A new study that suggests racism within small groups appears to affect men more than women may have immense implications.

Jury verdicts could be swayed, military strategies changed, business decisions influenced because of the racial composition of a group, according to Dr. Larry E. Davis, one of the authors of the study and a professor of social work and psychology at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

"While many people might consider that an equal number of Black males and an equal number of white males would be an ideal composition when working on a project, our study shows that that might be the worst thing to do, setting up all kinds of conflict," Davis said. Interestingly, all-women work groups were less affected by the racial balance of the group, leading Davis to conclude that gender is a factor in racism.

Co-authored by Dr. Michael J. Strube, a professor of psychology in arts and sciences at Washington University, the research is based on experiments with 120 undergraduate college students. The students were assigned to four-person, same-sex groups with varying racial compositions -- one Black and three whites (25 percent), two Blacks and two whites (50 percent), and three Blacks and one white (75 percent). Each group was then given a decision-making task to perform.

Davis and Strube later interviewed individual members of the groups to assess the experience. The researchers were interested in satisfaction with group performance, confidence in group decisions, and willingness to work with the group in the future. The study showed that men had the most difficulty working in groups with equal numbers of Black and whites, while women in the same situation were able to reach a resolution without negative conflict.

Threatening Majority Status