Attitude Formation in College Students in Henan Province, China Regarding Minority Nationals

This study was conducted at Shengda College of Zhengzhou University in Henan Province, China in 2008. It explores the attitudes that Han English college majors have about minority nationals within China. The study uses sophomore English majors as the focus of the study to explore historical experiences with non-Han people inside China and current attitudes about some of those people. In class emphasis was placed on the US Civil Rights movement and how that affected the US. The students’ reactions were recorded before and after the history lessons about the US, and the students were left to compare minorities within the US and minority nationals within China. In this way the study was less likely to offend, especially given the climate just before the 2008 Olympics. Using the Empathy Perception Model, Majority Development Model, and social identity theory the collected data is explored and analyzed. The students are probably in stage one of the Majority Development Model indicating unexamined identity