Differing Views of the O. J. Simpson Trial

Revision with unchanged content. The O. J. Simpson criminal trial was a social event that generated extensive pu­blic discourse and a search for causes. The dramatic differences of opinion be­tween Black and White Americans about the case seemed to reflect broa­der disparities in social perception, particularly perceptions of the nature of racial/ethnic group relations in American society. This project involved the testing of a theoretical model, derived from social iden­tity and intergroup attribution theory, to predict social perceptions asso­ci­ated with attitudes about the case. Black and White Americans were sur­veyed to assess their views of racial/ethnic group stratification, the im­por­tance of racial/ethnic group membership to self-identity, and perceptions of threat from the outgroup. These factors, in combination, were highly pre­dic­tive of the intensity of respondents' beliefs about O. J. Simpson's guilt or inno­cence. This work will be of interest to social psychologists, sociologists, and others interested in how ordinary people interpret controversial social events, par­ti­cu­larly those that have relevance to current social conflicts.