Beyond the Ethnic Divide

Abstract

Imagine you are sitting in a train and someone with another ethnic background than your own comes to sit opposite you. If asked to describe this person afterwards, would you remember this person’s ethnic background, or would it be other characteristics that come to mind first? If this person would behave rudely, for example by talking on the phone very loudly, would you judge this person differently than you would have done if he had belonged to your own ethnic group? And would you think differently about this person if you knew he was highly or low skilled?