AFFIRMATIVE-ACTION AND THE ISSUE OF EXPECTANCIES

The goal of affirmative action policies, the elimination of racial and sexual inequality, generates at least public agreement among most Americans, but affirmative action methods remain controversial, even among their intended beneficiaries. Affirmative action programs are criticized for reinforcing rather than dissolving racial and sexual barriers, and for making social categories salient. Further, if affirmative action programs appear to involve a lowering of standards, negative expectancies will be attached to minority status, some people will believe that those who were hired under affirmative action are less qualified than those who were not, and these beliefs may elicit corresponding differences in performance. The empirical evidence shows that affirmative action can have negative effects on expectancies and behavior; such outcomes, however, are not inevitable. When compared with “equal opportunity” policies, well‐designed affirmative action programs offer clear advantages to the members of target groups. 1990 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues