Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The influence of books on human behavior has been attested since ancient times. Today books have been advocated as a solution to the difficult problem of combating racial prejudice. Many educators and librarians have recommended the inclusion of children's books with black characters in the school curriculum. It is thought that empathy with a black character in a story may cause a change in attitude toward Blacks. Festinger's research on attitude change through the creation of dissonance lends support to the theory of empathy. Festinger found that involving an individual in an action which disagreed with his attitude was likely to effect a change in attitude. Although much has been written on the influence of books, few experimental studies have been reported. Shirley (1969) documented the kinds of influence from books which high school students report. Litcher and Johnson (1969) found a significant attitude change from the use of multi-ethnic readers. Jackson (1944) concluded that books could be effective in changing racial attitudes, but Carlsen (1948) disagreed. To investigate the effect of reading books with black characters on the racial preferences of white children, a picture test was constructed based on the work of Horowitz (1938). The Race/Activity Decision Criteria Picture Test is designed to measure the degree to which race is used as a criteria for decision-making. Fifty-six children's books with black characters were rated by librarians and teachers on literary quality and ability to foster good race relations. These books were read during class time by 125 fifth grade students in an all white suburban school. All reading was voluntary and was not associated with regular assignments. A posttest was administered and the data was analyzed by a multiple regression analysis system using a computer program which allowed either specified or unspecified ordering of variables. Due to non-linearity of the test scale, the population was divided on the basis of posttest scores into two groups: (a) those who displayed no racial preferences or a bias toward Blacks, and (b) those whose scores indicated a prejudice against Blacks. Results of the analysis indicated that the effect of books on racial preference is not a simple one-to-one relationship. In the Bias/No Preference Group, the greater the number of books read, the less often race was used as a decision-making criteria. For the Prejudiced Group, however, the greater number of books read was associated with higher prejudice scores. Results were significant at .05 level for both groups. The quality of books read as defined in this study was not significantly associated with posttest scores. Specific content of books was significant only for the Bias/No Preference Group. In this group, reading about black characters with socio-economic status was significantly associated at the .01 level with greater bias toward Blacks. Although these findings generally support the theory that books are effective in influencing human behavior and indicate that this effect is cumulative, the implication is clear that, as yet, we do not have sufficient knowledge to make reliable predictions of the effect of particular books on individuals. The relationship is complex and requires further study. It would appear that most schools would be justified in including books with black characters in their curriculum. However, books should not be relied upon to provide the exclusive thrust of a program to alleviate prejudice, especially in communities where extreme prejudice is the norm. / 2031-01-01

In recent years, scholars have moved beyond attributing academic difficulties to cognitive and personal characteristics of African American students, and have begun to consider the effects of the predominantly White university (PWU) setting on the educational and psychological outcomes of Black collegians. Unfortunately, the literature paints a bleak picture of the social context of African American students at PWUs which ultimately impedes students' academic persistence and achievement (Gloria, Kurpius, Hamilton, & Wilson, 1999) as well as psychological wellness (Prelow, Mosher, & Bowman, 2006). The psychological ramifications of social and educational conditions for African American students at PWUs, along with higher attrition rates would substantiate the tremendous use of campus mental health services by this student population. Yet, the literature reveals that even when services are easily accessible and are provided for free or at extremely discounted prices, African American students choose not to seek professional psychological help (Nickerson, Helms, & Terrell, 1994). Drawing upon the psychosociocultural theoretical framework proposed by Gloria and Rodriguez (2000), this study examined if variables specific to the PWU environment - minority student stress, out-group comfort, and cultural congruity - served as predictors of attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help in a sample of African American collegians. This study also analyzed if counselor racial preference served as a mediator between the predictors and help-seeking. Survey data were collected from 198 Black college students attending a large, PWU in the Southwest. Results revealed that cultural congruity was the only significant predictor of help-seeking attitudes, and counselor racial preference was not a significant mediator. Exploratory analyses indicated gender differences in the relationship between the psychosociocultural variables and counselor racial preferences. Implications for practice and research in counseling psychology are discussed. / text

Cette thèse étudie les causes et conséquences du processus de ségrégation résidentielle dans l’Afrique du Sud (AFS) post-Apartheid. Nous nous intéressons à plusieurs aspects encore débattus dans la littérature. Le premier concerne l’impact des préférences des individus pour la composition raciale de leur voisinage sur la ségrégation. Le second a trait à l’impact de la ségrégation résidentielle sur les niveaux de revenus des différents groupes raciaux. Le dernier quantifie les différentes causes de la ségrégation. Dans le premier chapitre, nous réconcilions la littérature théorique sur l’impact des préférences pour la composition raciale du voisinage avec les observations empiriques de niveaux décroissants de ségrégation aux US et en AFS. Nous soutenons l’idée que si les individus internalisent les apports économiques et sociaux de chaque nouvel arrivant dans leur voisinage alors des voisinages intégrés peuvent émerger. Cet effet est empiriquement plus fort que l’homophilie et le racisme. Dans le second chapitre, nous étudions l’impact de la ségrégation sur l’ensemble de la distribution des revenus. Nous montrons que la ségrégation a un effet positif sur les hauts revenus pour les Blancs tandis qu’elle a un effet négatif pour les Noirs au bas de la distribution. L’effet de la ségrégation est souvent plus important que l’effet de l’éducation. Enfin, dans le troisième chapitre, nous quantifions l’impact de chaque déterminant de la ségrégation. Nous trouvons que le manque d’accès aux services publics de base est le déterminant principal, alors que les différences de caractéristiques sociodémographiques ne comptent que pour une faible part pour les quartiers les plus ségrégués. / This thesis studies the causes and consequences of the residential segregation process in the post-Apartheid South Africa.Inside this general issue, we are interested in several aspects still debated in the literature on residential segregation. Thefirst concerns the impact of individuals’ preferences for the racial composition of their neighborhood on the segregationlevels. The second question deals with the impact of residential segregation on the income levels of each racial group. Thelast issue is related to quantifying the different causes of segregation.Three chapters constitute this thesis. In the first chapter, we reconcile the theoretical literature on the impact of preferencesfor the racial composition of the neighborhood with the empirical evidences of declining levels of segregation in theUnited-States and South Africa. We argue that if individuals internalize the economic and social life that a new entrantbrings with him, then integrated neighborhoods can emerge. This effect is empirically stronger than homophilly andracism. In the second chapter, we study the impact of residential segregation on the whole income distribution. We showthat residential segregation has a positif effect on top incomes for Whites, whereas it has a negatif effect for Blacks at thebottom of the distribution. The effect of residential segregation is even more important than the effect of education inmost cases. In the third chapter, we quantify the impact of each determinant of segregation. We find that the lackof access to basic public services is the main determinant, whereas differences in sociodemographics only account for asmall part in the most segregated areas.