New research from a team of cognitive neuroscientists at McMaster suggests that simply putting on a uniform, similar to one the police might wear, automatically affects how we perceive others, creating a bias towards those considered to be of a low social status.
New research from a team of cognitive neuroscientists at McMaster suggests that simply putting on a uniform, similar to one the police might wear, automatically affects how we perceive others, creating a bias towards those considered to be of a low social status.
The study, recently published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, raises important questions about stereotypes and profiling, and about how the symbolic power and authority associated with police uniforms might affect these tendencies.
“We all know that the police generally do an excellent job, but there has also been a great deal of public discourse about biased policing in North America over recent years,” says Sukhvinder Obhi, an associate professor of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and senior author of the study, which was conducted with postdoctoral researcher Ciro Civile.
“We set out to explore whether the uniform itself might have an impact, independent of all other aspects of the police subculture, training or work experiences,” he says.
Read more at McMaster University
Photo credit: McMaster University
