We employed multiple comparisons to evaluate the impact of the Backdoor Vignette. Comparison to the no-vignette condition will tell us whether reading the Backdoor Vignette elevates belief in essential racial differences, but it is possible that any discussion of race and genetics, or simply of race, would have a similar effect. By comparing the Backdoor Vignette to the two other vignettes, we can test Duster’s hypothesis more precisely. If participants are influenced by the messages directly stated in the two comparison vignettes, those reading the Race-as-Social-Construction Vignette should be more likely to express beliefs that racial groups are essentially similar, and those reading the Race-as-Genetic-Reality Vignette should be more likely to express beliefs that racial groups are essentially different. If the Backdoor Vignette has the effects hypothesized by Duster—that is, messages about genetically based racial differences in specific health outcomes generalize beyond health to affect broader beliefs about racial differences—it should have effects similar to the Race-as-Genetic-Reality Vignette, elevating belief in essential racial differences, and these effects should differ significantly from the Race-as-Social- Construction Vignette.
