There is a new study recently published on the ‘American Psychological Association’ website. This study reveals the idea that: Black men are perceived as more threatening than same-size white men.
According to John Wilson, a PhD holder at Montclair University and the author of the “Racial Bias in Judgments of Physical Size and Formidability: From Size to Threat” study: “Black men are often spoken and written of as larger than life. This stereotype shows up frequently in media and broader culture, often in the context of violent crime, but also in more positive contexts, like sports.
Other recent social science research had shown that Black people are often ‘superhumanized’. In other words, they are seen as having superhuman characteristics.”
Over 950 online participants were asked to estimate the height, weight, strength and overall muscularity of Black and white men pictured in sequence. The majority of the participants, Black ones included, found bias.
He continued by stating: “We do hope to continue to examine whether and how this bias operates in real-world interactions that are potentially lethal,” Wilson said. “This work is just a small first step toward that goal.
Source: Essence
