European American students' perceptions of crimes committed by five racial groups

Past research examined perceptions of crimes believed to be committed by African Americans (Sunnafrank & Fontes, 1983), Hispanics (Bodenhausen, 1990; Bodenhausen & Wyer, 1985), and European Americans. Research also indicated stereotypical crime commission results in higher culpability assignment for African Americans (Feild, 1979; Gordon, 1990, 1993; Gordon, Bindrim, McNicholas, & Walden, 1988) and Hispanics (Bodenhausen, 1988, 1990; Bodenhausen & Lightenstein, 1987). This study expanded earlier assessments of perceived crime stereotypicality by examining different crime categories and including additional male racial groups. The groups examined were European Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Results indicated perceptions of crime stereotypicality differed significantly between the groups, confirming earlier results and providing additional insight into consensual beliefs about crime commission. The identified stereotypical crimes will be useful in future research on biased culpability assignment.