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When Your Name Reveals Your Race
You
may not get a foot in the door in Los Angeles.
You'd think that prejudice occurs when they see the colour of
your skin but a new study shows it can occur from the very moment you
reveal your name.
The study published in 'Journal of Applied Social Psychology' has highlighted
just how difficult it can be to get accomodation when your name happens
to reflect your race.
The research was carried out in Los Angeles by Adrian G. Carpusor, a
researcher for JD Power & Associates, and William E. Loges, an assistant
professor of new media communications and sociology at Oregon State University.
The researchers sent more than 1,100 identically worded e-mail inquiries
to landlords who advertised vacancies across the city. The inquiries
were signed randomly, with an equal number by Patrick McDougall, Tyrell
Jackson or Said Al-Rahman. The names were based on Census Bureau rankings
of popular first and last names and informal canvassing of the researchers'
colleagues and acquaintances within the ethnic groups suggested by those
names.
The researches were surprised to find that when the replies came in Patrick McDougall received positive or encouraging replies from 89 percent of the landlords, while Said Al-Rahman was encouraged by 66 percent of the landlords. Only 56 percent, however, responded positively to Tyrell Jackson.
'We thought there might be a discrepancy between the Anglo-sounding name and the other two,' said William Loges 'but we were surprised by the severity of the reaction – especially to Tyrell Jackson. He was the only one to get any responses directly questioning whether he could really afford the apartment.'
'There are many communities that make up the Los Angeles area,' added William, a former resident of the city who studied Los Angeles' ethnic neighborhoods while working at the University of Southern California from 2000 to 2003. 'It is possible that Tyrell Jackson may have been welcomed in Crenshaw – one of L.A.'s African-American neighborhoods, but Patrick McDougall received so many positive replies that it's unlikely that there's any neighborhood in which he wasn't welcomed by landlords.'
The racial and ethnic identity of the landlords sadly was kept out of the study, which makes it difficult for the researchers to dig deeper into the dynamics behind the responses.
'Names are powerful indicators of who we are,' said Adrian Carpusor. 'They may disclose our religious affiliation, sex, social position, ethnic background, tribal affiliation and even age. A recent interview on National Public Radio pointed out that a first name in Iraqi culture could disclose one's affiliation with either the Shiite or Sunni Muslims – and that 16 men named Omar were killed in one day because of that affiliation.'
