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Revision with unchanged content. The O. J. Simpson criminal trial was a social event that generated extensive pu blic discourse and a search for causes. The dramatic differences of opinion be tween Black and White Americans about the case seemed to reflect broa der 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 iden tity and intergroup attribution theory, to predict social perceptions asso ci ated with attitudes about the case. Black and White Americans were sur veyed to assess their views of racial/ethnic group stratification, the im por tance of racial/ethnic group membership to self-identity, and perceptions of threat from the outgroup. These factors, in combination, were highly pre dic tive of the intensity of respondents beliefs about O. J. Simpson s guilt or inno cence. This work will be of interest to social psychologists, sociologists, and others interested in how ordinary people interpret controversial social events, par ti cu larly those that have relevance to current social conflicts.

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Ph.D., is a social psychologist specializing in intergroup relations, political psychology, forensic and medical psychology, and conflict studies. She teaches psychology at the University of Phoenix.

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