Title |
Putting yourself in the skin of a black avatar reduces implicit racial bias
|
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Published in |
Consciousness & Cognition, May 2013
|
DOI | 10.1016/j.concog.2013.04.016 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Tabitha C. Peck, Sofia Seinfeld, Salvatore M. Aglioti, Mel Slater |
Abstract |
Although it has been shown that immersive virtual reality (IVR) can be used to induce illusions of ownership over a virtual body (VB), information on whether this changes implicit interpersonal attitudes is meager. Here we demonstrate that embodiment of light-skinned participants in a dark-skinned VB significantly reduced implicit racial bias against dark-skinned people, in contrast to embodiment in light-skinned, purple-skinned or with no VB. 60 females participated in this between-groups experiment, with a VB substituting their own, with full-body visuomotor synchrony, reflected also in a virtual mirror. A racial Implicit Association Test (IAT) was administered at least three days prior to the experiment, and immediately after the IVR exposure. The change from pre- to post-experience IAT scores suggests that the dark-skinned embodied condition decreased implicit racial bias more than the other conditions. Thus, embodiment may change negative interpersonal attitudes and thus represent a powerful tool for exploring such fundamental psychological and societal phenomena. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United Kingdom | 8 | 22% |
United States | 8 | 22% |
Japan | 3 | 8% |
Australia | 2 | 5% |
Spain | 1 | 3% |
Finland | 1 | 3% |
Germany | 1 | 3% |
Argentina | 1 | 3% |
Sweden | 1 | 3% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 11 | 30% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 27 | 73% |
Scientists | 8 | 22% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 3% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 4 | <1% |
Spain | 3 | <1% |
France | 2 | <1% |
Germany | 2 | <1% |
United States | 2 | <1% |
Japan | 2 | <1% |
Argentina | 1 | <1% |
Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
Italy | 1 | <1% |
Other | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 769 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 151 | 19% |
Student > Master | 117 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 106 | 13% |
Researcher | 94 | 12% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 53 | 7% |
Other | 120 | 15% |
Unknown | 147 | 19% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 253 | 32% |
Computer Science | 104 | 13% |
Social Sciences | 60 | 8% |
Neuroscience | 50 | 6% |
Engineering | 27 | 3% |
Other | 118 | 15% |
Unknown | 176 | 22% |