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2009-10 FELLOW NALINI AMBADY EXPLORES
NONVERBAL RACE BIAS ON TELEVISION
Dr. Nalini Ambady,
a residential Fellow at The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, is an expert on nonverbal communication.   BIO >>
STANFORD, CA, DECEMBER 18, 2009 — If we are what we eat, what does our favorite television sitcom show do to us?  How much is it influencing our perceptions and judgments of others?  More than we realize, according to new research.    

In an article titled “The Subtle Transmission of Race Bias via Televised Nonverbal Behavior” published by Science Magazine research is shared examining the prevalence, subtlety and impact of nonverbal race bias in eleven popular scripted television shows. 

"Our findings suggest that hidden patterns of televised nonverbal behavior do measurably influence bias among viewers, even though viewers may be unable to consciously report observing a pattern of bias," said senior author Dr. Nalini Ambady. 

“Today, racial bias is often revealed via subtle means,” she explained.  “We wanted to know how frequently people were exposed to those subtle patterns of racial bias via television and what influence such exposure might have. Sadly, we observed that nonverbal race bias is a typical pattern on scripted television shows. White characters are treated better across the board and this has an impact on viewers’ bias.  Our findings suggest that hidden patterns of televised nonverbal behavior do measurably influence bias among viewers, even though viewers may be unable to consciously report observing a pattern of bias."

Dr. Ambady is currently a residential Fellow at the Center during the 2009-10 academic year.  She is presently working on the topic of interpersonal judgments and communication.  She is Professor of Psychology, Neubauer Faculty Fellow and director of the Interpersonal Perception and Communication Laboratory at Tufts University.
 
"Nalini Ambady is an exceptional scholar,” said Iris F. Litt, M.D., Director.  "She is building upon what we know about nonverbal communication to advance our understanding of judgment-making, and the accuracy of our judgments."  She added, “We are delighted that she has chosen to spend her sabbatical year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.  We are greatly enriched by her presence.”

READ THE ARTICLE >>

MORE ABOUT THE STUDY
The Science study finds that black characters elicit more negative nonverbal responses from other characters (such as facial expressions and body language) than do white characters of equal status.  And viewers exhibit more racial bias after exposure to such negative responses.  The researchers found that characters on the shows exhibited more negative nonverbal behavior toward black characters than to white characters of the same status.  Exposure to “pro-white” (vs. “pro-black”) nonverbal bias also increased viewers’ race bias, as assessed with reaction-time and self-report measures. 

The Science study authors examined black and white characters in eleven weekly scripted television shows whose status and positive attributes, such as likability and intelligence, could be roughly equated. For each of 30 characters, they edited brief clips to remove both the audio track and the featured black or white character so that only the way the unseen character was treated could be observed. Judges, who had not previously watched the shows, rated the extent to which the unseen characters were treated positively and liked by the other characters.  Compared with black characters, white characters elicited significantly more favorable nonverbal responses.  Participants exposed to silent "pro-white" video clips exhibited more bias on reaction time tests than did those exposed to other videoclips.  The researchers also found that observers were not able to recognize a pattern of bias in the clips.
According to the study, "Nonverbal behavior that communicates favoritism of one race over another can be so subtle that even across a large number of exposures, perceivers are unable to consciously identify the nonverbal pattern. Nevertheless, exposure to nonverbal race bias can influence perceivers' race associations and self-reported racial attitudes."

The co-authors for the Science study are Max Weisbuch, a research assistant professor in Ambady's laboratory at Tufts University and the Kristen Pauker, a former postdoctoral researcher in Ambady's laboratory, who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.

This research was generously funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institutes of Health.

ABOUT DR. NALINI AMBADY
Dr. Nalini Ambady, Professor and Neubauer Faculty Fellow at Tufts University, received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University and taught at Holy Cross College and Harvard University, where she was the John and Ruth Hazel Associate Professor of the Social Science, before moving to Tufts.  She has received several awards for her research including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist sand Engineers and the AAAS Behavioral Science Research Prize.

Her research interests focus on the accuracy of social, emotional, and perceptual judgments, how personal and social identities affect cognition and performance, nonverbal and cross-cultural communication. Dr. Ambady examines these phenomena from multiple perspectives ranging from the biological to the sociocultural.

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ABOUT THE CENTER
Founded in 1954, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University is a national and international resource that exists to extend knowledge of the principles governing human behavior to help solve the critical problems of contemporary society. Through our residential postdoctoral fellowship programs for scientists and scholars from this country and abroad, we seek to advance basic understanding of the social, psychological, historical, biological and cultural foundations of behavior and society.

The center was created to provide a refuge for distinguished and promising young scientists and scholars from diverse fields and disciplines. Here, ideas and thinking are the main business and scholars are encouraged to broaden their perspectives, reassess their intellectual positions and consider alternatives through sustained interaction with others.

Our formula for supporting advances in basic knowledge has stood the test of time and is a consciously replicated model for collaborative scholarly enterprises worldwide.



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