Extending the stereotype content model of racial attitudes among college freshmen

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThis study draws on Fiske's stereotype content model (SCM) to understand the complexities and latent dimensions of racial outgroup attitudes in the United States.MethodsUsing the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, we conduct a series of exploratory factor analyses to identify factorial structures of racial attitudes toward different ethnoracial groups and further establish the construct validity of identified dimensions by observing their association with a theoretically related concept, individualistic blame toward racial outgroups.ResultsWe identify a robust three‐factor solution that we label competence, warmth, and socioeconomic standing, the last of which is distinct from Fiske's SCM. We find that the dimensions of competence and socioeconomic standing are closely related to respondents’ individualistic attitudes toward their racial outgroups.ConclusionGiven the robustness and significance of the dimension of socioeconomic standing, we suggest employing our three dimensions to better conceptualize racial stereotypes.