-total correlation. The internal consistency of the remaining equal rights. (2) Blacks come from a less able race. (3) Blacks three items was not altogether satisfactory (a = 0.51), but a should not push themselves where they are not wanted. (4) I composite summed score was computed. High scores on this would not mind if a person of another race group was appointed scale indicate egalitarianism. The two items of the as my boss. (5) White people have a right to keep blacks out of discrimination scale were moderately strongly correlated (r = their neighbourhoods. (6) Have you ever felt sympathy for black 0.58), and they were summed to form an index of perceptions of people living here? The measure included items both from discrimination against blacks. High scores indicate the symbolic racism scales (numbers 1 and 3 above) and items from conservative belief that discrimination has not hurt blacks’ old-fashioned racism measures (numbers 2, 4 and 5). The scale chances in life. High scores on the self-reported measure of was called old-fashioned racism since it included items political opinion and political party indicate conservative reflecting blanket support for segregation and crude stereotypes, responses. As would be expected, self-identified liberals were as well as a lack of sympathy for blacks, who have suffered more likely to vote for the ANC alliance than the DP alliance; oppression in South Africa. The internal consistency was these liberals were more likely to hold egalitarian beliefs; and acceptable (Cronbach a = 0.80). individuals who held egalitarian beliefs were more likely to attribute social inequality today to a history of racial Anti-intimacy: This measure included the following items: (1) discrimination (see Table 2). The races are different due to a divine plan. (2) I would not mind if a person of another race group who had a similar economic Table 2. Intercorrelations between indices of beliefs and values. background as mine joined my close family by marriage. (3) I Egalitarianism Political opinion Political party would willingly have a sexual relationship with a member of another race group. (4) I would be very unhappy if a child of Discrimination -0.26** 0.10 0.09 mine had children with a person of a very different colour and physical characteristics than my own. The items tapped opinions Egalitarianism -0.28** -0.23* about intimate contact with members of other race groups, and Political opinion 0.19* factor analysis indicated that these opinions were related to the traditional belief about the races being different by divine plan. The internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach a = 0.79). Intergroup comparisons Fourteen indices of intergroup comparison were submitted to Unsympathetic feeling: This measure included the following principal components analysis. Five factors were extracted by items from the “absence of positive emotions” measure (see means of the scree test, explaining 26.795%, 19.835%, Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995): (1) Have you ever felt sympathy 15.458%, 10.361 and 7.377% of the variance, respectively. The for Indian people living here? (2) Have you ever felt admiration factor structure was then rotated by the varimax method (see for Indian people living here? (3) Have you ever felt admiration Table 3). for black people living here? The internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach a = 0.72). Weighted factor scores were used as dependent variables. The pattern of weights allowed a relatively unambiguous Anti-African: This measure was originally devised as a South interpretation of the factors, which were named as follows: African equivalent of the anti-Black measure used in the USA. Political losses past to present, white/black comparisons Factor analysis showed that the following items were (Pol/past-present/black-white): The judgement is made in terms intercorrelated and distinct from the other racism items: (1) It is of past to present gains for blacks and losses for whites. just as likely that a cure for AIDS will be found in Africa as in Political losses past to future, white/black comparisons any other continent. (2) African countries are just as democratic (Pol/present-future/black-white): The judgement of black as Western countries in Europe and America. (3) Nothing good political gains over whites is associated also with perceived ever comes out of Africa. The internal consistency was low black economic gains over whites. (Cronbach a = 0.41). Economic advantage of whites over blacks (Econ/present/white- black): The judgement of relative white economic advantage in Scale scores were computed by taking the unweighted sum of the present, also associated with past-present changes for blacks the items. To compare the sample scores on each measure, the and whites, and future white/black comparisons. summed scores were divided by the number of scale items, Political white/black differences in the political present and yielding standardised scores ranging from 0 to 4, with high future (Pol/white-black/present-future): Comparative judgments scores indicating high levels of racism. Repeated measures of black and white political status in the present and the future.

246 South African Journal of Psychology • 2003, 33(4) Table 3. Factor analysis of intergroup comparison indices.

Political Political Economic Political Economic past-present present-future present white-black past black-white black-white white-black present-future black-white

Political/past/black-white 0.917 Political/past-present/black 0.893 Political/past- present/white -0.77 Political/present-future/black 0.773 Political/present-future/white -0.709 Economic/future/white-black 0.513 0.609 0.414 Economic/present-future/back 0.696 Economic/past-present/black -0.73 Economic/past-present/white 0.815 Economic/present/white-black 0.875 0.441 Political/future/white-black 0.832 Economic/present-future/white -0.595 Political/present/white-black -0.498 0.806 Economic/past/whites-black 0.94

Past economic differences between blacks and whites anti-egalitarianism. Interestingly, only specific, mainly (Econ/past/black-white): Comparative judgement of black and economic, indices of intergroup comparisons were correlated white economic status in the past. with racial policy opinion. Individuals who perceived smaller present economic differences between blacks and whites were In addition to these factor scores, four further indices of more opposed to all three categories of policy. Similar present- intergroup comparison were computed to reflect perceptions of future, black-white comparisons were associated with how white status had changed in comparison with black status. opposition to anti-discriminatory legislation; and political The present/past and present/future scores for whites were present-past black-white comparisons were associated with divided by the same scores for blacks, on both the political and opposition to RD policy. Anti-African beliefs were not economic status ladders. The indices were labelled associated with policy opinion, whereas high scores on the other present/past/black/white and present/future/black/white in the three indices of racism were associated with opposition to all political and economic spheres. three categories of policy.

Predictors of racial policy evaluation Regression equations were constructed for each index of racial Table 4 reports the correlations between each of the predictor policy opinion by using all significant correlates of each index as variables and the three indices of racial policy opinion. The the full set of predictors. The predictors were entered into the older, postgraduate students were more strongly in favour of model as sets, in the following sequence: Demographics, reconstruction and development policies and affirmative action Beliefs/values, Intergroup Comparisons, Racism. Within each policies, than the younger, undergraduate students. Regarding set, stepwise procedures were employed to determine the beliefs and values, self-evaluated conservatives, who were anti- significant predictors. Racism was entered in last to ensure that egalitarian and did not believe that discrimination had after all independent variables had been accounted for, it would influenced the life chances of blacks, opposed RD and AA. still be possible to determine whether racism predicted policy Opposition to transformational legislation was associated with opinion. The results are reported in Table 5.

Table 4. Correlations between policy opinion and predictors RD Law AA Socio-demographics Age -0.25** -0.06 -0.25** Income 0.03 0.08 0.10 Gender 0.10 0.09 0.07 Education -0.28** -0.10 0.38** Beliefs/values Discrimination 0.21* -0.08 0.34** Egalitarianism -0.25** -0.18* -0.43** Political opinion 0.33** 0.18 0.28** Political party 0.05 0.00 0.19* Intergroup comparisons Pol/past-present/black-white 0.04 -0.09 0.08 Pol/present-future/black-white -0.10 0.05 0.11 Econ/present/white-black -0.30** -0.18* -0.29** Pol/white-black/present-future -0.15 -0.10 -0.14 Econ/past/black-white -0.19* -0.01 -0.10 Econ/present/past/black/white -0.10 -0.07 0.02 Econ/present/future/black/white -0.03 -0.24** -0.08 Pol/present/past/black/white -0.28** -0.07 -0.06 Pol/present/future/black/white -0.06 0.05 0.22 Racism Old-fashioned racism 0.45** 0.48** 0.43** Anti-intimacy 0.24** 0.112 0.32** Unsympathetic feelings 0.19* 0.21* 0.14 Anti-African 0.03 0.05 0.05 ** p<0.005, *p<0.05

South African Journal of Psychology • 2003, 33(4) 247 Table 5. Regression models for three categories of racial policy opinion

Model Predictor Beta t P Partial r

Policy RD F(5,95) = 10.37 Age -0.19 -2.046 0.043 -0.21 p < 0.0001 Discrimination 0.15 1.706 0.091 0.17 R2-adj = 0.32 Political opinion 0.02 0.233 0.817 0.02 Pol/present/past/black/white -0.26 -3.052 0.003 -0.25 Old-fashioned racism 0.33 3.429 0.001 0.33

Policy Law F(3,118) =17.86 Egalitarianism -0.08 -0.891 0.38 -0.08 p < 0.0001 Econ/present/future/black/white -0.22 -2.904 0.004 -0.26 R2-adj = 0.30 Old-fashioned racism 0.47 5.687 0.0001 0.43

Policy AA F(4,104)=15.75 Education -0.25 -2.940 0.004 -0.28 p < 0.0001 Egalitarianism -0.23 -2.604 0.011 -0.25 R2-adj =0.35 Discrimination 0.23 2.799 0.001 0.27 Old-fashioned racism 0.23 2.622 0.010 0.25

CONCLUSION One needs to be cautious when importing research questions, intercorrelated. procedures, techniques, and know-how from one context to another. For this reason, a great deal of effort was expended in The mean scores on these racism measures showed that the adapting measures of racial attitudes and racial policy opinion sample scored much higher on anti-intimacy than on old- for the local context. First, appropriate items were selected and fashioned racism. In fact, the mean score on the anti-intimacy on occasion adapted for use locally. All items about busing and measure was above the scale midpoint (2.2 on a range from 0 to other issues that have no relevance in South Africa were 4), whereas the mean score on the old-fashioned racism measure excluded, and words referring to Americans and American was below the midpoint (1.36). This suggests that, in institutions (e.g. Federal government) were changed to South comparison with indicating one’s opposition to intimate racial African equivalents. Second, factor analysis, item analysis, and contact, endorsing old-fashioned racial stereotypes was other exploratory techniques were used to identify sets of items relatively taboo. that cohered in the form of unidimensional measures. The major finding of this study was that each category of racial The results of this investigation of racial policy opinions policy opinion had its own profile of predictors. Non- concurred with the American findings that it is necessary to competitive, RDP policy opinion was predicted by beliefs about distinguish between different sets of opinion (Stoker, 1996; Tuch the effect of past discrimination on blacks’ life-chances, political & Hughes, 1996). In this study, clear empirical distinctions were past-present comparisons between blacks and whites, and old- drawn between opinions towards competitive (affirmative fashioned racism. Opposition to anti-discriminatory legislation action) versus non-competitive (reconstruction and was predicted by economic present-future comparisons between development) policy, and legislation aimed at curbing blacks and whites and by old-fashioned racism. Opposition to discrimination. affirmative action was predicted by anti-egalitarianism, beliefs about the influence of past discrimination, and old-fashioned The exploratory investigations of the measures of racism suggest racism. that racial attitudes are multidimensional (cf. Brigham, 1993), but the dimensions do not correspond to the distinction between It is interesting that, of the four dimensions of racism symbolic and old-fashioned racism. The content of the racism investigated in this study, it was old-fashioned racism that was dimension is different in South Africa to that found elsewhere. the strongest predictor of opposition to all three categories of In particular, items that Sears and McConahay classify as racial policy. While scores on this measure were low in symbolic or modern racism – about blacks being “pushy and comparison with scores on the anti-intimacy measure, overly demanding” – cohered with items they define as old- individuals who endorsed these stereotypes, even to a small fashioned racism, for instance, “blacks come from a less able degree, were more likely to oppose racial transformation in all race”. I have chosen to label this combination of opinions old- three domains of policy. These findings suggest that the old- fashioned racism, because a concern with blacks being pushy fashioned racist attitudes that were prevalent under apartheid and overly demanding was a common feature of racial opinion continue to exert political force in post-apartheid South Africa. under apartheid, especially as the struggle for black liberation gained momentum after 1976. On reflection, these results are not surprising. The old-fashioned attitudes referred to concerns about race relations in public life, Alongside these old-fashioned South African racial attitudes, the whereas anti-intimacy attitudes referred to race relations in the factor analysis identified three other factors. The most prominent sphere of private life. Since the policy opinion under of these was the anti-intimacy factor, which covered attitudes investigation here was designed to change the nature of power towards intimate racial contact. 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