Effects of Racial Diversity on Complex Thinking in College Students Anthony

An experiment varying the racial (Black, White) and opinion composition in small-group discussions was conducted with college students (N = 357) at three universities to test for effects on the perceived novelty of group members' contributions to discussion and on participants' integrative complexity. Results showed that racial and opinion minorities were both perceived as contributing to novelty. Generally positive effects on integrative complexity were found when the groups had racialand opinion-minority members and when members reported having racially diverse friends and classmates. The findings are discussed in the context of social psychological theories of minority influence and social policy implications for affirmative action. The research supports claims about the educational significance of race in higher education, as well as the complexity of the interaction of racial diversity with contextual and individual factors. Previous research has found that racially diverse educational environments are associated with positive intellectual and social outcomes for college students (Astin, 1993; Chang, 1999; Gurin, 1999; Smith & Associates, 1997). Racial diversity in the student body is linked to the likelihood that a student will interact with someone of a different race or ethnicity and engage in discussions of racial or ethnic issues. Frequent interaction across racial lines and discussion of racial and ethnic issues positively predicts student retention, intellectual and social self-concept, and overall satisfaction with college (Gurin, 1999; Smith & Associates, 1997). The existing evidence, however, is based largely on quasi-experimental or correlational designs using self-report data. No study to date has randomly assigned students to conditions of racial diversity and directly examined cognitive outcomes. This topic has implications for both theory and social policy. The study of cognitive responses to group dynamics is an important area in social and personality psychology (Gruenfeld, 1995; Gruenfeld & Hollingshead, 1993; Levine & Resnick, 1993). The question of the empirical merits of race-conscious approaches to diversifying colleges and universities has also become prominent in recent years in the face of legal challenges to affirmativeaction policies (Chang, Witt, Jones, & Hakuta, 2003). In the study reported here, we aimed to advance the scientific understanding of the educational effects of race through a controlled, randomized experiment measuring the impact of racial diversity on the complexity of thinking in college students.