Invisible middle-class Black space: Asymmetrical person and space stereotyping at the race–class nexus

• Published in: Group processes & intergroup relations Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 24 - 47
• Main Authors: Bonam, Courtney, Yantis, Caitlyn, Taylor, Valerie Jones
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2020; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Black people; Low income groups; Middle class; Perceptions; Race; Racial segregation; Racial stereotypes; Residential segregation; Stereotypes; Wealth; White people; racial disparities; environmental psychology; racial stereotyping; social perception
• ISSN: 1368-4302; 1461-7188
• DOI: 10.1177/1368430218784189

In addition to racial stereotypes about people (e.g., Black people are poor), perceivers hold parallel racial stereotypes about physical spaces (e.g., Black spaces are impoverished; Bonam, Bergsieker, & Eberhardt, 2016). Three studies extend these findings, showing that (a) Whites describe Black space as impoverished and undesirable, but describe White space as affluent and desirable, and (b) this racially polarized stereotype content is heightened for spaces compared to people (Studies 1 & 2). Perceivers are accordingly more likely to racially stereotype spaces than people (Study 3). This asymmetry in racial stereotype application is exacerbated when targets are objectively middle class versus lower class, likely because Whites have more difficulty incorporating counterstereotypic information into perceptions of Black spaces—compared to perceptions of Black people, White people, and White spaces (Study 3). Finally, we provide and discuss evidence for potential consequences of invisible middle-class Black space, relating to residential segregation and the racial wealth gap.