Within-Person Dynamics of Attention to Race and Expression of Race Bias: A Real-time Test of the Self-Regulation of Prejudice Model

Paul J Brancaleone; Roberto U Cofresí; Hannah I Volpert-Esmond; Amodio M David; Ito A Tiffany; Bruce D Bartholow

doi:10.1093/scan/nsaf026

Back

Within-Person Dynamics of Attention to Race and Expression of Race Bias: A Real-time Test of the Self-Regulation of Prejudice Model

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Within-Person Dynamics of Attention to Race and Expression of Race Bias: A Real-time Test of the Self-Regulation of Prejudice Model

Paul J Brancaleone, Roberto U Cofresí, Hannah I Volpert-Esmond, Amodio M David, Ito A Tiffany and Bruce D Bartholow

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, Vol.20(1), nsaf026

04/09/2025

DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaf026

PMCID: PMC11980601

PMID: 40160017

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaf026View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Prior research has supported some aspects of a theorized prejudice self-regulation model. We provide the first test of the full model-based process of bias regulation as it unfolds in real time. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from White undergraduates at two large American universities (N = 130; 40% female) during a racial stereotype priming task. Attention to Black male face primes, indexed by the P2 ERP, increased following self-regulation failures. In turn, within-person, trial-to-trial variability in attention to Black male faces predicted variability in bias expression. The latter effect was moderated by individual differences in internal motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS). Specifically, among lower-IMS individuals, trials in which Black faces elicited relatively larger P2 amplitudes (relative to an individual's own average P2 amplitude) were associated with increased behavioral race bias. In contrast, and consistent with theory, among higher-IMS individuals trials in which Black faces elicited larger relative P2 amplitudes were associated with decreased bias. Findings provide direct evidence supporting the temporal sequencing of race-bias regulation and identify within-person variability in attention to race as a potential mechanism for determining when and in whom bias will be regulated.

Social Categorization

Race Bias

Event-related Potentials

Cognitive Control

Attention

Details

Title: Subtitle: Within-Person Dynamics of Attention to Race and Expression of Race Bias: A Real-time Test of the Self-Regulation of Prejudice Model
Creators: Paul J Brancaleone - University of Iowa, 340 Iowa Ave, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
Roberto U Cofresí - University of Missouri
Hannah I Volpert-Esmond - The University of Texas at El Paso
Amodio M David - University of Amsterdam
Ito A Tiffany - University of Colorado Boulder
Bruce D Bartholow - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, Vol.20(1), nsaf026
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaf026
PMID: 40160017
PMCID: PMC11980601
NLM abbreviation: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci
ISSN: 1749-5016
eISSN: 1749-5024
Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Grant note: BCS 0847872 / National Science Foundation Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 03/31/2025
Date published: 04/09/2025
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984805012202771

Metrics

5 Record Views