The Nonverbal Spread of Group Prejudice and Preliminary Evidence of Strategies to Mitigate Prejudice Transmission

Adults can acquire attitudes toward individuals from exposure to biased nonverbal communication, the current research examined whether group prejudices can also be acquired in this way. Two studies confirmed that adults can acquire group prejudices from biased nonverbal signals. Subsequent studies examined the impact of a series of between-subjects experimental approaches designed to limit the spread of group prejudice. Heightening nonverbal bias awareness increased prejudice acquisition, whereas providing positive information about the nonverbally disfavored group reversed biases. Yet, when nonverbal biases were framed as unjust, participants showed no evidence of acquiring group prejudices. Current findings confirm that group prejudices can be spread through nonverbal communication, and provide initial evidence of strategies that could be effective in limiting the nonverbal spread of prejudice

The “Obama Effect”? Priming Contemporary Racial Milestones Increases Implicit Racial Bias Among Whites

This research was designed to test if priming the election of President Obama as a contemporary racial milestone would increase implicit racial bias among White Americans. Participants (N = 202) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a power threat prime (Obama), a majority threat prime (shifting racial demographics of the U.S.), or no prime, before completing an implicit measure of positive and negative associations with Whites and Blacks. Consistent with group threat theory, both group threat primes increased implicit anti-Black bias. In the power threat prime (Obama) condition, only those with lower internal motivation to respond without prejudice showed elevated implicit bias. Findings indicate that framing Obama as a racial pioneer elicits group threat reactions among Whites with low internal motivation to respond without prejudice, increasing implicit anti-Black bias