Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do

by Jennifer L. Eberhardt

In a study I published in 2008 with Phillip Goff and others, we showed people a video of officers surrounding and beating a suspect that our study participants could not clearly see. Some were led to believe the suspect was white, others that he was black. When we exposed the viewers subliminally to ape-relevant words before watching the film, they were more likely to view the brutal police treatment as justified, but only if they believed the suspect was black. Primed subliminally by words like “baboon,” “gorilla,” and “chimpanzee,” they were more likely to believe that the black suspect’s behavior made that kind of police violence necessary, that he deserved the beating he received. That’s how strong the connection can be. Even when we don’t feel or see it, it can operate on us.