Patriotism and perceptions of police: Examining the racial divide between Black and White Americans.

Abstract

Research has documented racial group differences in individuals' patriotic attitudes and their perceptions of police; however, research has not yet examined whether there is a direct relationship between patriotism and perceptions of police. For Black and White Americans, these are two particularly influential constructs given the realities of systemic racism that are embedded in American society (which might influence one's patriotic attitudes) and the ongoing publicized accounts of police brutality perpetuated against Black Americans. The current study provides insight into the dynamics of these two constructs. Specifically, the present study evaluated the relationship between patriotism and perceptions of police and whether such relationship would be moderated by race. Participants (N = 352 [Black participants, n = 181; White participants, n = 171]) completed a measure of patriotism developed for the present study and a measure evaluating their perceptions of police. For both Black and White participants, as patriotic attitudes increased, so did their perceptions of police. Further, racial group membership was supported as a moderator. Limitations and implications for research and psychological practice are discussed.What is the significance of this article for the general public?This study found that there are differences between Black and White Americans' perceptions of police and that race serves as a moderator between individuals' patriotic attitudes and their perceptions of police. The results of this study may help us to better understand not only the relationship between patriotism and perceptions of police but also the ways in which there are important differences in this relationship for Black and White Americans.

Are Training Programs Addressing Anti-Black Racism and White Supremacy? A Descriptive Analysis

“…This is particularly troubling when considering the swift, ever-changing global landscape that trainees will soon enter as practicing psychologists. This landscape includes increased instances of racially-motivated hate crimes, increased instances of police brutality against Black and Brown individuals (Lantz et al, 2016; Taylor & Wilcox, 2021), and a global pandemic disproportionately impacting people of Color (Gravlee, 2020). If students are not trained to recognize and intervene in these systems of injustice, they will not be adequately equipped to serve the populations with whom they will work.…”

Race and sexual orientation: An intersectional analysis and confirmatory factor analysis of the Perceptions of Police Scale.

“…Further, because less than 5% of the data were missing per measure and by categorical variable, we used expectation maximization to impute missing values (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). Of note, this study is based on a portion of data from a larger study on perceptions of police (Taylor & Wilcox, 2020); however, the demographics questionnaire used to identify participants' race and sexual orientation (as well as other demographic variables) and the POPS were presented before all other survey measures and thus were not influenced by the remaining measures.…”

Introduction to the special issue on the impact of race on psychological processes.

“…Next, Taylor and Wilcox (2021) examine perceptions of patriotism and police. The authors are among the first to examine the association of patriotism and perceptions of police and whether this relation differs between Black and White Americans.…”