Abstract
Multiracial affiliations are predicted to grow exponentially in the coming century, which challenges those who are used to categorising people as belonging to their race or another. This study investigates how participants who identify as White or Hispanic categorize themselves as Hispanic-White Biracial in response to threat. The study took into account a group of 83 White and 85 Hispanic participants to examine how threat vs. no threat can affect the classification of White-Hispanic targets separately for White and Hispanic people. ANOVA was performed to check whether the factorial design-identified groups’ means differed and to see if the findings applied to the research population. The ANOVA findings revealed a substantial primary impact of race on group identity, F(1,162) = 32.96, p.001, supporting the initial hypothesis. The results F(1,162) = 4.09, p =.05 showed a substantial interaction between the threat condition and the participant’s race, whether he or she White or Hispanic.
Introduction
In today’s multicultural society, it is becoming more and more crucial to understand how multiracial people are perceived. Multiracial affiliations are predicted to grow exponentially in the coming century, which challenges those who are used to categorizing people as belonging to their particular race or another. Whether or not someone is discriminated against, the separation of races has played a significant role in American civilization and has permeated most individuals’ experiences (Smith & Wout, 2019). Numerous social psychology theories emphasize how race dominates automatic categorization. Converging research using new approaches, including fMRI and ERP, shows that race identification happens swiftly and spontaneously (Chen & Hamilton, 2011).
A rule of hypodescent, which states that biracial people are viewed as more belonging to their lower-status parent group, has historically been used to guide how mixed-race people, and Black-White people, in particular, are treated in the U.S. According to current research by social psychologists, this rule continues to influence how Americans view multiracial people presently (Ho et al., 2011). The study will concentrate on various contexts that could impact how biracial groups are classified (White-Hispanic Individuals). Additionally, nothing is known regarding the causes of this bias in classification and perception; hence, more research is required to determine the foundations of hypodescent (Ho et al., 2011). The topic of society’s perception of different races is very important and makes sense for discussion, since races are an integral part of American culture and socialisation. In addition, based on race, the relationship between people and further society depends.
In the current work, the research concentrates on settings that provide hazards versus no threats in order to elicit different perspectives of multiracial groups. One of the research questions investigated was; what impact does the modification of threat vs. no threat have on the classification of Hispanic-White biracial by White and Hispanic participants (White participants vs. Hispanic participants)? To develop hypotheses and learn more about the subject, the study gathered data from diverse racial groups and analysed various literature. This study explores the level of affiliation with racial groups among Hispanic/White mixed individuals.
The current studies are intended to link the knowledge on classifying White-Hispanic people and how different racial categories are seen. Based on the study by Ho et al. (2017), Black-White multiracial people were recognized as Black for a large portion of American history. This classification bias, known as hypodescent, has been the subject of social psychology studies, which has revealed that it is still present today. Additionally, a rising body of data shows that White perceivers’ desire to maintain their dominating position in the U.S. partially drives hypodescent.
The research predicts that the participant’s race will have a primary effect, in line with an earlier study (Ho et al., 2017; Sanchez et al., 2011). Notably, compared to White participants, Hispanic participants will see multiracial people as more of a part of their racial ingroup. According to research by Ho et al. (2013), people who are equally eligible for inclusion in two or more racial groupings are not perceived as evenly belonging to each of the respective parent groupings but rather as belonging more to the parent group with the lesser status. In order for White respondents to categorise Hispanic-White Biracials as less of their racial ingroup than Hispanic Participants, this constituted the basis of this hypothesis. It was also predict that the dangerous condition will not have a significant impact.
Lastly, the research forecast an interaction between condition and participant race. In particular, the research predicted that White participants under the dangerous condition will view Hispanic-White Biracial as less ingroup than White respondents under the no-threat scenario. The report predicts that categorising Hispanic-White biracial under the threat and no threat circumstances will be the same for Hispanic respondents. To investigate the above hypotheses, the study developed a methodology highlighting the research design, participants and the analysis method. Considering the above research findings, the hypothesis is formed that mixed races are the most solidary to each other. However, a clear distinction between races leads to discrimination. In other words, white people in general would like to maintain their dominant position among other races. However, even though white Spaniards are considered as white people, they accept other races as part of themselves since they have a mixture of races.
Methodology
Design
A two-by-two factorial design was used for the study’s research methodology. Investigating the interactions and primary effects between multiple explanatory factors on one or more dependent variables is possible using factorial design as a research approach. When interaction could be prevalent, a factorial design is required to prevent incorrect findings. Factorial designs enable the estimation of a factor’s impacts at various degrees of the remaining factors, producing reliable results under various experimental circumstances. Participants’ Race (White vs. Hispanic) and Threat (economic threat vs. no economic threat) were two design elements for this study. The extent to which individuals identify Hispanic-White biracial people as belonging to their ingroup was the outcome variable for the study (higher numbers mean more ingroup). This research design was used to assess participants used in the study.
Participants
The study enrolled 85 Hispanic respondents (30 men, 55 women) and 83 White respondents (34 men, 49 women) in an online survey. The age bracket of the respondents is 18 to 48, with an average of 23.47 as seen in figure 1. The participants received no payment for taking part.
Materials & Procedures
After agreeing to participate, the respondents read one of two profiles of the management at Fortune 500 businesses. In the threat condition, respondents read that the proportion of White managers was declining while the proportion of Hispanic managers was rising. Respondents in the no threat condition were informed that the proportions of Hispanic and White supervisors had not changed. The respondents next indicated to what extent they classified Hispanic-White biracial as belonging to the ingroup (1 = entirely outgroup; 7 = entirely ingroup). The analysis of variance also formed part of the experiment procedure.
ANOVA
Analysis of Variance is referred to as ANOVA. You can find out if there are any statistically significant discrepancies among the means of two or more distinct groupings using this statistical method (Chen et al., 2019). This investigation was utilised to see if the factorial design-identified groups’ means varied and if the findings applied to the sample population. T resembles multiple two-sample t-tests (Kim,2017). However, it produces low type I errors and thus is suitable for a variety of problems (Kim, 2017). ANOVA comprises distributing the variation across several sources and groups discrepancies by contrasting the means of every grouping. The following section will discuss the results of the study
Results
In light of the first hypothesis, the participant’s race will have a significant impact. When evaluating the main effect of participant race, the ANOVA findings calculated F(1,162) = 32.96, p.01. Whites had a mean of 3.39, while Hispanics had a mean of 4.66. These findings supported the first hypothesis, which was considered significantly adequate. The research also hypothesised that there will not be a primary influence of the threat condition. F (1,162) = 0.28, p =.60, following the hypothesis, demonstrated that there was not any main effect of threat on participants’ identification of Hispanic-White biracial people.
The report also hypothesised that White respondents in the threat condition would view Hispanic-White Biracial as a lower ingroup than White respondents in the no-threat condition. F (1,162) = 4.09, p =.05. The ANOVA findings for the interaction between threat situations and race showed this. This supported the theory for participants who were White. The research predicts that categorising Hispanic-White biracial under threat and no threat circumstances will be the same for Hispanic respondents. In light of the findings above and the fact that Hispanic participants’ means under threat and no threat circumstances, respectively, were 4.47 and 4.81, the findings contradicted the theory regarding Hispanic respondents. Further results can be seen in appendix A below. The discussion of the results is discussed below.
Discussion
The categorising of people based on their race in social perception is almost universal. The research has produced several fresh insights that broaden the comprehension of processes of spontaneous multiracial classification. The study concentrated on the first hypothesis that the well treated White race would like to stay dominant, where the research hypothesised that there would be the main influence of the participant’s race, taking into account the statistical method for the main effect of the participant race. Notably, compared to White participants, Hispanic respondents will see multiracial people as more of a part of their racial ingroup.
The ANOVA findings revealed a substantial main effect of race on group identity, F(1,162) = 32.96, p.001, supporting the initial hypothesis. Mainly, Hispanic respondents (M = 4.66) were more inclined than White respondents (M = 3.39) to classify Hispanic-White biracial as members of their racial ingroup. The study’s findings indicate that White respondents will consider Hispanic-White biracial less of a member of their racial ingroup than Hispanic respondents, because Hispanics are typically regarded as a lesser-status racial group than Whites. These findings support the claim made by Ho et al. (2013) that people who are eligible for biracial grouping are not perceived as belonging evenly to each of their parent groupings but rather as being more associated with their lesser-status parent grouping. The results from the ANOVA were also used to explain the second hypothesis.
The second hypothesis claimed that the threat condition will not have a major effect. Examining the main effects of the threat condition as determined by the ANOVA statistical results, the threat condition will not have a major effect as the initial hypothesis. F (1,162) = 0.28, p =.60, the findings of the ANOVA revealed no significant impact of threat on participants’ classification of Hispanic-White biracial. These outcomes support the second hypothesis. With a p-value of 0.595, the analysis’s findings are not statistically relevant for the population the researcher chose. The study found that perceptions of multiracial targets could not be made only on the basis of dangerous situations.
In addition, the third hypothesis focuses on the relationship between participant race and the threat state. In particular, it was predicted that White participants under the threat condition will view Hispanic-White Biracial as less ingroup than White respondents under the no-threat scenario. F(1,162) = 4.09, p =.05. There was a significant interaction between the participant’s race and the threat condition. White participants in the threat condition (M = 3.06) classified Hispanic-White biracial as less of their racial ingroup than White respondents in the no threat condition (M = 3.64), which is consistent with the hypothesis. The report predicts that categorising Hispanic-White biracial for Hispanic respondents will be the same under both the danger and no threat circumstances.
As opposed to what was predicted, Hispanic respondents in the threat condition (M = 4.81) viewed the biracial target as more of a member of their racial ingroup than Hispanic respondents in the no threat condition (M = 4.47). The findings are observed to agree with those made by Pauker et al. (2009). Hispanic-White Biracials will be categorised as less ingroup by White participants in the threat condition than White participants in the no danger condition. The study found that participants used dangerous situations and their racial origin to identify the targets while only looking at multiracial targets.
Furthermore, the results also show that respondents’ increased interaction with multiracial people in various situations could contribute to these effects, especially those related to race. Therefore, interaction with a sizable multiracial group may encourage enhanced cognitive availability and usage of the biracial categorization, supporting Chen and Hamilton’s and other researchers’ theoretical hypotheses (2012). These findings indicate that the application of hypodescent and biracial grouping could be increasingly common over time given the expanding multiracial community, which may have consequences for the adaptability with which was conceive of race as a classification more generally. The limitations of the study are also discussed below.
Limitations and Conclusion
Considering the limitations of the study, the study population was small thus could give much reliable data. The degree to which multiracial categorizations are viewed may vary by area; therefore, the study may want to consider extending the scope of their inquiry to include other races. Future studies should look into how Hispanics and Biracial judge a Biracial involvement in an ingroup and then attribute that affiliation to prejudice. This would imply that Hispanics and Biracial comprehend, assess, and react to other participants of their in-group differently depending on the racial group of their parents.
References
Chen, J. M., & Hamilton, D. L. (2012). Natural ambiguities: Racial categorization of multiracial individuals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(1), 152-164.
Chen, S. X., Li, J., & Zhong, P. S. (2019). Two-sample and ANOVA tests for high dimensional means. The Annals of Statistics, 47(3), 1443-1474.
Ho, A. K., Kteily, N. S., & Chen, J. M. (2017). “You’re one of us”: Black Americans’ use of hypodescent and its association with egalitarianism. Journal of personality and social psychology, 113(5), 753.
Ho, A. K., Sidanius, J., Cuddy, A. J., & Banaji, M. R. (2013). Status boundary enforcement and the categorization of black–white biracials. Journal of experimental social psychology, 49(5), 940-943.
Kim, T. K. (2017). Understanding one-way ANOVA using conceptual figures. Korean journal of anesthesiology, 70(1), 22-26.
Pauker, K., Carpinella, C. M., Lick, D. J., Sanchez, D. T., & Johnson, K. L. (2018). Malleability in biracial categorizations: The impact of geographic context and targets’ racial heritage. Social cognition, 36(5), 461-480.
Pauker, K., Weisbuch, M., Ambady, N., Sommers, S. R., Adams Jr, R. B., & Ivcevic, Z. (2009). Not so black and white: memory for ambiguous group members. Journal of personality and social psychology, 96(4), 795.
Sanchez, D. T., Good, J. J., & Chavez, G. (2011). Blood quantum and perceptions of Black-White biracial targets: The Black ancestry prototype model of affirmative action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(1), 3-14.
Smith II, R. E., & Wout, D. A. (2019). Blacks’ perception of a Biracial’s ingroup membership shapes attributions to discrimination following social rejection. Cultural diversity and ethnic minority psychology, 25(4), 483.
Appendix A
