The Influence of Prejudice on Attractiveness

Liliana Gomez and Jeremy AllenDr. Noice, Faculty Sponsor

PSY 356: Research MethodsElmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois

Photos

Results

A 2 X 2 repeated measures ANOVA was computed

• A repeated measures ANOVA yield a main effect for overall attractiveness of

photos, F(1,25) = .000*** not possible****, p < .001, indicating that attractiveness of

photos was significant.

• The one-way repeated measures ANOVA also yielded a main effect for the

attractiveness of photo in comparison to the race of the photo, F(1,25) = .982, p

< .001, showing no significant effect on the race of the photo and the level of

attractiveness

• A repeated measures ANOVA showed an interaction for attractiveness of the

photo and the race of the rater, F(1,25)= .984, p >.001, showing no significant

effect of the race of the rater on the race of the photo..

• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RESULTS OF YOUR SURVEY?

Conclusions

Main Findings

• Our results didn’t support our prediction because the race of the rater did not have any

significant effect on how they judged photos of African Americans and Caucasians.

• In other words, there was no difference in how the raters judged the attractiveness of the

photos.

Found a significant effect for the person portrayed in the photo

•Overall Attractive photos were rated higher regardless of race

• Negative Outcome: This study did not have Hispanic participants even though photos of

Hispanics were presented.

• Positive Outcome: Results indicate that prejudice has decreased over the years.

• Future directions: Prejudice of populations other than college students should be studied

Abstract

The increase in diversity of ethnic groups attending colleges and universities has led many

researchers to study minority students’ perspective on the supportiveness of college campuses. In

an attempt to increase understanding on prejudice, the researchers investigated levels of prejudice

among different ethnic groups. Participants in the study were African American, and Caucasian

undergraduates. They were shown 12 photos depicting different ethnicities. They were asked to rate

their attractiveness; they were also asked to fill out a questionnaire (which rated the students’ level

of prejudice) and then fill out a short demographics survey. Results showed that there was no

indication that race of the rater affected the level of attraction towards the photo.

Introduction

•Worthington, Loewy, Navarro, and Hart (2008) studied the effects of students’ different outlooks on

the social environment of the campus.

•Results: They found that students who had higher levels of color-blind racial attitudes (not being

able to recognize racial differences) view the social environment more positive than other students.

•According to Helm et al. (1998), Whites do not notice the importance of their own culture in

comparison to other cultures because the school’s culture is basically designed for them since they

are the majority (Worthington et al, 2008).

• Lepore and Brown (1997) researched whether or not people who have high levels of prejudice and

people who have low levels of prejudice hold the same stereotypes of ethnic minorities.

•Results: Their study was consistent with past studies because it revealed that stereotypes were

shared among people even if they were low on prejudice. In general, participants held ethnic

stereotypes that were negative.

•Soble, Spanierman, and Liao (2010) examined the effects of watching a movie on the racial

attitudes of white university students.

•Conclusion: They found that the brief video clip in the experimental group produced significant

racial attitude changes.

•After, the video in the experimental condition students were able to understand the experiences,

feelings, and emotions ethnic minorities went through.

Method

•12 photos; 6 attractive and 6 unattractive

•Race of the photos: Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic

•8 questions were selected from the Quick Index Discrimination (Ponterrotto et al., 1995).

• Example of Questions used: I really think affirmative action programs on college campuses

constitute reverse discrimination.

Research Question

Does race or prejudice influence how people judge the attractiveness of other races?

•Hypotheses: We hypothesized that if someone sees a picture of a person of a different ethnic,

national, or racial background from their own they will rate them more negatively as opposed to

someone with similar characteristics as their own.

Photos Rater

Race

Caucasian African American

M SD M SD

Attractive Caucasian 3.85 .18 3.43 .31

Attractive African American 4.15 .21 4.21 .35

Unattractive Caucasian 1.65 .12 1.50 .21

Unattractive African

American2.23 .16 2.00 .27

NOTE: Caucasian raters: n = 20

African-American raters: n= 7

Table 1Mean Attractiveness Ratings for Photos of African Americans and Caucasians as a Function of the Race of the Rater