French

Annotated Bibliography

Are You Racist?

Nailah French

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

19 October 2017

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Annotated Bibliography

Baker, Katherine, et al. Racial Bias in Neural Empathic Responses to Pain. Plos One.

12 August 2013.

This academic article discussed the differences of empathic neural activity

when viewing people of different races. When seeing someone of another

race receiving a painful touch, viewers were less empathic than when seeing

someone their race receiving a painful touch. This racial bias in empathic

responses may stem from standard in-group/out-group bias. A researcher

has shown this relationship between neural and behavioral responses. Race

cannot be ignored, according to the article. It is automatic when attempting

to process a face. This may be due to the varying features of various races

such as color, shape and size. Ultimately, people may be more empathic for

those that are their same race due to other factors as well. We, as humans,

are naturally more attuned to the emotions of people who are like us. We

are also generally more familiar with people of our own race. This may

facilitate the recognition of facial expressions. Nevertheless, the results may

differ based on ones comfort level with various races. Overall, this racial

bias that may be demonstrated by neural responses do not always reflect

how one will behave. This supports the notion that unconscious racial bias

exists. However, they may not necessarily be acted upon.

This is a peer reviewed, academic article. It is published in an academic

journal. The information is reputable. All of the information shared was of

academic research (which was cited) or the authors research. Nevertheless,

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there are a few concerns. First and foremost, they neglect to discuss crucial

contradictory points. The authors imply that the acknowledgement of race is

biological. Nevertheless, race is a social construct. Therefore, the

acknowledgement of race cannot be innate. There are numerous places in the

world where race does not exist. It is a manmade part of society.

Additionally, the authors acknowledge familiarity as a factor for participants

to be less aware of emotions of other racial groups. Yet, emotions have been

researched to be universal. The basic emotions are the same across various

cultures. Therefore, the demonstration of emotion (i.e. facial expressions)

should be the same between various races. Despite the article being

extremely credible, the authors have overlooked possible counterarguments.

This is surprising because the article is geared towards people in the field of

psychology. Readers are sure to be other psychologists who may also

challenge a few of the points that were made. Additionally, this article

contained a lot of information and reiteration of neuropsychology terms. It

discussed numerous neural pathways. This does not fit the aim of my inquiry

project. Because of this, and other concerns, I am not sure if I will use this

resource for my project. More than likely, it will be briefly mentioned and

used in addition to an academic article with more relevant findings.

Connor, Jane. Studying Racial Bias: Too Hot to Handle? National Center for Case

Study Teaching in Science, 28 Jan. 2000,

http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/files/racial_bias.pdf
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A reliable source for case studies and experimental research, this online

resource consists of numerous case study articles. The case study relevant to

racial bias discusses a research proposal by psychology students in New

Jersey. They watched a video that showed two young men -who were similar

in dress, appearance, grooming, speech, etc. - looking for a job. They both just

moved to town. Nevertheless, John was white and Glen was black. Video

cameras recorded major discrepancies in their treatment. Glen was

questioned with suspicion whereas John was given several employment

leads. When searching for housing, Glen was told there were no vacancies.

Nevertheless, John was given a key and invited to explore an apartment. At a

car dealership, Glen was quoted a higher price and less favorable financing

than John. After the video was watched, the students discussed their

reactions. The African American and Latino students were not surprised by

what they were shown. Asian American students agreed yet were less vocal.

Nevertheless, most of the white students reacted differently. Although they

acknowledged the discrepancies between the treatment of John and Glen,

they still believed racism was an issue of the past. They simplified the issue

to not visiting enough agencies. They also blamed the region. Although this

issue may occur in America, they did not believe it was an issue within their

community.

The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science is a reliable academic

source. In comparison to my other resources, it is of average quality.

Nevertheless, publication date may be a subject of concern. This article was

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published in 2000. Therefore, the student responses occurred in the late 90s.

The way that college students in present time would respond to this study

may be different. Likewise, the experience of Glen and John may differ in

2017. Ideally, this video and these questions should be replicated for present

knowledge. The intended audience is students in a science major (more than

likely, psychology). Because of this, a majority of the article dissects case

study methodology and research ethics. This information is irrelevant to my

inquiry research. The remaining information found in this article was useful

and directly related to my inquiry. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the

responses of students occurred in 1998. This may affect the present validity

of their opinions, as well as the degree of racial bias presented in the video.

The information will appear in my project. Unfortunately, due to the time

period, it cannot be used to build a majority of my argument.

Howard, Jacqueline. New Study Confirms Depressing Truth About Names And

Racial Bias. Huffington Post, 8 Oct. 2015,

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-sounding-names-

study_us_561697a5e4b0dbb8000d687f

Popular sources often discuss complex topics as well. This is apparent with

content on the Huffington Post. The Huffington Post addresses the

stereotypes that are often associated with names, as well as the prejudice

that occurs with particular categories of names. This occurrence happens

from grade school to adulthood, affecting ones education and their

experience in the work force. Students with black-sounding names are

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more likely to be labeled as troublemakers by teachers. Likewise, job

applicants with such names are less likely than white-sounding counterparts

for job interview callbacks. This is in spite of these applicants having

essentially identical resumes. Residents with black-sounding names are

also less likely to receive a response when contacting government officials

about schools or public libraries. Names also affect how one is presumed to

be physically. In a study of mostly white participants, men with black-

sounding names were imagined to be physically large. They were also

assumed to be dangerous and violent. This was not the assumption of those

with white-sounding names. These expectations mirror the societal fear of

black and latino men. Nevertheless, this irrationality often tends to cause

black and latino men to be victims of violence. Racial bias also causes an

expectation in regards to ones socioeconomic status. The larger in size a

black character was imagined to be, the lower his financial success and social

status were assumed. These characters were also deemed as more violent.

Although white characters could also be imagined as violent, it did not affect

their imagined prestige. The Huffington Post discusses the numerous ways

that racial bias can affect expectations, even when only given minimal

information.

The Huffington Post is a popular source. Nevertheless, the information in this

article seems to be backed by reputable sources. The author referenced a

psychology experiment that aligns with other peer-reviewed articles.

Nevertheless, the Huffington Post is geared at the general population. This

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gives the author the responsibility to use dialect that is easily understood.

Although she is discussing psychological research, she does not use

psychology jargon that may make the article difficult to understand by her

audience. Despite her language choices, the information is comparable to that

of my other sources. This strengthens the quality of this source. It is research

based- therefore the information is supported- yet it is written in a way that

the general public can understand.

Although popular sources may be assumed as inferior to academic journals,

this article was extremely helpful for forming my argument. It supports the

premise that racial bias is currently prominent enough to affect unconscious,

immediate, decisions. This includes stereotypical assumptions. Discussing

the reaction that people have to names supports the claim that many are

unconsciously prejudice. The information found from this source will be used

and expanded upon in my inquiry project.

Subconscious racial bias in children. YouTube, uploaded by CNN, 6 Apr, 2012,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFbvBJULVnc

The video uploaded by CNN shows an interview to research the prominence

of racial bias amongst children. The interviewer shows children various

situational images and asks them a series of questions. These images depict

situations between two races. One image is a white teenager checking her

pockets. Behind her, a black teenager is picking money off of the ground. The

interviewer asks the participant a teenage white female-`` to describe the

scenario. The participant states that the girl picking up the money is stealing
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it. When asked if the two girls could possibly be friends, the participant

responds no. Not if her parents know about the situation of her stealing the

money. They may be concerned that Erica (the black teenager in the image)

is a thief. Another image is shown. This time, the scenario is depicted in

reverse. The white teenager is picking up the money and the black teenager

is checking her pockets. When the interviewer asks the participant to

describe the scenario, the participant responds, I think she is going to return

the money. She looks like a sweet girl. When asked if the participant

believed that the two teens in the image would be friends, she stated that

they would be. The participants answers were contradictory to her

responses from the previous image. Nevertheless, the only difference

between the images was the role of the teens. One image, the black teen was

picking up the money. The other image, the white teen was picking up the

money. Researchers believe that this demonstrated unconscious racial bias

in children. This trend was true for 24% of children in this study, despite

their race. They tended to see their own race in a more positive way than the

other. This occurred across all ages, all school types, and all racial

backgrounds.

CNN is a popular outlet. Its a news source; therefore, their intended audience

is the general public. The information presented demonstrated a part of

experimental research. By showing the pictures, as well as the interview

process, they strengthened their reliability as a source. In following, they

discussed research that supports their findings. Because this is a news

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outlet, the segment was short. They did not delve into why these unconscious

biases exist. Additionally, they closed the segment by applauding society for

our racial biases becoming unconscious versus explicit. They state that this

demonstrates how far we need to go, as well as reflects the progress that has

been made. The choice to end on a note of positivity is necessary for a news

outlet. Especially when discussing a difficult and controversial topic.

The information presented matched that of my other sources. Although this

was not a scholarly journal, it provided information that other resources

could not provide: video of people demonstrating unconscious bias. It also

showed that this pattern is apparent within other races as well. When talking

about racial bias, research tends to focus on the majority. Nevertheless,

minorities think more positively of their own race as well. This segment on

CNN challenges the notion that only the majority can hold unconscious

prejudice. Therefore, this information is beneficial for my inquiry.