Aversive Racism Research Articles

The Science of Implicit Race Bias: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test

Abstract Beginning in the mid-1980s, scientific psychology underwent a revolution – the implicit revolution – that led to the development of methods to capture implicit bias: attitudes, stereotypes, and identities that operate without full conscious awareness or conscious control. This essay focuses on a single notable thread of discoveries from the Race Attitude Implicit Association Test (RA-IAT) by providing 1) the historical origins of the research, 2) signature and replicated empirical results for construct validation, 3) further validation from research in sociocognitive development, neuroscience, and computer science, 4) new validation from robust association between regional levels of race bias and socially significant outcomes, and 5) evidence for both short- and long-term attitude change. As such, the essay provides the first comprehensive repository of research on implicit race bias using the RA-IAT. Together, the evidence lays bare the hollowness of current-day actions to rectify disadvantage experienced by Black Americans at individual, institutional, and societal levels.

Effects of Mortality Salience on Racism in Singapore

This article aims to examine the effects of mortality salience on explicit racism (Studies 1 and 2) and implicit racism (Study 3) in Singapore. There was no significant effect of mortality salience on both explicit racism and implicit racism (Studies 1–3). Furthermore, while social dominance orientation was associated with higher explicit racism, it did not moderate the effects of mortality salience on explicit racism (Study 2). In contrast, while social dominance orientation was not associated with implicit racism, it moderated the effects of mortality salience on implicit racism (Study 3). The results might be explained by the adoption of a superordinate Singaporean identity, the strict laws against explicit racism in Singapore, and a lack of mortality salience effects. Future research directions include examining the effects of mortality salience on racism in countries with lenient laws against racism and examining right-wing authoritarianism as a potential moderator.

Teorias em Psicologia Social: Explicações Intraindividuais na Análise do Racismo no Brasil

Abstract This article analyses four classic intra-individual theories in social psychology: Authoritarian Personality, Closed Mind Hypothesis, Social Dominance, and Aversive Racism. The article aims to answer three questions: (1) how classical and modern theories of psychology have explained racism over the years; (2) to what extent such theories have been used to understand racism/racial prejudice in Brazil; and (3) what are the possibilities and limitations of their use? The methodology consisted of describing the postulates of the theories, searching CAPES-Periódicos for their frequency and type of use, and analysing their potential to ‘fit’ or ‘not fit’ for understanding racism in Brazil. The results found suggest that they are rarely used, could be employed to analyse Brazilian racism, and can make important contributions to broadening the debate and understanding of the phenomenon, with the necessary contextual adjustments. These findings are discussed based on the social psychology of racism.

Supplemental Material for Social Priming of Speech Perception: The Role of Individual Differences in Implicit Racial and Ethnic Associations

Supplemental Material for Social Priming of Speech Perception: The Role of Individual Differences in Implicit Racial and Ethnic Associations

Transdisciplinarity, tempocoupling, and the role of culture in zoonosis research

Abstract Non-technical summary The general public became familiar with the term and definition of zoonosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the pandemic, several responses to mitigate zoonotic risk has been put forward. Often cited are stricter biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection but there are also suggestions to educate people who traditionally consume wildlife for food. This implicit condemnation of culture also manifested explicitly in the form of racism especially against Asians during the height of the pandemic. If the world is to avoid a pandemic, it also needs to work against Orientalism and ensure research is inclusive, equitable, and just. Technical summary The COVID-19 pandemic widely introduced the term and definition of zoonosis to the general public. More than just a knee-jerk reaction, stricter biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection are now seen as essential strategies in mitigating zoonotic risks while some researchers have called for education campaigns that should discredit ingrained cultural practices such as wildlife consumption. This implicit condemnation of culture may have been initially confined to research papers but it eventually manifested as explicit racism in everyday life during the height of the pandemic, highlighting the need to decolonize Western scientific views on pandemic prevention and to refrain from Orientalism. This Intelligence Briefing makes the case for the inclusion of history and culture as necessary elements in zoonosis research alongside a critical reflection of transdisciplinary approaches. Emphasizing epistemic humility and authentic interest to learn from other actors such as Indigenous communities on the frontlines of human-wildlife interfaces, this Intelligence Briefing recommends the Future Earth Health Knowledge-Action Network to stay the course toward promoting approaches that are ‘transdisciplinary, multi-scalar, inclusive, equitable, and broadly communicated’ in zoonosis research. Social media summary History and culture are necessary elements of zoonosis research alongside transdisciplinary approaches.

Advancing Strategies to Address Racism and White Dominant Culture in U.S. Anti-Gender-Based Violence Non-Profit Organizations

In this article, we detail a participatory action research project conducted by and for advocates of color working in anti-violence organizations in a state in the eastern part of the United States. When mainstream, white-led, anti-gender-based violence (anti-GBV) organizations were founded in the 1970s, they lacked intersectional and critical perspectives, a legacy that persists today. The toxic culture within white dominant culture (WDC)-oriented non-profits results in high burnout and turnover for employees of color and affects employees’ ability to serve the community. Without addressing WDC in these organizations, we harm ourselves and our ability to make the social change our organizations were created to affect. Our project aims to challenge these practices by engaging with advocates of color in listening sessions to discuss their experiences of racism, workplace challenges, and visions for creating truly feminist, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist organizations. Employing participatory action research, critical race feminist theory and an intersectional framework, we ensure that the people directly affected by implicit and explicit racism in the anti-GBV sector are the people who develop the solutions that will disrupt the manifestations of WDC in anti-GBV organizations and other social-change-oriented organizations within the non-profit sector.

Implicit Racial Bias in Evaluation of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome.

To assess implicit bias by administrating the Modified Finnegan Score (MFS) for quantifying neonatal opioid withdrawal and to evaluate risk of decreased opioid treatment of Black versus White infants. Study participants were nurses recruited from a large tertiary care center who received three clinical vignettes portraying withdrawing infants and were randomized to receive an accompanying photo of either a Black or White infant. MFS results were compared for identical vignettes based on race of infant photo. Out of 275 nurses, 70 completed the survey. In vignette 2, nurses aged ≤35 years scored Black infants lower than White infants (MFS=8.3 ± 2 vs. 9.5 ± 1.2, p=0.012). Nurses with <5 years of experience and ≤10 years of experience also scored Black infants lower for the same vignette (8.2 ± 2.3 vs. 9.6 ± 1.2, p=0.032 and 8.3 ± 2 vs. 9.5 ± 1.2, p=0.0083). Implicit bias may contribute to the difference in opioid treatment.

Supplemental Material for Intergroup Time Bias and Aversive Racism in the Medical Context

Supplemental Material for Intergroup Time Bias and Aversive Racism in the Medical Context

Does Implicit Racial Bias Affect Auditory-Perceptual Evaluations of Dysphonic Voices?

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to understand the role of implicit racial bias in auditory-perceptual evaluations of dysphonic voices by determining if a biasing effect exists for novice listeners in their auditory-perceptual ratings of Black and White speakers. MethodThirty speech-language pathology graduate students at Boston University listened to audio files of 20 Black speakers and 20 White speakers of General American English with voice disorders. Listeners rated the overall severity of dysphonia of each voice heard using a 100-unit visual analog scale and completed the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure their implicit racial bias. ResultsBoth Black and White speakers were rated as less severely dysphonic when their race was labeled as Black. No significant relationship was found between Harvard IAT scores and differences in severity ratings by race-labeling condition. ConclusionsThese findings suggest a minimizing bias in the evaluation of dysphonia for Black patients with voice disorders. These results contribute to the understanding of how a patient’s race may impact their visit with a clinician. Further research is needed to determine the most effective interventions for implicit bias retraining and the additional ways that implicit racial bias impacts comprehensive voice evaluations.

Cognitive and Apathetic Racism in Patterns of Gun Ownership and Gun Control Attitudes

Our objective is to expand upon the emerging literature that examines the role of multiple forms of racism in gun ownership and gun control attitudes among non‐Latino whites. While some of these studies, using standard measures of racial resentment, speculate about the color‐coded nature of crime and whether this partially motivates gun ownership, here we specifically consider whether cognitive and apathetic types of racism along with explicit racism are associated with gun ownership and attitudes. In doing so, we advance the literature by using novel measures of racism and focus on generalized racial attitudes, not just anti‐black views. We use data from the Guns in American Life Survey, an online survey using a national sample of adult respondents, and apply regression techniques to assess whether general racial attitudes, including fear of non‐whites, are associated with gun ownership and gun control attitudes net of control variables. The multivariate results suggest that racism, including fear of other races, is not associated with gun ownership. However, cognitive and apathetic indicators of racism influence gun control attitudes for at least some whites. The implications are that racism in various forms needs to be considered in all studies involving gun‐related issues.

The Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality and Impact of Structural Racism and Implicit Racial Bias on Pregnant Black Women: A Review of the Literature.

The maternal mortality rate (MMR) in the United States (USA) continues to increase despite medical advances and is exacerbated by stark racial disparities. Black women are disproportionately affected and are three times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death (PRD) compared to Non-Hispanic White (NHW) women. A literature review was conducted to examine the racial disparities in the United States' MMR, specifically among pregnant Black women. PubMed and key organizations (World Health Organization, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, Association of American Medical Colleges, U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Congress) were searched for publications after 2014. Forty-two articles were reviewed to identify the role of structural racism, implicit biases, lack of cultural competence, and disparity education on pregnant Black women. This review highlights that maternal health disparities for Black women are further impacted by both structural racism and racial implicit biases. Cultural competence and educational courses targeting racial disparities among maternal healthcare providers (MHCP) are essential for the reduction of PRDs and pregnancy-related complications (PRC) among this target population. Additionally, quality and proper continuity of care require an increased awareness surrounding the risk of cardiovascular diseases for pregnant Black women. The surging MMR for Black women is a public health crisis that requires a multi-tiered approach. Interventions should be implemented at the provider and healthcare institution level to dismantle implicit biases and structural racism. Improving patient-provider relationships through increased cultural competency and disparity education will increase patient engagement with the maternal healthcare (MHC) system.

Abstract 16165: Implicit Bias and Unintentional Harm in Vascular Care: The Case for Intervention

Introduction. Unconscious, or implicit, bias may influence physician treatment decisions and contribute to healthcare disparities. Research Questions. Is implicit bias associated with inappropriate care for claudication and 1-year major amputation? Methods: All vascular interventionists of the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) were invited to take the race Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT asks participants to classify sequential images of African American (Black) and European American (White) faces to positive and negative attributes and groups them by racial preference based on reaction time. IAT results were weighted and linked to VQI peripheral revascularization data to test the association between implicit bias with patient race and performance of below-knee procedures for claudication, a measure of inappropriate care. We assessed the association of below-knee procedures and patient race with odds of 1-yr amputation, using physician implicit bias as a moderator. Results: Among the 218 physicians that completed the IAT, physicians with White preference (70%) were more likely to perform a below-knee procedure on Black patients ( Fig A ) and their Black patients had increased odds of 1-yr amputation compared to White patients (OR: 3.0, 95%CI: 1.7-5.4). Physicians with no preference (20%) had no variability in below-knee procedures by patient race and fewer 1-yr amputations. A below knee procedure for claudication (ref: above-knee) was associated with increased odds of 1-year amputation, but the effect was greater among physicians with White bias (OR: 8.2;4.7-14.5) compared to no bias (OR: 3.6;1.4-9.7) ( Fig B ). Conclusions: Implicit bias is associated with inappropriate treatment selection, especially for Black patients. These results suggest the need for system level interventions that transparently identify procedures that are not aligned with best practices to reduce the negative effect of implicit bias.

Why live anywhere else? A hyperlocal reflection on displacement, dislocation and ‘aversive racism’

In displacement beyond dislocation: Aversive racism in gentrification studies, Stefano Bloch and Dugan Meyers analyse how displacement in gentrification studies has been conceptualised. Following a critical examination of the literature, they argue for a more theoretically nuanced concept of how racism takes place. In doing so, they suggest that the role of racism has been under-acknowledged in studies on the processes of gentrification, making the point that geographers have been reluctant to talk about race. Outlining a concept of aversive racism – ‘an insidious mode of affective spatial practice’, they illustrate how place-making, and place-taking function through ambivalent racial encounters. I want to think through these important points, using my work on gentrification in Newham as a starting point.

Racial implicit bias: Perspectives of nursing students

BackgroundRacial implicit bias contributes to healthcare disparities. While research has been conducted on other health professionals, there is a lack of evidence about nursing students' experiences with racial implicit bias. PurposeThis study described the perspectives of pre-licensure nursing students regarding racial implicit bias (RIB) and its impact on patient care. MethodA qualitative descriptive methodology utilizing focus groups was used to describe the students' perspectives. ResultsData analysis revealed three main themes: RIB may not be on purpose, but wrong is wrong; Bad nurse versus good nurse; and This is not okay. ConclusionAs RIB continues to contribute to health care disparities, this study reveals the need for it to be addressed in nursing education, while students prepare to be front line health care professionals.

Racial implicit biases among obstetric care providers and associated differential care

Abstract Background The mechanisms of disparities in maternal and perinatal health between migrant and native women are multiple and remain poorly understood. One hypothesis is the existence of implicit biases among caregivers through which the women's ethno-racial belonging can influence medical decisions and engender healthcare disparities. Their existence and their role in the generation of non-medically justified differential care is being more and more documented in the United States but remains largely unexplored in Europe. Objectives The aims of the BiP research program are to test and quantify the existence of implicit biases toward African migrant women among obstetric care providers and to explore the association between implicit biases and differential care. Study design This study is a national web-based survey to which French obstetricians, midwives, and anesthetists were invited to take part by eight professional societies and networks. The potential existence of implicit biases toward African versus French was quantified through Implicit Association Tests (IAT) for valence and strength. The association between implicit biases and clinical decisions was then assessed using six clinical vignettes. For each, the patient's origin, African/French, was suggested by using typical surnames. Results The survey was completed by 887 professionals. The IATs showed that caregivers in the three professional categories had strong implicit biases with a preference for French versus African women in terms of valence, while they implicitly tended to attribute more strength to African women. We did not observe any association between Patient's name (French vs. African), caregiver's biases (implicit valence or strength) and the behavioral intention captured through vignettes responses. Conclusions This study shows a high level of implicit racial biases among obstetric care providers, but these biases were not associated with differential clinical decisions. Key messages • This study shows a high level of racial implicit bias among healthcare providers. • No association between implicit bias and clinical behavioral intentions were observed.

Coming into view: Engaging gentrification and displacement beyond aversive racism

Reflecting on Bloch and Meyer's exploration of displacement-by-gentrification and their use of “aversive racism” to address a lack of serious engagement with race and racism in gentrification studies, I offer a conceptual tour of both gentrification and displacement, specifically how some scholars have defined both terms and used them to explore various dimensions of socio-spatial shifts. Then, I clarify the incompatibility of aversive racism and a Black geographic framework, since Black geographies place Black agency at the center of spatial production and emphasizes Black spatial experiences in the expression of Black spatial imaginaries and geographic visions of society.

Implicit racial bias among dental hygienists practicing in the United States.

Provider bias has been shown to be a contributing factor to racial and ethnic disparities observed in health care settings. The purpose of this study was to examine implicit racial bias among dental hygienists. A convenience sample of licensed and practicing dental hygienists within the United States was recruited through email and national dental hygiene social media groups via snowball sampling. A two-part survey design was used for data collection. Participants completed a 10-item demographic survey through an online platform and were then routed to the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT). Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were used to compare demographic data and implicit racial preference scores (d-scores). Data from 404 licensed dental hygienists were included in this study. Over two-thirds (67.8%) of participants showed a preference for European Americans over African Americans. A significant difference was found between implicit racial preference scores and participant age (Estimate: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.01), years worked comparing <5 years to 21 or more years (Estimate: 0.19, 95% CI: -0.30, -0.09) and race comparing non-White to White (Estimate: -0.17, 95% CI: -0.27, -0.07). No difference was found with task order, previous Race IAT experience, or previous self-reported implicit bias training. Findings suggest that dental hygienists may harbor implicit racial preferences for European Americans over African Americans. Non-White participants had more positive implicit preferences toward African Americans compared to White participants. Further research is needed to determine the extent to which implicit racial biases contribute to disparities in oral health.

Aversive racism, gentrification, and graffiti studies

Bloch and Meyer's article argues that critical gentrification studies need to stop being beholden to mapping and counting of dislocated bodies, focusing mostly on “measuring the invisible,” and instead should understand displacement as an ongoing phenomenon, one that not only removes bodies from an environment, but is materially felt within spaces through technologies of racial discrimination, exclusion, and delinquency. This commentary relates the authors' ideas to graffiti studies and specifically argues how this subfield is part of gentrification studies. At its best, graffiti studies explore how graffiti and street art flow through the veins of the body of a city where racial capitalism is its beating heart. To understand displacement's affect, one can start by reading the walls of a city. The commentary also makes brief comments about gentrification in the FX series The Bear and the current shocking state of public education in Florida.

Oppressed Groups Engender Implicit Positivity: Seven Demonstrations Using Novel and Familiar Targets.

Across seven preregistered studies in online adult volunteer samples (N = 5,323), we measured implicit evaluations of social groups following exposure to historical narratives about their oppression. Although the valence of such information is highly negative and its interpretation was left up to participants, implicit evaluations of oppressed groups shifted toward positivity, including in designs involving fictitious, well-known, and even self-relevant targets. The sole deviation from this pattern was observed in an experiment using a vignette about slavery in the United States, in response to which neither White nor Black Americans exhibited any change in implicit race attitudes. In line with propositional perspectives, these findings suggest that implicit evaluations (including, notably, implicit evaluations of well-known and self-relevant social groups) tend to change toward positivity in response to extremely negative information involving past oppression. However, macro-level phenomena, such as public awareness of histories of oppression, can modulate such updating processes.

On the influence of implicit race attitudes on explicit trustworthiness judgments: An investigation of the perceivers and targets' race and gender intersection

ABSTRACT People judge strangers’ trustworthiness based on their facial appearance, but these judgments are biased. Biases towards Black individuals may stem from implicit pro-White attitudes. However, previous studies have not explored if these effects extend to different members within the same social group, like women instead of men, nor considered the role of the perceiver’s multiple social group memberships. Therefore, we investigated how the perceiver’s and target’s gender influence implicit and explicit biases in trustworthiness judgments of Black and White individuals. Our study included 309 participants, split between Black and White men and women, who completed trustworthiness judgment tasks and the Implicit Association Test (IAT). We found that implicit pro-White attitudes predicted trustworthiness disparities only for White individuals. Interestingly, implicit pro-White attitudes also correlated with explicit pro-men attitudes, but only among male participants. This study underscores the importance of considering multiple social group memberships when studying prejudice in trustworthiness judgments.