Date of Award
6-1965
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Chester Hunt
Second Advisor
Dr. James Schellenberg
Third Advisor
Milton Brawer
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Introduction
This study is an endeavor to add to the already existing scientific information in regard to man's social relations with his fellow men. More exactly, the purposes of this research are: (1) to gain a better understanding of prejudice among college students toward both stereotype images and "real" described persons belonging to the Jewish minority, the Negro minority and the homosexual minority, (2) to explore the possibility of their being a relationship between social-distance attitudes of these students toward these minorities and the personal, economic and certain other factors influencing these students, and (3) to consider the significance of these findings.
There has been a considerable amount of research done in the area of prejudice. This research can be broken down into various types. For example, several investigations have attempted to determine just what stereotype images toward members of various minorities are. The Katz and Brales study is one such research.1 Several investigations have attempted to discover the type of situations that are most apt to precipitate prejudice. The studies of Secord and Riddleberger and Mots are of such a nature.2,3 These studies show there to be an inverse relationship between the favorableness of attitude of a respondent toward minority members with the degree to which the situation the minority member is perceived is a stereotype setting, and the degree to which the minority member is recognized as belonging to a particular disliked minority.
A third type of research in the area of prejudice is that which attempts to discover actual social distance attitudes toward various minorities. Perhaps the best known are those conducted by Bogardus. The research reported on in this paper is of this type.
Recommended Citation
Nichols, Dennison W., "Social Distance Attitudes of College Students Toward Three Minority Groups" (1965). Masters Theses. 4082.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4082