Diversity in how people use racial categories to generalize

Generic statements, such as "Black people are strong", can imply that there are racial essences. But what about generic statements like "Black people face barriers to career advancement"? Statements like these may instead imply the existence of systemic racism. In three empirical studies, we examined the beliefs and attitudes held by Black (N = 387) and White (N = 400) American participants who endorse generic statements, controlling for endorsement of non-generic statements about the same events. For both Black and White Americans, generic statements about ability and character predicted a belief in racial essences (and endorsing the racial hierarchy), whereas generic statements about experiences and outcomes in social institutions predicted a belief in systemic racism (and rejecting the racial hierarchy). Thus, there is diversity in how and why people use race to generalize, and generic language flexibly accommodates that diversity.