Effects of Target Person Expression on Ethnic Prejudice Toward Middle Easterners and Hispanics

Abstract

Research on implicit prejudice suggests that target person judgments may be affected by unintentional, but well-learned, cognitive associations. Ethnicity, gender, and smiling or nonsmiling expression were varied as cues in White college students' perception tasks. The results of a factorial experiment are included as well as a discussion of the implications.La investigación sobre prejuicios implícitos sugiere que los juicios del individuo en cuestión pueden ser afectados por asociaciones cognitivas involuntarias, pero bien aprendidas. Se variaron la etnicidad, el género y la expresión sonriente o carente de sonrisa como entradas para las pruebas de percepción de estudiantes universitarios Blancos. Se incluyen los resultados de un experimento factorial, además de una discusión sobre las implicaciones.

Thematic Analysis of Counselor Trainees’ Perceptions of Cultural Display Rules

“…Counselors and researchers should also explore possible moderator and mediator variables that likely affect emotional expression and the interpretation of expressions, such as language switching (Ramos‐Sánchez, 2007), levels of client acculturation and enculturation (Nghe, Mahalik, & Lowe, 2003; Wong et al, 2009), and implicit bias (Sullivan, Scott, & Nocks, 2011). For example, further understanding of how immigrants adapt to new CDR systems would be highly valuable when developing interventions that respect clients’ cultural norms and help them adapt to a different set of norms and when informing systems (e.g., universities, schools) of how to be more inclusive of a wider range of emotional expression norms.…”

How Ethnicity, Expression, and Study Design Influence First Impressions of Approachability

“…(2018) found that the “model minority” characterization of Asian-Americans may also elicit perceptions of low warmth. Although these stereotypes of high competence and low warmth would seem to suggest that Asian targets would be rated less approachable compared to White targets, previous studies involving these target groups have not found a main effect of target race/ethnicity for ratings of threat (Sullivan et al., 2011) or extraversion and agreeableness (Tsai et al., 2019). In light of the results found by Sullivan et al.…”

“…Because people’s judgments of others can be influenced by qualities of the targets as well as their own characteristics (e.g., Shapiro et al., 2009; Sullivan et al., 2011; Xie et al., 2019; Zebrowitz et al., 1993), the current research examined this potential target × perceiver interaction on face evaluations through two studies. Study 1 used a between-subjects design in which participants assessed several targets of only one ethnicity (Black, East Asian, or White) and displaying the same facial expression (either smiling or a neutral expression).…”

“…While previous research suggests that target ethnicity influences trait judgments, findings have not been consistent in terms of how minority individuals (e.g., non-White individuals in the United States) are evaluated compared to majority individuals. Some studies have shown that ethnic minorities are evaluated more negatively compared to Whites; for instance, studies show Black male faces are perceived as more threatening than those of White males (e.g., Shapiro et al., 2009; Sullivan et al., 2011). In contrast, other studies have shown Black targets to be rated more favorably than White targets (e.g., Axt et al., 2016; Birkás et al., 2014; Jones et al., 1998).…”

“…(2000) reported a significant interaction between target ethnicity (Caucasian and Japanese) and target expression (happiness, anger, disgust, sadness, and fear) in predicting ratings of dominance (but not affiliation); yet, this result was not elaborated on in the paper to help in determining just how ratings of the different target groups varied by the type of expression portrayed. In contrast, Sullivan et al. (2011) had participants evaluate photos of African American, Asian, European American, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern targets who were either smiling or portraying a neutral expression.…”