Practice question · Multiple choice
LaPiere travelled America with a Chinese couple in 1934 and was refused service once in 251 establishments. Asked by post six months later whether they would serve Chinese guests, over 90% of the same establishments said no. What does that gap show?
Hints
- The same establishments gave two opposite answers. Which one is the attitude and which is the behaviour?
- Ask what is different about the two situations: a couple standing at the desk, and a letter about a hypothetical.
Show the answer
C. That the stated attitude and the behaviour came apart entirely.
Why
A general attitude expressed about a category in the abstract, months later and at no cost, is a very different thing from what a proprietor does with a couple standing in front of him and a queue behind. Both measurements are real and measure different things. The study has genuine flaws, nobody confirmed who answered the letter, and survived because better-controlled work found the same gap.
Practise Stereotypes, Prejudice, and the Mechanics of Bias
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