Influence of Anti-Hispanic Bias on Perceptions of Hispanic Status of Names

This study explores the effects of anti-Hispanic bias on perceptions of Hispanic names. We showed 176 individuals 40 names chosen randomly from a pool of 84 non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and African-American names and then had them answer the Modern Racism Scale for Hispanics. We first determine the characteristics of individuals with bias in our sample. We find the level of bias against Hispanics is highest among individuals who are non-White, lower-income, employed, and have less education. Additionally, individuals with less bias were 10 percentage points more successful in identifying the ethnicity of Hispanic names than individuals with bias. We discuss the results in the context of intergroup contact theory, social justification theory, and group threat theory.