The American Psychological Assocation shares findings from Batten School post-doctoral scholar Gerald Higginbotham’s research that racial resentment leads some to associate gun rights with white people.
Racially resentful white Americans are less likely to support some gun rights if they believe Black people are exercising those rights more than white people, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
White Americans who expressed high levels of anti-Black sentiments associated gun rights with white people and gun control with Black people, the study found. Those research participants were quicker to match photos of white people to gun rights phrases (e.g., self-protection, National Rifle Association) and photos of Black people to gun control phrases (e.g., waiting period, weapons ban).
While Republicans were more likely to make racially biased assumptions about gun rights than white Democrats, anti-Black views had a greater impact on the findings than party affiliation, the study found. The research was published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
The study examined only racial resentment toward Black people, expressed as the belief that racial inequities are due to Black Americans not working hard enough to succeed and unfairly receiving entitlements to promote racial equity.
