“When faces were seen to display relatively hostile expressions, individuals high in implicit prejudice tended to categorize them as African American,” said Bodenhausen.
The relationship between prejudice and categorization was not evident for happy faces. Thus, the results strongly suggest that in cases of uncertain categorization, the stereotypical biases of individuals relatively high in implicit prejudice take hold and drive categorization.
“The susceptibility of biracial individuals to societal prejudice depends on whether or not they are categorized as members of a culturally stigmatized group,” said Bodenhausen.
“Of course, angry displays are likely to result in problematic social interactions in general, but biracial individuals may be saddled with an additional burden when dormant negative racial stereotypes are activated.”
Both experiments show how stereotypes can color our early and most immediate perceptions of other people, he said. “We are constructing the meaning of other people’s behavior on the basis of our attitudes and assigning stereotypical characteristics readily.”
- Northwestern University
This article was written by the academic institution and released as an academic/research press release. It was originally posted at Newswise.
