Perceiving racial hate crimes: a power-relation perspective

• NCJ Number: 304526
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Criminology Dated: March 2022
• Author(s): Chenghui Zhang
• Date Published: March 2022
• Grant Number(s): 2020-R2-CX-0044
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Social Construction of Hate Crime in the U.S.: A Factorial Survey Experiment

Annotation

Bridging the power-relation framework with prejudice and bias studies, this study examines how individuals perceive and construct racial hate crimes.

 

Abstract

This study employs a factorial survey experiment with randomized vignette assignments to obtain insights into respondents’ judgment principles. Participants (N = 2635) were recruited through Mechanical Turk and were asked to read a fictional scenario that could be considered a racial hate crime. Logistic regression models are estimated, followed by moderation analyses and margins tests. The results support an integrated model that both the power dynamics between the victims and the offenders and the prejudice and beliefs of the respondents play significant roles in perceiving a racial hate crime. This study finds empirical evidence to establish a link between the status of incidents, respondents’ prejudice, and the perception of racial hate crimes. Future research will benefit from expanding the examination to other minority groups as well as to other bias motives. (Publisher Abstract)