Pro's and Con's of Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action purports to be a method for achieving equal employment opportunity for minorities normally discriminated against in hiring based on race, ethnicity, gender, or other exclusionary criteria (Outtz 1). As a way of redressing past inequalities, Affirmative Action sometimes uses preferential selection to ensure that members of the affected minorities are guaranteed partiality over non-minority applicants. This attempt at fairness has not been met with unequivocal acceptance, however. Opponents of Affirmative Action frame it as reverse discrimination that impedes the rights of qualified non-minority candidates attempting to be hired (Wood 1). As the announcement for the ôAffirmative Action Under Fireö Brookings briefing pointedly asks, ôIs affirmative action a deeply problematic, divisive, discriminatory and possibly ineffective detour along the road to real equality in America?ö The announcement goes on to say, ôAs the nation continues to debate its racial past and future, the phrase æaffirmative actionÆ endures as a magnet for rancor and confusionö (1998). This paper will discuss the proÆs and conÆs of Affirmative Action to evaluate both sides of this controversy.

Affirmative Action represents an attempt to restore justice where race, gender, and other factors have prevented minorities from enjoying an equal opportunity to get a job, enroll in law school, or be accepted in a

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Kraiger K, Ford JK. (1985). A meta-analysis of ratee race effects in performance ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology. 70, 56-65. Sackett PR, DuBois CLZ. (1991). Rater-ratee race effects on performance evaluation: Challenging meta-analytic conclusions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76 873-877. James L. Outtz, President, Outtz and Associates, Washington, D.C. ATTITUDE CHANGE: Persuasion and Social Influence. by Wendy Wood. Key Words influence, motives, fear appeals, social identity Abstract This chapter reviews empirical and theoretical developments in research on social influence and message-based persuasion. The review emphasizes research published during the period from 1996-1998. Across these literatures, three central motives have been identified that generate attitude change and resistance. These involve concerns with the self, with others and the rewards/punishments they can provide, and with a valid understanding of reality. The motives have implications for information processing and for attitude change in public and private contexts. Motives in persuasion also have been investigated in research on attitude functions and cognitive dissonance theory. In addition, the chapter reviews the relatively unique aspects
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