Asymmetry, Academic Status, Differentiation, and the Ethnic Perceptions and Preferences of Israeli Youth

Ethnic attitudes and preferences of Jewish youth in Israel from Middle Eastern and Western ethnic background were investigated in this study. A multiscale questionnaire was administered to 1033 ninth-grade students in 30 classrooms from ethnically integrated schools in different parts of the country. Results indicated that the two groups perceived themselves as being markedly different from each other. However, (1) ethnic attitudes in this sample were asymmetrical, since both Middle Eastern and Western sub-jects expressed more positive evaluation of and preference for persons of Western than of Middle Eastern background; (2) ethnic attitudes varied with academic status in each ethnic group; and (3) Middle Eastern subjects displayed a more differentiated person perception than did subjects of Western background. Implications of thesefindings were considered from a variety of theoretical perspectives as well as in terms of their generality in light of current research in Israel and the United States.