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Apr. 3rd, 2011
About Those Black Friends
Apr. 3rd, 2011 02:28 pmIn a 1998 survey, three different groups of white people were asked whether they had black friends
One group was asked, "Are any of your good friends that you feel close to Black?" When asked directly, 42% of white people said they has good friends who are black.
The next group was asked three consecutive questions. First they were asked, "Do you have any good friends that you feel close to?" If they answered yes, they were asked "About how many good friends do you have?" Finally, they were asked, "How many of your good friends are Black?" When asked with this three-step approach, 24% of white people answered that one or more of those close friends was black.
The last group was asked, "Many people have some good friends they feel close to. Who are your good friends (other than your spouse)? Just tell me their first names. Is there anyone else?" Information was taken on the first five people mentioned, including race. When investigating social networks, only 6% of white people listed at least one black person among their five closest friends.
In contrast, when black people were asked the same question about white friends, the responses were 62%, 45%, and 15% respectively.
While I was looking for this paper, I made this too:
One group was asked, "Are any of your good friends that you feel close to Black?" When asked directly, 42% of white people said they has good friends who are black.
The next group was asked three consecutive questions. First they were asked, "Do you have any good friends that you feel close to?" If they answered yes, they were asked "About how many good friends do you have?" Finally, they were asked, "How many of your good friends are Black?" When asked with this three-step approach, 24% of white people answered that one or more of those close friends was black.
The last group was asked, "Many people have some good friends they feel close to. Who are your good friends (other than your spouse)? Just tell me their first names. Is there anyone else?" Information was taken on the first five people mentioned, including race. When investigating social networks, only 6% of white people listed at least one black person among their five closest friends.
In contrast, when black people were asked the same question about white friends, the responses were 62%, 45%, and 15% respectively.
( Why this happens. )—Tom W. Smith, "Measuring Inter-racial Friendships: Experimental Comparisons" [PDF]
While I was looking for this paper, I made this too: