SBP: Neurocognitive Mechanisms in the Perception of Race

University Of Texas At El Paso, El Paso TX

Investigators

Abstract

People routinely assign other people to categories, including race and gender. It happens quickly and almost automatically. Decades of theory and research in social psychology have helped to uncover how and why this common facet of social cognition occurs. Social categorization has important consequences, and often contributes to social bias including prejudice, discrimination, and societal inequities. As racial diversity in the United States increases, and the importance of race as an attribute by which people group themselves and others, it is especially important to understand the factors that determine how people perceive race. Some of the information that people use in perceiving race comes from physical characteristics of others, including skin tone, hair texture, and facial features. Other information is independent of the person being perceived, including historical and societal factors or qualities of the perceiver themselves. This project focuses on the role of facial features, and how attention paid very early in the processing of facial features helps to shape racial categorization of faces. It also considers how the social context influences attention to those facial features. The research extends understanding of how and when early attention to race is beneficial or harmful to downstream consequences of racial categorization, and informs potential interventions aimed at reducing negative consequences of race perception. The attention to racial information in faces happens very early in the perceptual process, typically within 200 milliseconds of seeing a face. It is less clear how this early attention to race contributes to the way in which those faces are ultimately racially categorized. The studies in this project measure quickly occurring and distinct neurocognitive processes as racial categorization of faces unfolds. The studies consider two contributing factors to racial perception: physical features and social context. Past research has focused primarily on Black and White faces. This project expands on that to include Latinx faces. Not only is the Latinx population the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, the historical fluidity of racial categorization of Latinx people is unique. Inclusion of Latinx populations strengthens the opportunity to address the project’s aim of considering both phenotypicality and social context. It is clear from research that racial categorization of others results in bias, even among those who are motivated to be egalitarian in their behavior. Focusing on earlier, up-stream cognitive perceptual processes that may contribute to spontaneous racial categorization will help to identify mechanisms or interventions that can facilitate intentional control and ultimately mitigate the bias that results from social categorization. These issues are central to the science of broadening participation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.