Positive prejudice in ethnic attitudes: Australian data

An experiment was conducted to determine whether members of a majority ethnic group would exhibit positive prejudice in their attitudes toward an ethnic minority. Subjects were given written communications which evaluated Aborigines and white Australians either favourably or unfavourably. The occurrence of positive prejudice was assessed by examining subjects' overall agreement with each communication as a whole and their level of agreement with specific descriptions which comprised the communications. Results confirmed the existence of positive prejudice in these responses, but also indicated that subjects' reactions to the communications were influenced by the predispositional variable of ethnocentrism. The study further investigated whether positive prejudice is limited to responses illustrating minimal commitment or whether it forms a central component of inter-ethnic attitudes. Analysis of delayed recall of the specific descriptions from the written communications and of agreement with an independent ethnic attitudes questionnaire suggested that positive prejudice does not generalize beyond short-term, inconsequential reactions. The implications of these findings and the relevance of the positive prejudice concept are discussed.