Skin Color and Perceptions of Ambiguous Aggression
Jane Anderson, Erik Feia and Pauline Ceulemans
Faculty Advisor: Sarah Wood
University of Wisconsin - Stout
Hypothesis: When observing ambiguously aggressive acts, the threshold for labeling an act as violent is lower when viewing a
black actor than when viewing a white actor.
Background and Research Questions
• Previous research has found that black men were perceived as being more aggressive and
less friendly than white men performing identical acts.
• Does this bias still exist?
• Have people become more adept at providing socially acceptable responses to questions
about racism?
• Has the “melting pot” effect decreased subtle racism in American culture?
Method
• Participants viewed 1 of 3 colored drawings and heard a short
description.
• Participants rated actor and recipient for personality and behavior
traits.
Results
• A black person poking a white person
was perceived as more friendly and
playful than a white person poking a
white person. F(2,76) = 2.97, p = .057.
• A Fisher LSD test revealed p < .05.
• This ran counter to the tested
hypothesis.
Playful and Friendly Ratings
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Black Poking White
White Poking White
White Poking Black
Conclusions:
Vignette
“Anthony was sitting at his desk, working on his social studies assignment, when Michael
started poking him in the back with the eraser end of his pencil. Anthony just kept on working.
Michael kept poking him for a while, and then he finally stopped.”
• Possible explanations for these results
according to the literature:
•
Desire for socially acceptable
responses
•
Diminished racism in the United
States
•
Small sample size
•
Latent racism – assumption that it is
“normal” for blacks to behave more
violently than whites
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