The Effect of Empathy on Implicit Bias

The current study, investigates the influence of media on implicit biases through the mediating factor of empathy. The hypothesis was that participants that read passages that invoked empathy for either Blacks or police would experience a change in their implicit bias towards both groups (Blacks and police). Bard undergraduates read one of three passages (Black empathy, police empathy or control). The passages were created to manipulate empathy in the participants for Blacks, police or for neither group. Then they completed three Implicit Association Tests that measured their implicit biases towards flowers compared to insects, Black people compared to White people and police compared to other professions. Analyses showed that there was a main effect of Black empathy condition on the Race IAT; participants that read both of the empathy passages had more implicit preference for Whites over Blacks than participants in the control condition. There was no main effect of condition (passage) on empathy. Limitations and future directions are discussed. THE EFFECT OF EMPATHY 2 Michael Brown, a black man, was shot by a police officer, Darren Wilson, on August 9, 2014.This tragedy left a trail of unanswered questions in its wake, along with sorrow and the want for justice. Communities across the country took a stance against police prejudice targeting minorities and the unjust killings of Blacks (Mathis, 2015). People started using social media as a platform to raise awareness regarding the biases that Blacks are subject to at the hands of the police (Arnold, 2015). Various videotaped encounters between Blacks such as Michael Brown, Eric Gardner, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice and the police went viral. Police shootings have been a growing phenomenon in the United States for the last year and a half, and are based within the larger context of police bias. Statistics show that 1,134 people have died at the hands of the police in 2015 (Swaine et al, 2015). Blacks made up 15% of those deaths, and were twice as likely to be killed by the police than Whites, even after other factors were controlled for such as age, mental illness and neighborhood crime rates (Lowery, 2016). These statistics have sparked a nationwide conversation over a controversial topic: Police brutality targeting Black individuals. The country appears to be divided into two sides; one side which claims that there is police brutality and discrimination (particularly towards people of color). The other side claims that the tragedies (such as the shooting of Michael Brown and murder of Eric Gardner) were warranted because the individuals were committing criminal acts and the Police have the right to protect themselves in self-defense. For instance, on the website debate.org the question “Is police brutality a problem? ” was raised. The responses were divided, as 60% of the respondents said yes and 40% said no. These different tragedies have also started movements, such as Black Lives Matter, among the younger generations. The key motivation of such movements is the hope for equality and safety for all. THE EFFECT OF EMPATHY 3 This topic is interesting from a psychological perspective because of the division in the American society over police brutality (and the possible causes of this divide). In prior psychological research, it has been found that most individuals have implicit biases (SmithMcLallen, Johnson, Dovidio, & Pearson, 2006). An implicit bias is described as the bias in judgement and thinking that someone experiences below conscious level (Dovidio, Gaertner, Kawakami, & Hudson, 2002). There are different categories in which one can manifest implicit bias. These include race, religion, gender, class, and disability. For the purposes of this study I will be focusing on racial implicit bias. Americans have a general implicit preference for Whites over Blacks (Nosek, Smyth, Hansen, Devos, Lindner, Ranganath & Banaji, 2007). Nosek, Smyth, Hansen, Devos, Lindner, Ranganath & Banaji (2007) analyzed more than 2.5 million Implicit Association Test (IAT) data obtained from Harvard’s IAT website and discovered a general higher association with bad and Blacks than with bad and Whites. People also show “shooter bias” (Correll, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002). In this study, participants sat at a computer and saw images of Black or White individuals holding either toy guns or other objects. They had to click on the mouse to virtually “shoot” individuals holding guns. Overall, people were more likely to shoot Black individuals who were holding harmless objects than White individuals holding harmless objects. I predict media to be a strong exterior factor which affects one’s decision on the topic of police brutality. The media depicts stories in different ways; they choose specific details, narrations, and words to evoke specific feelings among the audience. Is the division over police brutality due to how the media portrayal of these tragedies affects people’s attitudes towards Blacks or police officers? This paper will focus upon how the media evokes feelings, specifically empathy, THE EFFECT OF EMPATHY 4 to make the public feel a certain way about a topic. My research question is “What is the effect of empathy on implicit bias? ”