blacks prefer racists?

the post title may be an exaggeration, but does have a seed of truth to it according to a new study.

i've previously posted on implicit prejudice - prejudiced beliefs we supposedly have without consciously thinking them - and later wondered whether it really even matters, given that when subjects are have an additional 500 milliseconds to respond that "prejudiced" response usually disappears.

just-published research may indicate that implicit racial bias does matter, but not in the way you'd think. the results indicate that blacks prefer to interact with whites scoring higher on the implicit racism scale.

psychologists gave whities standard implicit association tests (IAT) and then were paired with a black participant to discuss racial issues. the latter were then asked to rate how much they liked their conversation partners.

shelton et al. conclude that implicitly "racist" students may overcompensate when trying to conceal their bias, making them appear friendlier and therefore more desirable. those without strong racial bias may not try as hard to appear unbiased, and therefore are perceived as less favorable.

would the IAT given with longer time intervals (allowing the conscience to correct for immediate reactions) correlate in this way? certainly not - i'd guess researchers would get the inverse - and expected - result.

nota bene: yesterday's aei panel on neuromorality included a great presentation by philip tetlock of university of california at berkeley critiquing implicit association tests and their implications... you can watch the video online.

source: shelton, jn, et al. ironic effects of racial bias during interracial interactions. psychological science. may 2005

Labels: misc. psych