Colloquium

Associate Professor Sylvia Perry, Department of Psychology, Northwestern University

The implications of recognizing and discussing racial bias

With the current talk I will discuss my program of research on racial bias awareness—an individual difference measure meant to assess the extent to which White individuals are aware of and concerned about their own racially biased tendencies toward Black individuals. Specifically, across a series of studies, I will discuss (1) how individual differences in racial bias awareness relate to White individuals’ reactions to evidence of personal and others’ racial biases, and (2) how bias awareness relates to individuals’ willingness to discuss race and racism with others. Finally, I will discuss newer work on how bias awareness is associated with White parents’ racial socialization practices and how these practices, and the cues that parents convey during them, might influence White children’s intergroup attitudes.