Social Categorization at the Crossroads: The Mechanisms by Which Intersecting Social Categories Bias Social Perception

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

People tend to perceive others in terms of their social category memberships. Consequently, others are categorized according to their sex, their race, and age among other things. These perceptions occur rapidly and readily, and they are based on minimal cues in the face and body. Prior research examining how observers perceive the social category memberships of others has tended to isolate a single social category dimension (e.g., sex) while holding other dimensions constant (e.g., race and age). Yet, human beings naturally fall into multiple social categories simultaneously. Thus, the previous research has only provided a rather artificial description of the way people perceive others. Very little is known about how the perception of one social category may systematically bias the perception of other social categories. This research project systematically tests two routes to biases in social perception. First, the perception of one category may bias the perception of another category because the same face and body cues may be characteristic of multiple categories simultaneously. Second, the perception of one category may bias the perception of another category because the stereotypes associated with various social categories may be similar. Social perceptions may be biased in a "bottom-up" fashion due to common cues or in a "top-down" fashion due to common stereotypes. In order to learn more about how these processes in perception and bias actually work, the researcher will a) examine the extent to which face and body cues that characterize one social category are also valid cues for other social categories, b) test the extent to which perceivers utilize these cues when they form impressions of others that naturally fall into multiple social categories, specifically when cues to sex and race categories overlap, and c) measure the role of social stereotypes in these processes. In addition to enhancing our understanding of biases in social perception, the research will result in the creation of stimulus archive involving race, gender and age traits that will be made freely available to researchers. This research will also provide opportunities for training and mentorship for both graduate and undergraduate students working in the lab.