The present study examines predictors of support for ethnicity-based affirmative action (AA) in college admissions. There is considerable work focused on predicting support for AA policies in employment, but there is comparative dearth of knowledge about reactions to AA in education. This work applies existing models of support for AA that include beliefs about AA policies (fairness, merit, diversity valuation, and prevalence of discrimination) and individual characteristics (sex, political orientation, and self-interest). White (n = 413) and Hispanic (n = 343) college students completed measures of the model predictors and reactions to a general AA policy and several specific policies (e.g., recruitment of minority applicants, different standards for admission). Regarding the general policy, those who more strongly valued diversity in educational setting and believed discrimination still existed indicated stronger support for general AA policy. Surprisingly, fairness, merit, gender, and political orientation did not uniquely predict support in either sample. Self-interest related to greater support for Hispanic participants only. Across specific policy applications, diversity valuation and recognition of ongoing discrimination were the also most consistent predictors. Findings highlight that models of support for AA in hiring may not be wholly applicable in predicting support for AA in educational admissions.

本研究检验了大学录取中基于种族的平权行动（AA）支持的预测因素。有大量工作着眼于预测就业领域对机管局政策的支持，但相对缺乏关于机管局对教育的反应的知识。这项工作采用了现有的支持机管局的模式，其中包括对机管局政策的信念（公平，优点，多样性评估和歧视的普遍性）以及个人特征（性别，政治倾向和个人利益）。白人（n  = 413）和西班牙裔（n = 343）大学生完成了模型预测指标的测评，并对一般AA政策和若干特定政策（例如，招募少数族裔申请人，不同的录取标准）做出了反应。关于总体政策，那些更看重教育环境多样性并认为仍然存在歧视的人表明，对总体AA政策的支持更大。出乎意料的是，在两个样本中，公平，功绩，性别和政治取向都不能唯一地预测支持。出于个人利益，仅对西班牙裔参与者提供更多支持。在特定的政策应用中，多样性评估和对持续歧视的认可也是最一致的预测因素。