This proposal is a request for funding to support a research project that experimentally examines reactions to hate crime when perceivers are members of a hate crime victim's category. Hate crimes disproportionately affect minority group persons in our society, and as such they suggest the continuing existence of disparate psychological and physical well-being among minority and majority members. The proposed studies seek to identify the unique affective, cognitive, and physiological reactions of African Americans to both racist and heterosexist hate crime. Two experimental studies are outlined which when taken together examine African Americans' reactions to a hate crime, as well as the extent to which people who are members of victims' groups express a willingness to endorse retaliation as an effective means of restitution following a hate crime. The research that is proposed here will aid mental health care providers, community advocates and law enforcement personnel to better understand the experience of victimizer for members of victims' groups. This research will also be useful in identifying effective strategies aimed at strengthening intergroup relationships, which can be implemented immediately following a hate crime. Findings from the proposed research will contribute to existing social science literature on hate crime in particular, and intergroup relations and aggression in general.
