The Influence of Perceived Race on the Notions of Intelligence and Dominance in Children Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

Stereotypes significantly shape social perceptions, including judgments about intelligence. Prior research focusing primarily on White faces has demonstrated that the existence of a gender-intelligence stereotype, wherein men are more frequently associated with brilliance than women may be the result of facial dominance cues rather than gender itself. This leaves open the question of whether the dominance-intelligence association extends to other racial groups. Given existing research showing that Black men are perceived as more physically dominant than White men and that children associate brilliance primarily with White men rather than Black men, race might be a moderator of these effects. The present study investigates the possible role of race, gender, and facial dominance in children's perceptions of intelligence. A sample of 45 children aged 6–10 years participated in a 2 AFC task where they selected which of two faces) was "really smart" or "really nice" amongst three conditions (dominance, gender, and race). Results revealed that although children generally used dominance as a cue for intelligence, this effect was modulated by race. In pairs of White male faces, high-dominant individuals were judged as more intelligent, whereas for Black male faces, low-dominant individuals were judged as more intelligent. These findings suggest that children’s intelligence judgments are shaped by expectations of dominance within and around different races, as opposed to a once-size-fits-all dominance-intelligence link. This study contributes to our understanding of how children integrate social and perceptual cues when making intelligence judgments and highlights the importance of the intersectionality of race and dominance in cognitive development, suggesting that children's early social cognition is shaped by these perceptions in complex ways. Future research should explore the neural mechanisms underlying these judgments, particularly the role of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, as well as facial recognition networks involving the OFA, FFA, and pSTS.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Introduction and Background ……………………………………………………………………………..  2

The Role of Dominance ………………………………………………………………………….  2

Is There a Role for Race? ………………………………………………………………………..   3

Present Study ……………………………………………………………………………………………..   4

Materials and Methods ……………………………………………………………………………………  6

Participants ……………………………………………………………………………………….  6

Face Stimuli ……………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Study Procedure and Design ……………………………………………………………………..  7

Results …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

Dominance Condition ……………………………………………………………………………. 9

Gender Condition ……………………………………………………………………………….. 10

Race Condition ………………………………………………………………………………….. 11

Discussion of General Findings …………………………………………………………………………. 13

Tables and Figures ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 17

Figure 1. Sample Pairings for Each Condition …………………………………………………. 17

Figure 2. Race by Gender Interaction in the Dominance Condition for Intelligence …………... 18

Figure 3. Main Effect of Race in the Gender Condition for Intelligence ………………………. 19

Figure 4. Main Effect of Dominance in the Gender Condition for Intelligence………………… 20

Figure 5. Main Effect of Gender in the Race Condition for Intelligence ………………………. 21

Supplemental Information ……………………………………………………………………………….. 22

Participants ……………………………………………………………………………………… 22

Design & Procedure …………………………………………………………………………….. 22

Data ……………………………………………………………………………………………... 23

References ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Biology, Neuroscience Psychology, Cognitive
Keyword	Perception
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Stella F. Lourenco, Emory University
Committee Members	Arber Tasimi, Emory University Daniel Dilks, Emory University Leah Roesch, Emory University

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