CONSCIOUSNESS AND REALITY: THE CHICANO MOVEMENT AND CHICANO/ANGLO MUTUAL STEREOTYPY

Fishman (1956) has suggested that since stereotypes serve group relations functions, changes in stereotypy should follow changes in target groups, subject groups, or in the relationships between subjects and targets. To investigate this we examine the stereotypes and self‐images of Chicanos and Anglos, drawn from three time periods around the social ferment of the 1960s and the development of the Chicano movement: 1963, 1967–8 and 1971. We expect that the images both Anglos and Chicanos have of Chicanos will improve, while the images both have of Anglos will deteriorate. Several measures of stereotypy indicate such a change. In the earliest sample, Chicanos are perceived negatively, and Anglos are perceived positively, by members of both groups. By the last period Anglos are perceived less favourably and Chicanos are perceived more favourably. While the actual images of the two groups vary, the overall valance of the images converges toward a theoretical “neutral” point. We discuss whether this convergence will be maintained.