Student Conceptions of Race and Racial Attitudes

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between American college students’ conceptualization of race and their attitudes towards racial minorities. It was anticipated that essentialist views of race, conceptualized as the perception of race as innate, universal, and biologically determined, would be associated with increased negative racial attitudes. The findings, based on a sample of 111 students from the University of Evansville, supported this prediction. Further analysis of the data also revealed relationships between students’ conceptions of race and year of study, and disciplinary differences in racial attitudes. The present research contributes to our knowledge on the relationship between the conceptualization of race and attitudes towards racial minorities, and additionally serves to explore the influence of education on these variables. These findings may have implications in how educational curriculum can serve to improve racial attitudes through educating students on the social construction of race.  Study approved by the University of Evansville Institutional Review Board, October 5, 2018.