Abstract
M.A.
This research study is focused on the influence that racial stereotypes have on South African students’ perceptions of the work environment. A multi-factorial experiment was conducted by randomly assigning 90 male Accounting students (mean age = 22.4 years) to three groups. All participants viewed identical information about a fictitious organisation. In the two experimental groups the race of the manager was manipulated by means of a picture. No picture was displayed in the control group. The hypothesis (which was based on research of traditional stereotypes) was disconfirmed. The highest ratings of organisational attractiveness were provided by participants in the control group, and the lowest ratings by those who viewed the white manager, χ2 (5) = 29.48, p < .05. Further, both black and white participants showed in-group bias on the Loyalty scale, χ2 (5) = 12.11, p < .05. The results are discussed in terms of racial stereotypes, the emergence of a new form of racism, and the prominence of in-group bias.