Racial Ambivalence Theory

Ambivalence Amplification

Katz and colleagues demonstrated that people's ambivalent attitudes toward Blacks can result in amplification of positive or negative evaluations, as manifested in actions directed at members of that minority. In a series of studies, Katz and colleagues demonstrated that Whitesespecially if they were high in racial ambivalencebehaved in either extremely negative or extremely positive ways toward Blacks. Dependent measures included Whites' tendency to (a) help a Black phone surveyor, (b) do a favor for a Black person whom they unintentionally harmed, and (c) denigrate a Black person whom they harmed.

Mechanisms of Ambivalence Amplification

Katz and colleagues' explanation for ambivalence amplification is largely psychodynamic: Whites experience psychological discomfort caused by their ambivalence, akin to the psychological discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance. This psychological discomfort can be resolved by eliminating the cognitive inconsistency that caused itthat is, by strengthening one side of the conflict. Thus, Whites act in accord with either their extreme positive or extreme negative evaluation. This behavior strengthens one side of the conflict, thereby reducing dissonance and the experience of discomfort.

Other researchers have proposed alternative explanations for the amplification effect. Walter Stephan and Cookie Stephan argued that intergroup contact (e.g., between Whites and Blacks) results in heightened anxiety. An increase in anxiety leads, in turn, to a host of consequences, including norm-based behavior (either good or bad) and biased information processing (due to a narrowing of attentional focus). Patricia Linville and Ned Jones, in contrast, highlighted the role of schema complexity in amplification effects. They argued that Whites' schemata for Blacks are less complex, resulting in a greater impact of positive or negative evaluative information about the minority. In support, the researchers demonstrated that White people have simpler cognitive schemata for Blacks than they do for Whites. Linville and Jones also established that possession of a simple schema for a group results in comparatively extreme evaluations of that group.

...