Abstract
Faces judged as stereotypically Black are perceived negatively relative to less stereotypical faces. In this experiment, artificial faces were constructed to examine the effects of nose width, lip fullness, and skin reflectance, as well as to study the relations among perceived dominance, threat, and Black stereotypicality. Using a multilevel structural equation model to isolate contributions of the facial features and the participant demographics, results showed that stereotypicality was related to wide nose, darker reflectance, and to a lesser extent full lips; threat was associated with wide nose, thin lips, and low reflectance; dominance was mainly related to nose width. Facial features explained variance among faces, suggesting that face-type bias in this sample was related to specific face features rather than particular characteristics of the participant. People’s perceptions of relations across these traits may underpin some of the sociocultural disparities in treatment of certain individuals by the legal system.
Highlights
Faces judged as stereotypically Black are perceived negatively relative to less stereotypical faces
The demographics of the 341 participants were modeled as dummy variables, such that White (19%), Asian (21%), Hispanic/Latinx (14%), Biracial (8%), other race (2%), non-female participants (24%), and those older than 21 (11%) were compared to participants who identified as Black, women, and no older than 21 years old
The current study investigated what specific facial features were associated with judgments of Black stereotypicality and whether these features were perceived as dominant and threatening
Summary
Faces judged as stereotypically Black are perceived negatively relative to less stereotypical faces. In this experiment, artificial faces were constructed to examine the effects of nose width, lip fullness, and skin reflectance, as well as to study the relations among perceived dominance, threat, and Black stereotypicality. Using a multilevel structural equation model to isolate contributions of the facial features and the participant demographics, results showed that stereotypicality was related to wide nose, darker reflectance, and to a lesser extent full lips; threat was associated with wide nose, thin lips, and low reflectance; dominance was mainly related to nose width. Facial features explained variance among faces, suggesting that face-type bias in this sample was related to specific face features rather than particular characteristics of the participant. People’s perceptions of relations across these traits may underpin some of the sociocultural disparities in treatment of certain individuals by the legal system
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