Facial affect perception skews so Black faces read as angrier, skewing credibility judgments

Evidence

Evidence of this devaluation was demonstrated by a comparison of computerized facial images of a White male and a Black male (Hugenberg & Bodenhausen, 2003). Researchers showed participants a series of images transitioning from “angry” to “neutral” to “happy” and asked them to determine when a face appeared happy. The results of these findings pointed to a lack of empathy recognition among White participants for Black individuals. In essence, Black males appeared to be angrier, more hostile, and more serious than White counterparts. Along these lines, prosecutors may struggle to gauge their defendants’ honesty or intent based on facial expressions or body language alone. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1389

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Supplies a mechanism for the conviction-vs-measured-bias divergence: even sincere deciders misread affect through implicit devaluation.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1389