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Categorizing a Face and Facing a Category: The Constructive Impacts of Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Racial Categorization.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Levy, A; Nguyen, C; Slepian, ML; Gaither, S; Pauker, K; Dovidio, JF
Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin
June 2023

The past generation has seen a dramatic rise in multiracial populations and a consequent increase in exposure to individuals who challenge monolithic racial categories. We examine and compare two potential outcomes of the multiracial population growth that may impact people's racial categorization experience: (a) exposure to racially ambiguous faces that visually challenge the existing categories, and (b) a category that conceptually challenges existing categories (including "biracial" as an option in addition to the monolithic "Black" and "White" categories). Across four studies (N = 1,810), we found that multiple exposures to faces that are racially ambiguous directly lower essentialist views of race. Moreover, we found that when people consider a category that blurs the line between racial categories (i.e., "biracial"), they become less certain in their racial categorization, which is associated with less race essentialism, as well. Importantly, we found that these two effects happen independently from one another and represent two distinct cognitive processes.

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Published In

Personality & social psychology bulletin

DOI

EISSN

1552-7433

ISSN

0146-1672

Publication Date

June 2023

Volume

49

Issue

6

Start / End Page

910 / 924

Related Subject Headings

  • White People
  • Uncertainty
  • Social Psychology
  • Racial Groups
  • Humans
  • Facial Recognition
  • Black People
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Levy, A., Nguyen, C., Slepian, M. L., Gaither, S., Pauker, K., & Dovidio, J. F. (2023). Categorizing a Face and Facing a Category: The Constructive Impacts of Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Racial Categorization. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 49(6), 910–924. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221084537
Levy, Aharon, Christine Nguyen, Michael L. Slepian, Sarah Gaither, Kristin Pauker, and John F. Dovidio. “Categorizing a Face and Facing a Category: The Constructive Impacts of Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Racial Categorization.Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 49, no. 6 (June 2023): 910–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221084537.
Levy A, Nguyen C, Slepian ML, Gaither S, Pauker K, Dovidio JF. Categorizing a Face and Facing a Category: The Constructive Impacts of Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Racial Categorization. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2023 Jun;49(6):910–24.
Levy, Aharon, et al. “Categorizing a Face and Facing a Category: The Constructive Impacts of Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Racial Categorization.Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 49, no. 6, June 2023, pp. 910–24. Epmc, doi:10.1177/01461672221084537.
Levy A, Nguyen C, Slepian ML, Gaither S, Pauker K, Dovidio JF. Categorizing a Face and Facing a Category: The Constructive Impacts of Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Racial Categorization. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2023 Jun;49(6):910–924.
Journal cover image

Published In

Personality & social psychology bulletin

DOI

EISSN

1552-7433

ISSN

0146-1672

Publication Date

June 2023

Volume

49

Issue

6

Start / End Page

910 / 924

Related Subject Headings

  • White People
  • Uncertainty
  • Social Psychology
  • Racial Groups
  • Humans
  • Facial Recognition
  • Black People
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology