Implicit Racial Bias in Selective Attention: Evidence from an Irrelevant Singleton Visual Search Task

Abstract

Previous studies have explored how attention is directed towards individuals of different racial groups, revealing a tendency for heightened attention toward Black faces. This attentional bias is modulated by various contextual factors, including gender, anxiety, and frequency of contact. Understanding how these factors interact provides insight into the complex dynamics of attentional processes and social categorization. In the current study, a visual search task with arrays of face stimuli was introduced while manipulating the presence and absence of a task-irrelevant singleton. Participants were required to search for a female face (target) amongst an array of male faces (distractors). In the experimental condition, while both the target face and most of the distractor faces were Caucasian, a task-irrelevant singleton distractor of a different race was introduced (Black in Experiment 1; Black or East Asian in Experiment 2). We predicted that compared to the control condition with the absence of such a singleton distractor, in the experimental condition, the singleton stimuli would implicitly garner attention, thereby slowing responses to the target stimuli. In line with our predictions, it appears search performance was indeed slower when the attentional singleton was present, especially with the presence of a Black singleton distractor. This research suggests the deep-seated and automatic nature of attentional biases, providing insights into the cognitive mechanisms driving racial prejudice. By examining how these biases form and persist, the study contributes to our understanding of these processes and suggests potential approaches for mitigating their impact.