PLURALISTIC IGNORANCE AND WHITE ESTIMATES OF WHITE SUPPORT FOR RACIAL SEGREGATION

This article presents data, taken from a secondary analysis of a national survey, indicating that in 1968 most white American adults grossly exaggerated the support among other whites for racial segregation. Several correlates of this pattern of pluralistic ignorance-the extent to which the respondents led segregated lives, their racial attitudes, and their racial values-are examined. Finally, the relationship between this form of pluralistic ignorance and the willingness of these white respondents to endorse racially restricted housing is discussed. The author is Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University.