By: cmr3991

cmr3991 — Thu, 08 May 2014 18:52:13 +0000

It’s hard to think what I would have done if I was there since now that I think about it, the thought isn’t implicit. I have to imagine that I would have been more suspicious of the black prankster rather than the white prankster because of implicit associations that we make with black people and crime. I think that this is a great example of aversive racism as well. The officer most likely knew full well that he was suspicious because the person was black and in his mind that meant that he was more likely to be a criminal. Also, their was a similar experiment done with a white teenager, a black teenager, and a white female where each person took a turn acting like they were trying to cut off a lock to a bike in a park. People just walked by the white person, but several people questioned the black person and even called the police. When the female went I think just about everyone stopped asked if she needed help.

By: Annie

Annie — Thu, 01 May 2014 06:42:52 +0000

I definitely don’t think the situation was ambiguous. I think that the officer and all of the onlookers were able to find justifications for the white prankster (he locked himself out his car, he lost his keys), but the black prankster evoked deviant, criminal associations, so the assumption of his criminality was made almost immediately based off of that unconscious evaluation. I think it’s a great idea for a social experiment, though, if you are (as a black person) willing to deal with a lot of crap in order to make a really pertinent point.

Comments on: A Social Experiment on Crime and Color

By: cmr3991

By: Annie