PSY 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Aversive Racism, Prejudice
Document Summary
People generally associate more positive traits with those with lighter skin than those with darker skin. Research suggests that simply seeing a black man may automatically and nonconsciously trigger a fear response in police officers due to racial stereotypes. Police officers may misperceive harmless objects as weapons. There is also evidence suggesting that if a suspected criminal is black, people generally require less certainty that he is, in fact, holding a gun before they decide to shoot him/her. Race-based bias was found in both african american and white participants. African american police officers may be as likely as white officers to misperceive that a black man is holding a weapon and respond by shooting in self defense. Race-based bias is very difficult to monitor and control because it is operating below a person"s level of conscious awareness. Police training does reduce race-based shooter bias, but it does not eliminate it.
