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Article
| Perspectives on Psychological Science
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2011
Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Losing
by
Michael I. Norton and Samuel R. Sommers
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Abstract
Although some have heralded recent political and cultural developments as signaling the arrival of a post-racial era in America, several legal and social controversies regarding "reverse racism" highlight Whites' increasing concern about anti-White bias. We show that this emerging belief reflects Whites' view of racism as a zero-sum game, such that decreases in perceived bias against Blacks over the past six decades are associated with increases in perceived bias against Whites-a relationship not observed in Blacks' perceptions. Moreover, these changes in Whites' conceptions of racism are extreme enough that Whites have now come to view anti-White bias as a bigger societal problem than anti-Black bias.
Keywords: Government and Politics;
Culture;
Growth and Development;
Prejudice and Bias;
Social Issues;
Race Characteristics;
United States;