P3 and Implicit Bias
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Tim Martin
Department
RCHSS – Psychological Science
Abstract
Implicit bias is an unconscious, automatic preference or stereotype that impacts our understanding and actions towards others. While involuntary, this bias can influence how an individual makes decisions, particularly how the human brain compartmentalizes information for processing and storage. Utilizing electroencephalogram equipment (EEG), we aimed to measure participants’ implicit bias while completing a picture categorization task (PCT). The PCT seeks to classify a picture as Black or White by presenting either a positive or negative word for 100ms, followed by a photo either a Black or White male face. Words ranged from positive or negative traits, such as cheerful or criminal. We then calculated the P3 component of the evoked response potential, a component related to novelty, arousal, and attention. Correlation analyses for P3 latency and amplitude, and measures of personality (Big Five Traits, social dominance orientation, state and trait anxiety) were conducted through SPSS. Results showed a significant correlation between the Big Five trait of openness and P3 amplitude. Greater P3 amplitude was associated with lower openness to experience.
Disciplines
Psychology
P3 and Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is an unconscious, automatic preference or stereotype that impacts our understanding and actions towards others. While involuntary, this bias can influence how an individual makes decisions, particularly how the human brain compartmentalizes information for processing and storage. Utilizing electroencephalogram equipment (EEG), we aimed to measure participants’ implicit bias while completing a picture categorization task (PCT). The PCT seeks to classify a picture as Black or White by presenting either a positive or negative word for 100ms, followed by a photo either a Black or White male face. Words ranged from positive or negative traits, such as cheerful or criminal. We then calculated the P3 component of the evoked response potential, a component related to novelty, arousal, and attention. Correlation analyses for P3 latency and amplitude, and measures of personality (Big Five Traits, social dominance orientation, state and trait anxiety) were conducted through SPSS. Results showed a significant correlation between the Big Five trait of openness and P3 amplitude. Greater P3 amplitude was associated with lower openness to experience.