Study suggests people `indifferent’ to racist slurs

Despite what they think they would do, people are remarkably blase when actually confronted with blatant racism, a new study shows.

Canadian researchers who tested people’s reactions to anti-black comments found a surprisingly high tolerance for racial slurs – including "one of the most offensive words in the English language."

Not only did people not get as upset as people predicted they would, the slur didn’t influence their willingness to choose a white racist as a partner to solve a word puzzle.

In fact, people preferred the white over the black person who was the target of the slur.

The findings, published this week in the journal Science, suggest that while people think they would be very upset by a racist act, and take action, "they actually respond with indifference."

"People don’t really punish people who act in racist ways," says lead author Kerry Kawakami, a psychology professor at York University’s faculty of health in Toronto.

"Racism is still a common experience for many minorities in Canada and North America. There’s a lot of non-conscious negative bias out there, and it comes out in different ways." Even overt biases are accepted. "They’re not censured or punished."

The study comes as the United States prepares to inaugurate its first black president in history. Yale University psychologist and co-author John Dovidio, an expert on prejudice, says the election of Barack Obama doesn’t mean an end to racism, or that one person will have "such a transforming influence" on the day-to-day lives of black Americans. "But it creates a foundation on which we can, if we all work together, begin to change things."

Dovidio says he was struck by how "dramatically unresponsive" people are when confronted with racism. "It’s not simply that they didn’t respond as negatively as they said they would. To me, it’s that they didn’t respond negatively at all."

The study, which included researchers at the University of British Columbia, involved 120 York University students. Volunteers thinking they’re waiting for an experiment to begin are exposed to racism: The experimenter walks into the room and introduces two men – one black, one white – posing as fellow participants. After the experimenter leaves the room, the black man stands up, says, "Oh, I forgot my cellphone", and gently bumps the white man’s knee as he walks out.

The white man either says nothing, or, "Typical, I hate it when black people do that", or, in the "extreme slur" condition, "clumsy n*****."

When no racist slur was made, people didn’t differ in their choice of the white (53 per cent) versus black man as their work partners. When a racist comment was made, people showed a slight preference (63 per cent) for the white man.

"Imagine yourself in that situation," says Kawakami, of York University. "Most people would say, I would be so angry and upset being in that situation. Most would say, I would choose the black person, I would avoid this racist guy.

"But when we actually put people in that situation, we find that they’re not upset at all, and that a slight majority prefer the white person."

It’s possible people might be upset, "and they’re just kind of shutting down, controlling the response," she says.

Co-author Dovidio says many people don’t encounter blatant racism that much in their lives, and they’re not prepared for when it comes.

But it’s also possible that while people think they’re not prejudiced, at a more unconscious level "they actually have negative associations with blacks," Kawakami says.

Finally, studies suggest people perceive a black person’s behaviour much differently than a white person’s, Kawakami says. A slight transgression – barely a bump on the knee – might seem more aggressive.