White fear of demographic change is a powerful psychological force

[DonViejo]

Increasing diversity could make America a more hostile place.

Updated by Brian Resnick@[e-mail] Jan 28, 2017, 12:30pm EST

In August 2008, the Census Bureau released a report that predicted a seismic shift in American demographics: By 2050, minorities would make up more than 50 percent of the population and become the majority.

When Yale psychologist Jennifer Richeson heard about the report on NPR, she remembers thinking, “This is probably freaking somebody out.” By “somebody,” she means white people.

Richeson’s studies on interracial interactions had taught her that when people are in the majority, the sense of their race is dormant. But the prospect of being in the minority can suddenly make white identity — and all the historical privilege that comes with it — salient. And, she guessed, the prospect of losing majority status was likely to make people (perhaps unconsciously) uneasy.

In other words, she wondered if white people would read the news of a coming “minority majority” shift as a threat, a “threat” powerful enough to change their thoughts and behavior.

In the years since, Richeson has tried to answer this question with a trove of experimental research. What she’s found is both unsettling and crucial to understanding politics in the era of President Donald Trump.

more
http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/1/26/14340542/white-fear-trump-psychology-minority-majority

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. IMO, that fear is exactly what motivated a lot of Herr Drumpf voters.

I don't get it. I find that diversity is enlightening.

[heaven05]

2. got that right

hence the boy-potus who would be fuhrer and top kkklanner.....