Differences among Asians and White Americans in Racial Prejudice: A Function of Contact with Out-group Members

In examining the racism in sport literature, two general trends emerge: (a) a focus on Western sport organizations and the prejudice expressed by Whites in these entities; and (b) the tendency to document the occurrence of prejudice without examining key antecedent conditions. The purpose of this study was to address these gaps in the literature. Specifically, I compare the racial prejudice of White Americans with Asians and also examine the degree to which intergroup contact impacts this level of prejudice.

Data were collected from Asian (n = 104) and White American (n = 100) college students. They completed a questionnaire that assessed their contact with African Americans as both team mates and exercise partners, their intergroup anxiety, and racial prejudice. Results indicate that all of the study variables were significantly correlated with one another. As expected, a multivariate analysis of variance further illustrated that Asians, relative to Whites, expressed more anxiety and prejudice, while also having less contact with African Americans. Finally, results from a moderated regression indicated that the relationship between nationality and intergroup anxiety was moderated by contact with African Americans as team mates and as exercise partners. In both cases, the lack of contact resulted in greater anxiety for Asians than it did for Whites.

This study contributes to the literature by explicitly examining racial bias across cultures. In addition, the findings point to the importance of diversity in exercise and team settings as a way of reducing racial prejudice. That is, since in being contact with African Americans as team mates and exercise partners helped to reduce intergroup anxiety, efforts should be made to increase racial diversity in exercise and sport team settings.