Affirmative action selection will not inevitably lead to negative responses from either beneficiaries or nonbeneficiaries. Being a beneficiary of affirmative action will not necessarily make the person a token. (PS)

Discusses the impact of affirmative action policies on expectancies and interpersonal relations. Concludes that affirmative action policies offer clear advantages to the members of target groups. (DM)

Introduces this special issue, which initiates a dialogue on Black employment opportunities in an effort to redress the racial imbalance and the weaknesses in the data often brought to bear on social problems. (PS)

Questions whether racism by individuals plays as large a part in job discrimination as Pettigrew and Martin suggest. Disagrees with Braddock and McPartland's recommendation that new federal regulations are needed to force employers to improve their employment practices. (PS)

Addresses affirmative action's success at creating a more equal workplace. Explores some potential psychological costs of this policy--costs that paradoxically may undermine its objectives--and their implications for achieving the goal of workplace equality. (GR)

Examines the implications of one interpretation of employer behavior that may be inferred from the Braddock and McPartland analysis: while many White employers would not reject Black applicants through personal prejudice and discrimination, they are sufficiently uninvolved in the goal of Black employment to use hiring methods that might lessen it.

Discusses the predictive validity of commonly used tests for educational and employment screening and selection in affirmative action. Examines ways the development and use of psychological tests for educational and employment screening may contribute to the search for a politically feasible affirmative action to promote the inclusion in education…

When American businesses hire, promote, and reward on the basis of race,they are not countering a trend, but behaving in accordance with the general norms of this society. To run counter to the trend they need only place Black managers in positions of power over the livelihood of other (White) employees. (PS)

Discusses why affirmative action lacks full support in the United States. Two fairness issues are addressed in judging affirmative action programs: heightened salience of group identity and differences; and perceived scarcity of resources. Argues how program design and viewing work force diversity as a feasible means toward economic expansion can…

Compares three models positing differing roles for values in predicting fairness judgments and support of affirmative action: Tetlock's (1986) value pluralism models, Lind's (1992) fairness heuristic hypothesis, and Jackman's (1978) model involving no role for values. Results support the fairness heuristic hypothesis, indicating that values play a…

Examines the justice claims made by opponents and proponents of affirmative action and argues the need to consider the scope of justice embedded in the affirmative action debate. It describes the scope of justice, factors causing its change over time, its application to the affirmative action controversy, and presents a table clarifying the…

Discusses recent research on the attitudes of employees who are affected by affirmative action to determine whether societal-level beliefs about discrimination lead to policy endorsement among individuals whose career outcomes are at stake. Suggests there is more endorsement than "backlash" against affirmative action, and discusses the…

Explores U.S. Supreme Court rationale in judging the constitutionality of affirmative action cases and why the theory used in its decisions is at odds with the formal theory and research on social psychology of affirmative action procedures. The scientific work indicates procedural conditions that the Court would find social psychologically…

Applies organizational theory and Lewin's concept of the life space in order to clarify factors that contribute to women's remaining predominantly marginal despite universities' official commitment to equal opportunity. Recommends changes in the structure of academe; suggests ways to strengthen affirmative action programs and better integrate…

Summarizes research concerning affirmative action's continued role in civil rights and presents broad themes relevant to discussions of affirmative action. It explores the central issue of federal policy on affirmative action in relation to fairness at the societal and individual levels. (GR)