Attitude Tested: Would whites be more inclined to support affirmative action if it assisted only those blacks who have actually been victims of discrimination?
How They Tested It: One-third of the sample is asked whether large companies should be required by law to give a certain number of jobs to blacks. The other two-thirds are presented with the same question but also with a justification for the racial quotas -- either because the company is known to discriminate against blacks or because blacks are underrepresented in the company's workforce.
Result: When no justification was offered, 21 percent of whites supported affirmative action. Likewise, 22 percent supported racial preferences when told blacks were underrepresented. But when whites were told that the company had discriminated against blacks, 42 percent of them supported racial preferences.
