Chicano,Hispanic,or Mexican American: What's in a Name?

This study examined the impact of three ethnic labels—Chicanos, Hispanics, and Mexican Americans—on the stereotyping behavior of a sample of white university undergraduates. Using the Katz and Braly (1933) paradigm, two hypotheses were tested. First, it was expected that “Chicanos” would receive a larger percentage of subjects selecting negative stereotypes than would “Hispanics” or “Mexican Americans” (Mexican Americans were expected to be stereotyped most positively). Second, the rate of stereotyping behavior was expected to be affected in similar ways. Results gave modest support for the first hypothesis—Chicanos were more often viewed as ignorant and cruel, for example—but only obtained nonsignificant trends for the second hypothesis. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of ethnic labels in racial attitude development and maintenance and of the need for additional research.

Este estudio examinó el impacto de tres rótulos étnicos—Chicano, Hispanic y Mexican-American, en la conducta estereotipada de una muestra de estudiantes universitarios anglo-sajones. Se estudiaron dos hipótesis utilizando el paradigma de Katz y Braly (1933). Primero, se esperó que “Chicanos” recibiría un mayor número de adjetivos negativos que “Hispanic” o “Mexican-American” (el rótulo “Mexican-American” debería recibir un estereotipo mas positivo). Segundo, la tasa de conductas estereotipadas debería ser afectada de manera similar por los rótulos. Los resultados respaldaron modestamente la primera hipótesis—los Chicanos fueron percibidos mas frecuentemente como ignorantes y crueles, por ejemplo; y la segunda hipótesis solo produjo tendencias no significativas en los resultados. Estos datos se discuten con relación a la importancia de rótulos étnicos en el desarrollo y mantenimiento de actitudes raciales y a la necesidad de llevar a cabo estudios adicionales.