Acquiring group bias: Observing other people’s nonverbal signals can create social group biases

This research summary can be incorporated into a lecture or shared with students as a reading to demonstrate how psychological science explores the diversity of human experience. This resource can also be used to encourage students to identify the major components of a research study (i.e., the hypothesis or study question, sample, method, and findings). Students can be asked to identify potential limitations of the study and encouraged to discuss the implications for our understanding of human behavior. Keywords highlight how concepts within and across pillars are incorporated into a single research study.

Allison Skinner and colleagues at the University of Georgia hypothesized that nonverbal signals towards a single member of a group could produce biases that generalize to other members of that same group. In this study, preschool children watched a video showing an adult engage in either positive nonverbal signals—appearing warm and friendly—toward an adult from one fictitious place (“Redvale”) or negative nonverbal signals—scowling and leaning away from an adult from another fictitious place (“Blackpine”). Both adults were the same race, but each wore a distinct color of shirt. And the children saw a picture of each adult surrounded by 15 other people who were wearing the same color shirt, to indicate that the distinct shirt colors represented different groups. The children were asked questions designed to measure whether they had formed biases. First, they were asked which group of people they liked best. Then they were told that an adult would come play with them, and they were asked to choose which group their partner should come from. Their findings showed that children favored the group that received positive nonverbal responses by the adult. These findings illustrate how quickly and easily biases are learned – based entirely on nonverbal signals (and probably at an unconscious level). Although adults may deliberately avoid making biased or discriminatory comments in front of others, subtle nonverbal signals, such as giving a disapproving look or clutching one’s purse, may be harder for people to control. And even young children seem to pick up on these nonverbal messages.

Skinner, A. L., Olson, K. R., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2020). Acquiring group bias: Observing other people’s nonverbal signals can create social group biases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(4), 824–838. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000218opens in new window

Race, Social, Bias, Development

The development of resources to broaden diversity and representation in the teaching of high school psychology resources is an APA Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools initiative supported by funding from the American Psychological Foundation David and Carol Myers Fund. This resource was developed by Eric Castro, Shawn C.T. Jones, PhD, Allyn Olsen, and Catherine Sanderson, PhD.