A Cross-Species Examination of Pro-White Color Bias Using a Novel Implicit Association Test

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Human-Animal Interaction
• Implicit Bias Research

Background:

• Abundant evidence shows pro-White bias in social psychology.
• Black Dog Syndrome (BDS) describes a preference for lighter-colored dogs, impacting adoption and euthanasia rates, but prior studies show mixed support.
• Implicit pro-White bias is well-documented for humans, but not yet examined for animals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate implicit pro-White bias across diverse stimuli and species.
• To utilize novel and established Implicit Association Tests (IATs) to assess this bias.
• To explore racial differences in implicit pro-White bias and its relation to pet ownership and attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Two studies (N=127, N=141) using IATs to measure pro-White bias.
• Stimuli included objects, rabbits, dogs, skin tone, and race.
• Participants were categorized by race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and other racial/ethnic groups.

Main Results:

• Evidence of pro-White bias was found across all five IATs in both studies.
• Significant racial differences emerged: pro-White bias was present in White and other racial/ethnic participants, but not in Black participants.
• While racial/ethnic differences in pet ownership and attitudes were observed, they did not correlate with pro-White bias.

Conclusions:

• The findings provide indirect support for Black Dog Syndrome (BDS) by demonstrating an implicit bias toward lighter-colored dogs.
• Implicit pro-White bias was observed across various stimuli, including animals, but this bias was not present among Black individuals.
• The study highlights the complexity of implicit bias, showing variations across different racial groups and stimulus types.