| Abstract: | The study investigated the roles of ethnicity and educational standing as determinants of interpersonal acceptance among integrated Western and Middle Eastern junior high school students in Israel. A previous study found that often reported ethnic asymmetries were dissipated once educational standing of targets was controlled. The present study hypothesized that the use of sociometric formulations emphasizing self-initiated desire rather than acquiescent agreement would reassert the importance of ethnic biases alongside educational considerations. A sample of 1127 students completed two versions of the Interpersonal Relationship Assessment Technique, emphasizing either willingness to agree or desire to initiate relations with each classmate. Findings indicated that educational standing was the central determinant of relations. In the case of acquiescent acceptance a target's high educational status was found to ameliorate the impact of ethnicity which appeared at low status. In the case of self-expressed desire, ethnic effects appeared alongside the more prominent educational ones: Westerners exhibited same group preference across educational levels, whereas Middle Easterners displayed no group preference. These findings suggest that personalized considerations of educational status overshadow group ones of ethnicity, yet do not obliterate them when interpersonal stakes are high. |
