Chicano, Hispanic, or Mexican American: What's in a Name?

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Abstract
This study examined the impact of three ethnic labels—Chicanos, Hispanics, and Mexican Americans—on the stereotyping behavior of a sample of white university undergraduates. Using the Katz and Braly (1933) paradigm, two hypotheses were tested. First, it was expected that “Chicanos” would receive a larger percentage of subjects selecting negative stereotypes than would “Hispanics” or “Mexican Americans” (Mexican Americans were expected to be stereotyped most positively). Second, the rate of stereotyping behavior was expected to be affected in similar ways. Results gave modest support for the first hypothesis—Chicanos were more often viewed as ignorant and cruel, for example—but only obtained nonsignificant trends for the second hypothesis. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of ethnic labels in racial attitude development and maintenance and of the need for additional research.

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