Diversity, Merit, Fairness, and Discrimination Beliefs as Predictors of Support for Affirmative‐Action Policy Actions1

Abstract

This paper explores support for hiring policies associated with affirmative action (AA) using a model including beliefs regarding the fairness of AA, merit, value of diversity, prevalence of discrimination, personal self‐interest, and demographic characteristics. Participants (n = 212) evaluated 8 hiring policies ranging from the use of strong preferential treatment to race‐blind policies. Beliefs affected support for policies differently. For example, diversity valuation predicted support for policies involving preferences and recruitment, but predicted opposition to race‐blind approaches, whereas support for the merit principle predicted opposition to preferences and support for race‐blind approaches. Results suggest that established predictors of attitudes toward AA do not necessarily predict support for specific forms of AA.