discrimination on racial resentment depend fully on whether or not whites perceive a lack of
black motivation. Whites who score in the 99% percentile of perceived discrimination, and
might be expected to score at lower levels of racial resentment as a consequence, actually
score at the higher end of the resentment scale when perceived discrimination is coupled with
the belief that blacks lack motivation (attaining a predicted value of .65 on a 0-1 scale, with 1
representing the highest levels of resentment). In contrast, individuals with the same level of
perceived discrimination score at the low end of racial resentment when they reject the view
that blacks lack motivation (with a predicted value of .26).
*** INSERT TABLES 8 & 9 ABOUT HERE ***
Likewise, the political effects of perceived discrimination also depend on whether or
not whites believe that blacks lack motivation. To examine this, we combined the two policy
items presented earlier in Table 5 that were affected by both perceived discrimination and
black motivation: support for improving the economic condition of blacks and affirmative
action. As seen in Table 8, there is once again a very sizeable interaction between perceived
discrimination and black motivation which is statistically significant at the .05 level in a two-
tailed test. The effects of discrimination mirror those observed for racial resentment, as seen
in Table 9. The predicted probability of opposing both the two racial policies is calculated at
differing levels of perceived discrimination and black motivation. Once again, the effects of
perceived discrimination are wholly dependent on the view that blacks lack motivation. The
probability of opposing both racial policies is very low among whites who see discrimination
and reject the view that blacks lack motivation. In contrast, whites who perceived
discrimination but believe blacks lack motivation are very likely to oppose at least one of the
policies.
In contrast, a denial of discrimination and the acceptance of insufficient black
motivation have consistent racial effects: they both heighten racial resentment and produce
opposition to racial policies. this highlights the asymmetric political nature of perceived
discrimination. A denial of discrimination enhances racial resentment and undermines
support for racial policies but the perception of discrimination does not necessarily diminish
resentment or increase racial policy support. Other factors also influence racial resentment
and opposition to racial policies: motivated reasoning, overt racism, support for
individualism, and lower levels of education.
18
Convention