This is a study of American racial attitudes through 1993, building on earlier research published in the book, Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations, which charted these trends through 1983. It will analyze them in more recent data sets such as the 1992 National Election Study, the 1993 General Social Survey, and the most recent, relevant Gallup survey. Contemporary racial issues will be included, and the project will incorporate new empirical and theoretical work that will enrich the interpretations of important relationships between change in racial attitudes and other variables, such as age, attitudes toward government enforcement, and the effects of social desirability on the validity of self-reported opinion. This research will contribute significantly to the field of race and ethnic relations, one of the intellectually most important areas of sociology with the greatest significance for American social policy. The original book was very influential with both scholars and educated non-academic readers, and the addition of a decade of data and theoretical insights will be a substantial contribution to the knowledge base for understanding one of the most difficult social problems in the United States.
