Abstract

A statistical analysis conducted by the United States Department of Justice stated that from 1976 to 2002, a surprisingly large number of murders committed were intra-racial, rather than inter-racial. The results claimed that 86% of Caucasian murder victims were killed by other Caucasians, and 94% of African American victims were killed by other African Americans. The present study was conducted to see if the average person perceives interracial crime to be more of a threat. Thirty-seven participants were given the task of assigning photographs of men from the two most prominent ethnic groups in the United States to various negative and positive roles. They were expected to associate photographs of men from their own race with the positive stereotypes, and photographs of men from other races with negative stereotypes. The results, however, were not significant at a level to support the hypothesis, and in some cases, went against the hypothesis.

Recommended Citation

Malzone, Jenn (2007) "Racial Stereotyping and Physical Perception of Crime," Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 5, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/psych_journals/vol1/iss5/6