[Sherman]

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Skippy - You just do not get it. [ QUOTE ]
I'd sure want to know who was in the top 1% of "most likely to committ murder" wouldn't you? (note. example is hypothetical).


[/ QUOTE ] You say your measuring tools are imprecise so what would you do with this information if you did find someone that was very likely to commit murder? Lock them up before they commited murder? Yea I can the headlines now: OJ SIMPSON IMPRISIONED FOR BEATING EX WIFE FOR THIRD TIME AND ENTERING SKIPPYS 1%. OJ CLAIMS THE REAL POTENTIAL KILLER IS STILL OUT THERE.

Speaking of OJ there Skippy, what type of racism was it that allowed a black jury to release him free and clear? What type of racism was it when the mobs of black people cheered the verdict of inoccence, thus freeing a black man for the murders of two people. I doubt that you will find the answer in your little book your instructor made you read (all though the read the instructors reading list and vomit it all back at him is usually good for a +1 on the grades). Maybe another new form of racism could be called, "negros ignoring crime by colored folk". If you look real hard you will be able to find that in your little book under plain old racism. There will be examples of white people being racist towards black people. You won't find black people being racist towards white people, but if you read your text with a color blind eye then you may be able to see that it is there.

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Just because the tool is imprecise in it's measurement doesn't mean it is invalid for prediction.

For example, (this is hypothetical I don't care to look up the real data but the numbers are representative) the inter-item reliability of the modern racism scale might be .80. Which is pretty good by psychological standards, but far from perfect. Compare this to the inter-measure reliability of a thermometer. The reliability of this tool is probably closer to .999.

Thus, if two people make a reading on the thermometer they are more likely to agree than Items 1 and Items 2 on the Modern Racism Scale. In fact, the reliability of the thermometer is so high that we often only make 1 reading.

Unfortunately, psychological phenomonon can't be measured as reliably as biological phenomenon (i.e. body temperature). So in psychology, we make multiple measures.

Why? Because it improves the validity. Reliability, or in other words the preciseness of the measure, has little to do with validity.

Validity is concerned with ability to predict actual outcomes. Just because the measurement tool is imprecise does not mean it is not valid. For further reading on this topic might I suggest Essentials of Behavioral Research: Methods and Data Analysis by Rosenthal and Rosnow (1991). Thus far I have recommended two books for you totalling over 1100 pages. Let me know when you finish.

Might point is that your own life experiences and beliefs are a poor substitute for decades of scientific research.

FWIW, I never insisted that white people in general are racist against blacks. I personally attended a talk which specifically cited many examples where blacks were racist against whites (unfortunately this event may be said to have ruined the speaker's career).

Regardless, my original points still stand.
1) Racism exists.
2) Being overtly racist has become very stigmatized in our culture.
3) This stigmatization has led to fewer act of racism (discrimination); yet the evidence indicates that feelings of racial dislike (prejudice) and thoughts of racial dislike (stereotypes) are still pervasive.

I'll even give you a page number: Jones, J. M. (1997) Prejudice and Racism. 2nd ed. pg. 100-102.