My Breaking the Norm Experiment

African Americans are the most judged group of individuals in the U.S. and around the world. Many American and non-American citizens see African American males as threating and thugs, while others view African American females as angry and ghetto. These stereotypes have led to Blacks being least likely to date outside of their race compared to other races. In this study we will discussing the reasons why White Americans would either object or not object to a member of their family bringing home an African American for dinner, we will also look at how education, gender, and region affect these decisions. In this study we will go into detail about why these attributes can cause different responses with White American. This research is important because there has been little to no research done on how whites really feel about family members dating outside their race and to test why White Americans would either except or object this notion. While White and Black Americans have come a long way in our hatred for each other we still have so far to go. Americans (White, Black, Hispanic, and other) are all entitled to our own opinions but these opinions should not be based off of racism.

Using the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), Whites’ attitudes towards dating, cohabiting with, marrying, and having children with African Americans and Asian Americans was studied. It was found that 29% of White respondents reject all kinds of relationships with African Americans and Asian Americans, while 31% endorse them. Second, Whites are less willing to marry and start a family within an interracial relationship than to date interracially. These attitudes and behaviors are related to political conservatism, age, gender, education, and region. Third, White women are likely to approve of interracial relationships for other people but not for themselves. White men however, express more willingness to engage in such relationships

About an hour and a half had passed and we finished up all of the planned games. Also, snack foods were provided and I was having casual conversations with some of the guests. Again, I did not feel uncomfortable in any way. Yes, being the only white female does put up an invisible wall between me and the other guests., but the social interaction was natural. Though at times I did feel disconnected and at times I felt a little like an outsider. The fact is, in todays society we have done so much categorizing and labeling, so when someone is different from another we throw him or her in a category and isolate him or her from the rest. We have also become ethnocentric around our own races and that is why there is an invisible wall between different races and ethnicities. Last, it was time to for the mother to be to open her baby gifts. Majority of the gifts were simple baby necessities like diapers, blankets, binkies and stuffed animals. On the other hand, there were a

The purpose of this study was to investigate college students’ perceptions o couples engaged in interracial romantic relationship compared to college students’ perceptions of couples engaged in romantic relationships with individuals of the same race/ethnicity. Also, adult college students drawn from the graduate population of a publicly supported, historically Black university and one private, Baptist University will serve as subjects as well. The researcher of this study predicted there will be a substantial difference in the perceptions of couples engaged in interracial relationships as oppose to same race relationships amongst these college students. Also stated that these differences might be affected by age, gender and education level of these participants.

For the breaking norm experiment I wanted to create an awkward encounter with a stranger. Once the encounter takes place I would try to start a conversation and hold it for at least five minute. There is many was I could of done this experiment, but I wanted it to be executed in a way were it didn’t give an uncomfortable vide to the individual. Some ideas that had were going up to random strangers while their walking to class or lifting at the gym. At the end I choosed none of theses ideas because I felt like the result would be bias if it was done this way. The reason for this is because I wouldn’t have a long enough encounter with the test subject. Most people at the gym or walking to class have are restricted by time. So I design my experiment

In practice, racism and racial attitudes are not static and are not universal from person to person. For example, a child might have completely different attitudes toward different races than his or her parents. This is what makes the study of racism so difficult for researchers. Not only do racial attitudes vary from person to person, but they vary across class lines, regions, and even continents. Researchers Baldwin, Day and Hecht studied racial tolerance across different variables such as attitudes toward dating, marriage, media attention, and shared housing (2000).

Interracial romance has been an issue in the United States since the first English settlers established colonies during the seventeenth century. Over the years, views toward interracial relationships in America have changed greatly. The interracial dating trend among today’s teenagers is increasing at a steady rate (Grapes 49). However, there are still many biases facing Gen-Y youth who choose to date someone of another race. A look at the history of interracial romance in the United States will shed light on today’s attitudes.

Breaking the Norms     When each of us was conceived, we did not have anything influencing our perception of the world. While we were growing up and still do this day, our surroundings influenced the way we think and the how we behave in our daily lives. We get ideas about gender roles from our parents, our teachers, television, books and even subconsciously. As part of a project to break the norms of society and push past peoples thresholds, I needed to figure out what made people feel uncomfortable. I thought for a moment and decided to tackle homophobia. I choose this topic because very few men are comfortable talking about the subject of gay men. It is my objective to better understand why men think the way we

Harris and Kalbfleisch focused their studies on interracial dating among African American and European Americans to measure their social behavior, attitudes, and beliefs using a Q-methodological statistic which is a psychological test that requires participants to agree or disagree by sorting out items related to one another. They used equal numbers in each racial group of men and women to test two hypotheses. The first hypothesis states that “both African American and European American men and women will report a change in their communication strategies when initiating a date with a person from a different race”. Hypothesis two, on the hand, states “men and women will experience a change in their communication strategies when initiating a date with a person from a different race”.

People who date and socialize with people of different racial groups frequently experience negative reactions. Many of the disapproving messages come from people of their own racial group. They scoff and make fun of the idea that they are dating someone with a different tone of skin or ethnic background. According to a poll taken in

One such variation included the addition of a naysayer to the group. This person was told to consistently give correct answers despite the group consensus. Now, the subject’s position in answering did not change, nor did the opinions of the rest of the group. It just so happened that one person went against the group decision. Now, according to the ‘values’ concept, the subject of the experiment should still feel a need to go along with the majority’s choice in order to create the best possible atmosphere for everyone. In fact, they may even experience negative feelings toward the naysayer for creating the very “waves” that they were trying to prevent. However, Asch found that the conformity rate dropped to merely 5%, a 28.3% difference from

Previous studies had explored the effects which interracial relationships have on prejudice, racial attitude, and cultural awareness but there hadn’t yet been any research done which looked that what factors increase or decrease the chances of such relationships forming. By looking at different situational factors, and outcomes one can assume that there are some factors that may cause interracial relationships to become more common. The fact that interracial friendships have been shown to foster a more positive attitudes as well as a higher level of cultural awareness, can help us understand the importance of finding more successful ways to encourage interracial mixing. By looking at how threat cues impact the implications and outcomes of already present safety cues, one can see how the first part of this study, referred to as study 1, can create environments where people, specifically the minority, feel safe and encouraged to form interracial relationships.

This interaction was towards the party they came with. Everyone was talking and mingling with one another. When I first came to me and my friend sat at the bar while we wait to be seated. We mate a couple and them were African American and they seemed pretty cool. We were bonding and having a conversation about how the drinks are, how is there food? and have they been her?. One thing I got from this spot to not so big, it wasn't packed as you couldn’t make any certain moves. The only time it felt tight is when my party of 7 came and we still weren't seated unit 10 min later. There was a lot of movement going on with the individuals, and the waitress. The crowd of people in this place was mix with multicultural individual which I like, I didn’t get a chance to interact with any of them because everything was moving so face. But it also seems like a place I will go back to for brunch, dinner, and happy

Interracial couples as well as same sex couples face many of the same controversial problems and dilemmas, however, not many differences could be seen between the values of these couples regardless of their generations. The two different groups of individuals being interviewed were a selected group of interracial couples of an older age group ranging from 60 – 33, and a group of same sex couples the ages of 25 – 19. The relationship that was being studied was the relationship values between individuals in interracial relationships in previous generations versus the values of individuals in same sex relationships in our current generation. My hypothesis was that interracial couples as well as same sex couples face many of the same

Consequently, the media has a lot to do with what is accepted in society for couples to be in a relationship. Therefore, if a mixed racial couple is walking down the street they may still get dirty looks. This may cause problems and cause them to not be together in fear of being ridiculed. Finally, our peers and family have strong ways of regulating our relationships. (Shaw pg. 313)