Reactions to Frustration in Negro and White Children

A major methodological problem in research on the Negro personality is to clarify the complex role of race-of-interviewer (experimenter) bias on the perfonnance of Negro subjects (Ss)'. In spite of the relative paucity of research in this area, the results of several studies have suggested that in a variety of situations, adult Negroes or whites will respond differently in the presence of a white experimenter (E) than they will with a Negro E. When, for example, a digit symbol test was described as a measure of motor coordination, Negro Ss scored higher with a white E. When however, the same task was presented in the context of an intellectual evaluation, the presence of a white tester yielded a marked impairment in Negro performance.2 The authors explain their results within the context of motivation theory. They assume that under motor instructions, motivation level with a Negro E is too low for efficient performance, while with a white E, activation is optimal. However, under intelligence test instructions, the incre

Biology · Frustration · White (mutation) · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology