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Updated: Nov 3, 2025

Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects
Published on: May 10, 2019
Black Americans' racial socialization experiences and beliefs about White people's interracial motives
Katherine L Swerbenski1, Christina B Fitzpatrick2, Jonathan W Kunstman2
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin Madison.
Objectives:
Suspect motives, conceptualized as beliefs that Whites' interracial motives are primarily driven by desires to avoid appearing prejudiced have been found to shape a number of intergroup outcomes for People of Color (POC). However, it is unclear what factors lead individuals to become suspicious of Whites' motives. Two correlational studies tested whether childhood racial socialization experiences relate to suspect motives.
Methods:
223 Black participants (94.2% female; M age = 42.01, SD age = 16.62) recalled childhood racial socialization experiences and completed the Suspicion of Motives Index (SOMI; Study 1). 226 Black parents (80.8% female; M age = 37.39, SD age = 9.17) reported racial socialization strategies and goals for their children to be cognizant of Whites' potentially suspect motives (Study 2).
Results:
Driven by cultural socialization, racial socialization was significantly related to suspicion (Study 1). Racial socialization predicted parental desires that children recognize Whites' suspect motives and a combined measure of cultural socialization and preparation for bias was most strongly related to parental hopes (Study 2).
Conclusions:
These studies link racial socialization and suspicion of Whites' motives. These results suggest that among POC, racial socialization may shape beliefs about Whites' interracial motives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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