Contextual variation in automatic evaluative bias to racially-ambiguous faces

Three studies examined the implicit evaluative associations activated by racially-ambiguous Black–White faces. In the context of both Black and White faces, Study 1 revealed a graded pattern of bias against racially-ambiguous faces that was weaker than the bias to Black faces but stronger than that to White faces. Study 2 showed that significant bias was present when racially-ambiguous faces appeared in the context of only White faces, but not in the context of only Black faces. Study 3 demonstrated that context produces perceptual contrast effects on racial-prototypicality judgments. Racially-ambiguous faces were perceived as more prototypically Black in a White-only than mixed-race context, and less prototypically Black in a Black-only context. Conversely, they were seen as more prototypically White in a Black-only than mixed context, and less prototypically White in a White-only context. The studies suggest that both race-related featural properties within a face (i.e., racial ambiguity) and external contextual factors affect automatic evaluative associations.

Research Highlights► Bi-racial Black-White faces elicit negative implicit evaluations. ► Implicit evaluations of bi-racial Black-White faces are affected by context. ► Racial judgments of bi-racial Black-White faces are affected by context.