John R. Baldwin

Black, white, and shades of gray: Communication predictors of “stereotypic impressions”

This study examined communication behaviors and perceptions of Black and White communicators. Seventeen behaviors were identified in the literature as representing either “Black” or “White” communication. Black and White university students (N = 525) were asked to recall a past conversation with a Black or White communicator and to complete a questionnaire regarding their overall impressions of the racial others communication behaviors. Factor analyses were conducted to create stereotype clusters for Black and White participants. The findings suggest three strong second‐order stereotypic impressions for each sample. Multiple regression analysis revealed that certain behaviors are associated with each stereotypical impression. Results suggest that there is a diversity of communication styles among a single ethnic group and various stereotypic impressions are associated with particular communication behaviors.

The structure(s) of racial attitudes among White college students

Abstract In this study, the notion of racism is reviewed and defined. Recent research has proposed at least three structures to Whites’ racial attitudes: A one-dimensional structure in which racism is treated as a whole; target-based factors in which racism towards one target group might be different than racism towards another target; and function-based factors in which there are different aspects of racism towards a given target group. In this study, student responses to a measure of racism are used to test the three models. A three-factor solution provides the best explanation of the data, suggesting distinct, but interrelated views towards intimate interracial relationships, towards social relationships, and towards macro-social/political phenomena. These findings have both theoretical and policy implications.

A Methodological Nomad and an Accidental Scholar

Many of us end up in academia through diverse routes. In this brief contribution to the issue’s highlight of scholars in the Central States region, John Baldwin demtails his own circuitous path to academia and highlights the multi-disciplinary work he brings to his research on issues of culture, identity, and tolerance.