WHEN WHITE VOTERS EVALUATE BLACK CANDIDATES - THE PROCESSING IMPLICATIONS OF CANDIDATE SKIN COLOR, PREJUDICE, AND SELF-MONITORING

A random sample of adults read about one of three fictitious candidates running for governor with a photograph of either a white male, a light-complected black male, or a dark-complected black male attached. The results indicate (1) that black candidates were penalized by white voters based on the candidate's race, skin color, and individual levels of racial prejudice; (2) that voters who were racially intolerant and aware of the negative social consequences of expressing their prejudice engaged in self-monitoring (i.e., they relied on information gained from social circumstances and suppressed the reporting of their negative attitudes toward African American candidates); (3) that skin color differences in the black candidate may have generated distinct forms of cognitive processing. That is, respondents exposed to the light-complected black candidate engaged in automatic cognitive processing, while subjects assigned to the dark-skinned black condition consciously processed racial information. The political consequences of these results are discussed.