Australia is a multicultural country renowned for its general openness to other cultures. Some believe the treatment of Indigenous Australians has often been discounted or simply not adequately addressed with racial and discrimination issues still prevalent (Pedersen, Walker, & Griffiths, 2004). Research has suggested there are two types of racism. ‘Old-fashioned’ racism is characterised by beliefs minority out-groups such as Indigenous Australians are inferior. Segregation and open prejudice and discrimination were also cornerstones (Pedersen, Walker, & Griffiths, 2004). While this form of racism is not openly practiced, there are still disadvantages that are not acknowledged.
In contrast, symbolic racism is seen as the covert expressions …show more content…
People believe in the virtues of hard work, independence, individualism, work ethic and discipline. If these virtues are disregarded, people are seen to be violating fundamental values of society. Combine these two components and a foundation for symbolic racism is formed.
While the concept of symbolic racism has evolved, four beliefs are at its core. The belief that minority groups no longer face the kind of ‘old fashioned’ discrimination described above, that minority groups simply do not work hard enough to progress themselves socially or economically, that minority groups demand too much, as well as, receive more than they deserve (Sears & Henry, 2003). People seem able to justify symbolic racism simply because the prejudice itself is not directly linked to race, but rather, to social and political issues (McConahay, Hardee, & Batts, …show more content…
McConahay’s (1986) modern racism scale (MRS) was the initial research on symbolic racism. Henry and Sears (2002) cited several measurement issues with the original scale which lead to the creation of their own scale, Symbolic Racism Scale (SR2K). They found issue with the obvious dating of the MRS and items were worded to reflect higher levels of racism. This would result in higher levels of acquiescence bias and possibly face validity. Lastly, there appears to be a correlation between political affiliations and symbolic racism, affecting the association between the dependant variables and items (Henry & Sears, 2002; Tarman & Sears,
In contrast, symbolic racism is seen as the covert expressions …show more content…
People believe in the virtues of hard work, independence, individualism, work ethic and discipline. If these virtues are disregarded, people are seen to be violating fundamental values of society. Combine these two components and a foundation for symbolic racism is formed.
While the concept of symbolic racism has evolved, four beliefs are at its core. The belief that minority groups no longer face the kind of ‘old fashioned’ discrimination described above, that minority groups simply do not work hard enough to progress themselves socially or economically, that minority groups demand too much, as well as, receive more than they deserve (Sears & Henry, 2003). People seem able to justify symbolic racism simply because the prejudice itself is not directly linked to race, but rather, to social and political issues (McConahay, Hardee, & Batts, …show more content…
McConahay’s (1986) modern racism scale (MRS) was the initial research on symbolic racism. Henry and Sears (2002) cited several measurement issues with the original scale which lead to the creation of their own scale, Symbolic Racism Scale (SR2K). They found issue with the obvious dating of the MRS and items were worded to reflect higher levels of racism. This would result in higher levels of acquiescence bias and possibly face validity. Lastly, there appears to be a correlation between political affiliations and symbolic racism, affecting the association between the dependant variables and items (Henry & Sears, 2002; Tarman & Sears,