The role of perceived negativity in the moderation of African Americans' implicit and explicit racial attitudes

The present paper examines the relationship between Blacks' implicit and explicit racial attitudes and the extent to which perceived negativity from out-groups moderates the two attitudes. Results from two studies provide converging evidence that perceived negativity is related to both implicit and explicit attitudes, but in opposite directions. While perceived negativity showed a significant positive correlation with in-group bias on explicit measures, it was negatively correlated with in-group bias on implicit measures, such that Blacks who believed that Whites generally dislike Blacks showed significantly lower levels of implicit in-group bias compared with African Americans who believe that Whites positively regard Blacks. African Americans' level of exposure to outgroups was also negatively related to implicit in-group bias, but this relationship was mediated by perceived negativity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.