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Deist M, Fourie MM. (Not) part of the team: Racial empathy bias in a South African minimal group study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0283902. [PMID: 37023090 PMCID: PMC10079011 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Minimal Group Paradigm (MGP) research suggests that recategorization with an arbitrarily defined group may be sufficient to override empathy biases among salient social categories like race. However, most studies utilizing MGPs do not consider sufficiently the socio-historical contexts of social groups. Here we investigated whether the recategorization of White participants into arbitrarily defined mixed-race teams using a non-competitive MGP would ameliorate racial empathy biases towards ingroup team members in the South African context. Sixty participants rated their empathic and counter-empathic (Schadenfreude, Glückschmerz) responses to ingroup and outgroup team members in physically painful, emotionally distressing, and positive situations. As anticipated, results indicated significant ingroup team biases in empathic and counter-empathic responses. However, mixed-race minimal teams were unable to override ingroup racial empathy biases, which persisted across events. Interestingly, a manipulation highlighting purported political ideological differences between White and Black African team members did not exacerbate racial empathy bias, suggesting that such perceptions were already salient. Across conditions, an internal motivation to respond without prejudice was most strongly associated with empathy for Black African target individuals, regardless of their team status. Together, these results suggest that racial identity continues to provide a salient motivational guide in addition to more arbitrary group memberships, even at an explicit level, for empathic responding in contexts characterized by historical power asymmetry. These data further problematize the continued official use of race-based categories in such contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Deist
- Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Melike M Fourie
- Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Pietraszewski D. The correct way to test the hypothesis that racial categorization is a byproduct of an evolved alliance-tracking capacity. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3404. [PMID: 33564063 PMCID: PMC7873069 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82975-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The project of identifying the cognitive mechanisms or information-processing functions that cause people to categorize others by their race is one of the longest-standing and socially-impactful scientific issues in all of the behavioral sciences. This paper addresses a critical issue with one of the few hypotheses in this area that has thus far been successful-the alliance hypothesis of race-which had predicted a set of experimental circumstances that appeared to selectively target and modify people's implicit categorization of others by their race. Here, we will show why the evidence put forward in favor of this hypothesis was not in fact evidence in support of the hypothesis, contrary to common understanding. We will then provide the necessary and crucial tests of the hypothesis in the context of conflictual alliances, determining if the predictions of the alliance hypothesis of racial categorization in fact hold up to experimental scrutiny. When adequately tested, we find that indeed categorization by race is selectively reduced when crossed with membership in antagonistic alliances-the very pattern predicted by the alliance hypothesis. This finding provides direct experimental evidence that the human mind treats race as proxy for alliance membership, implying that racial categorization does not reflect attention to physical features per se, but rather to social relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Pietraszewski
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
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Woodley of Menie MA, Heeney MD, Peñaherrera-Aguirre M, Sarraf MA, Banner R, Rindermann H. A Meta-Analysis of the "Erasing Race" Effect in the United States and Some Theoretical Considerations. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1635. [PMID: 32982814 PMCID: PMC7479131 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The "erasing race" effect is the reduction of the salience of "race" as an alliance cue when recalling coalition membership, once more accurate information about coalition structure is presented. We conducted a random-effects model meta-analysis of this effect using five United States studies (containing nine independent effect sizes). The effect was found (ρ = 0.137, K = 9, 95% CI = 0.085 to 0.188). However, no decline effect or moderation effects were found (a "decline effect" in this context would be a decrease in the effect size over time). Furthermore, we found little evidence of publication bias. Synthetically correcting the effect size for bias stemming from the use of an older method for calculating error base rates reduced the magnitude of the effect, but the it remained significant. Taken together, these findings indicate that the "erasing race" effect generalizes quite well across experimental contexts and would, therefore, appear to be quite robust. We reinterpret the theoretical basis for these effects in line with Brunswikian evolutionary-developmental theory and present a series of predictions to guide future research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Randy Banner
- Independent Researcher, Charlotte, NC, United States
| | - Heiner Rindermann
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany
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Obels P, Lakens D, Coles NA, Gottfried J, Green SA. Analysis of Open Data and Computational Reproducibility in Registered Reports in Psychology. ADVANCES IN METHODS AND PRACTICES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/2515245920918872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Ongoing technological developments have made it easier than ever before for scientists to share their data, materials, and analysis code. Sharing data and analysis code makes it easier for other researchers to reuse or check published research. However, these benefits will emerge only if researchers can reproduce the analyses reported in published articles and if data are annotated well enough so that it is clear what all variable and value labels mean. Because most researchers are not trained in computational reproducibility, it is important to evaluate current practices to identify those that can be improved. We examined data and code sharing for Registered Reports published in the psychological literature from 2014 to 2018 and attempted to independently computationally reproduce the main results in each article. Of the 62 articles that met our inclusion criteria, 41 had data available, and 37 had analysis scripts available. Both data and code for 36 of the articles were shared. We could run the scripts for 31 analyses, and we reproduced the main results for 21 articles. Although the percentage of articles for which both data and code were shared (36 out of 62, or 58%) and the percentage of articles for which main results could be computationally reproduced (21 out of 36, or 58%) were relatively high compared with the percentages found in other studies, there is clear room for improvement. We provide practical recommendations based on our observations and cite examples of good research practices in the studies whose main results we reproduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pepijn Obels
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology
| | - Daniël Lakens
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology
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Yan Z, Schmidt SNL, Saur S, Kirsch P, Mier D. The effect of ethnicity and team membership on face processing: a cultural neuroscience perspective. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2019; 14:1017-1025. [PMID: 31680173 PMCID: PMC6917021 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In-ethnicity bias, as one of the in-group biases, is widespread in different cultures, interfering with cross-ethnicity communication. Recent studies have revealed that an in-ethnicity bias can be reduced by an in-team bias caused by the membership in a mixed-ethnicity team. However, the neural correlates of different in-group biases are still not clear, especially regarding possible cultural differences. A total of 44 participants (20 Chinese and 24 Germans) were recruited and completed a social categorization fMRI-task, categorizing faces according to their ethnicity and a learned team membership. Our behavioral results revealed both in-ethnicity and in-team bias in German participants, but not in Chinese participants. Our imaging results, however, showed both biases across all participants, as reflected in increased dorsal medial frontal cortex (MFC) activation for in-ethnicity, as well as in-team categorizations, while activation in ventral MFC was higher for in-ethnicity faces in Chinese participants than in the German participants. Our results highlight the importance of the dorsal MFC for in-group categorization across cultures and suggest that cultures might modulate in-group biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Yan
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Stephanie N L Schmidt
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Sebastian Saur
- Faculty of Applied Psychology, SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Kirsch
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Daniela Mier
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Fessler DMT, Holbrook C, Dashoff D. Dressed to kill? Visible markers of coalitional affiliation enhance conceptualized formidability. Aggress Behav 2016; 42:299-309. [PMID: 26847927 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Revised: 08/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Displaying markers of coalitional affiliation is a common feature of contemporary life. In situations in which interaction with members of rival coalitions is likely, signaling coalitional affiliation may simultaneously constitute an implicit challenge to opponents and an objective commitment device, binding signalers to their coalitions. Individuals who invite conflict, and who cannot readily back out of conflict, constitute a greater threat than those who avoid conflict and preserve the option of feigning neutrality. As a consequence, the former should be viewed as more formidable than the latter. Recent research indicates that relative formidability is summarized using the envisioned physical size and strength of a potential antagonist. Thus, individuals who display markers of coalitional affiliation should be conceptualized as more physically imposing than those who do not. We tested this prediction in two experiments. In Study 1, conducted with U.S. university students, participants inspected images of sports fans' faces. In Study 2, conducted with U.S. Mechanical Turk workers, participants read vignettes depicting political partisans. In both studies, participants estimated the physical formidability of the target individuals and reported their own ability to defend themselves; in Study 2, participants estimated the target's aggressiveness. Consonant with predictions, targets depicted as signaling coalitional affiliation in situations of potential conflict were envisioned to be more physically formidable and more aggressive than were those not depicted as signaling thusly. Underscoring that the calculations at issue concern the possibility of violent conflict, participants' estimates of the protagonist's features were inversely correlated with their ability to defend themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M. T. Fessler
- Department of Anthropology, and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture; University of California; Los Angeles California
| | - Colin Holbrook
- Department of Anthropology, and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture; University of California; Los Angeles California
| | - David Dashoff
- Department of Anthropology, and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture; University of California; Los Angeles California
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