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Osborne MR, Omrani A, Dehghani M. The Sins of the Parents Are to Be Laid Upon the Children: Biased Humans, Biased Data, Biased Models. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2024; 19:796-807. [PMID: 37462616 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231180099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Technological innovations have become a key driver of societal advancements. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of machine learning (ML), which has developed algorithmic models that shape our decisions, behaviors, and outcomes. These tools have widespread use, in part, because they can synthesize massive amounts of data to make seemingly objective recommendations. Yet, in the past few years, the ML community has been drawing attention to the need for caution when interpreting and using these models. This is because these models are created by humans, from data generated by humans, whose psychology allows for various biases that impact how the models are developed, trained, tested, and interpreted. As psychologists, we thus face a fork in the road: Down the first path, we can continue to use these models without examining and addressing these critical flaws and rely on computer scientists to try to mitigate them. Down the second path, we can turn our expertise in bias toward this growing field, collaborating with computer scientists to reduce the models' deleterious outcomes. This article serves to light the way down the second path by identifying how extant psychological research can help examine and curtail bias in ML models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ali Omrani
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California
| | - Morteza Dehghani
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California
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2
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Davidai S, Goya-Tocchetto D, Lawson MA. Economic segregation is associated with reduced concerns about economic inequality. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5655. [PMID: 38969674 PMCID: PMC11226429 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49778-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Economic segregation is the geographical separation of people with different economic means. In this paper, we employ an archival study of attitudes in regions with varying degrees of economic segregation and a series of experimental studies measuring reactions to hypothetical levels of segregation to examine how segregation affects concerns about inequality. Combining correlational and experimental methods and examining attitudes about economic inequality in both the United States and South Africa, we show that when individuals of different means are segregated from each other, people are less likely to engage in economic comparisons and are therefore less concerned by inequality. Moreover, we find that this is true even when people are exposed to (and are aware of) the same levels of inequality, suggesting that segregation in and of itself affects attitudes about inequality. Our findings highlight the importance of economic segregation in shaping public attitudes about organizational and societal economic inequality.
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Belizaire S, Powers M, Mekawi Y. How can white parents raise anti-racist children? Introducing the routes to effective anti-racist parenting (REAP) model. FAMILY PROCESS 2024; 63:535-576. [PMID: 37962033 DOI: 10.1111/famp.12951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
In response to highly publicized instances of overt racial injustice, there has been a recent resurgence of interest and commitment to identifying processes through which anti-racist behaviors develop among White individuals. One particularly important context in which anti-racist behaviors can develop is within families and as a result of childrearing. Theories of anti-racism typically neglect the role of families and family science research typically neglects a focus on anti-racist parenting outcomes. To further research and applied work on fostering anti-racism within White families, this paper introduces a new integrative model called routes to effective anti-racist parenting (REAP). The model draws on theories from various fields, including family science and social psychology, and uses a metaphor of nurturing a plant to explain the nuanced, multi-faceted approaches to anti-racist parenting. The model incorporates factors related to the "pot" (i.e., fundamental values and structure necessary to contain more specific anti-racist skills and behaviors), "soil" (i.e., characteristics that define anti-racist commitment), "seeds" (i.e., direct transmission of anti-racism skills), and "environment" (i.e., influential external factors). Finally, we describe the intended benefits that can be reaped from this intentional approach to anti-racist parenting. The REAP model contributes to the family science literature by providing an empirically grounded theoretical model describing the roles that parents can play in children's anti-racist development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shequanna Belizaire
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Margaret Powers
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Yara Mekawi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
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Correll J, Ma DS, Kenny DA, Palma TA. Examining the Contribution of Physical Cues for Same- and Cross-Race Face Individuation. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2024; 50:694-714. [PMID: 36597585 DOI: 10.1177/01461672221141510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Face individuation involves sensitivity to physical characteristics that provide information about identity. We examined whether Black and White American faces differ in terms of individuating information, and whether Black and White perceivers differentially weight information when judging same-race and cross-race faces. Study 1 analyzed 20 structural metrics (e.g., eye width, nose length) of 158 Black and White faces to determine which differentiate faces within each group. High-utility metrics (e.g., nose length, eye height, chin length) differentiated faces of both groups, low-utility metrics (e.g., face width, eye width, face length) offered less individuating information. Study 2 (N = 4,510) explored Black and White participants' sensitivity to variation on structural metrics using similarity ratings. High-utility metrics affected perceived dissimilarity more than low-utility metrics. This relationship was non-significantly stronger for same-race faces rather than cross-race faces. Perceivers also relied more on features that were racially stereotypic of the faces they were rating.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Debbie S Ma
- California State University, Northridge, USA
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Helm PJ, Jimenez T, Carter S, Arndt J. A Phenomenological Divide: Reference Group Consequences for Existential Isolation. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2024; 50:200-214. [PMID: 36214058 DOI: 10.1177/01461672221127799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
An apparent phenomenological divide between majority and minoritized groups exists in contemporary America in terms of feelings of social connection. Drawing on recent findings relating to existential isolation (i.e., the sense that one is alone in one's subjective experience), three studies compare these feelings toward one's in-group and out-group. Study 1 assesses whether Black and White participants vary in their self-reported existential isolation when referencing their own or another racial group. Results reveal Black Americans feel as though other Black Americans share their perceptions more than do White Americans. In contrast, White Americans report similarly shared perceptions by both racial groups. Study 2 (preregistered) assessed these effects with a concealable identity: sexual orientation. Study 3 further replicates these effects and finds effects among Black Americans to significantly differ from a neutral control condition. Implications and future directions for epistemic (in)validation are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Helm
- University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
- Montana State University, Bozeman, USA
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Skinner-Dorkenoo AL, George M, Wages JE, Sánchez S, Perry SP. A systemic approach to the psychology of racial bias within individuals and society. NATURE REVIEWS PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 2:1-15. [PMID: 37361392 PMCID: PMC10196321 DOI: 10.1038/s44159-023-00190-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Historically, the field of psychology has focused on racial biases at an individual level, considering the effects of various stimuli on individual racial attitudes and biases. This approach has provided valuable information, but not enough focus has been placed on the systemic nature of racial biases. In this Review, we examine the bidirectional relation between individual-level racial biases and broader societal systems through a systemic lens. We argue that systemic factors operating across levels - from the interpersonal to the cultural - contribute to the production and reinforcement of racial biases in children and adults. We consider the effects of five systemic factors on racial biases in the USA: power and privilege disparities, cultural narratives and values, segregated communities, shared stereotypes and nonverbal messages. We discuss evidence that these factors shape individual-level racial biases, and that individual-level biases shape systems and institutions to reproduce systemic racial biases and inequalities. We conclude with suggestions for interventions that could limit the effects of these influences and discuss future directions for the field.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Meghan George
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
| | - James E. Wages
- Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR USA
| | - Sirenia Sánchez
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
| | - Sylvia P. Perry
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
- Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
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Who is running our experiments? The influence of experimenter identity in the marshmallow task. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Do individuation instructions reduce the cross-race effect? A registered replication of. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Talaifar S, Lowery BS. Freedom and Constraint in Digital Environments: Implications for the Self. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022; 18:544-575. [PMID: 36179056 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221098036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We evaluate how features of the digital environment free or constrain the self. Based on the current empirical literature, we argue that modern technological features, such as predictive algorithms and tracking tools, pose four potential obstacles to the freedom of the self: lack of privacy and anonymity, (dis)embodiment and entrenchment of social hierarchy, changes to memory and cognition, and behavioral reinforcement coupled with reduced randomness. Comparing these constraints on the self to the freedom promised by earlier digital environments suggests that digital reality can be designed in more freeing ways. We describe how people reassert personal agency in the face of the digital environment's constraints and provide avenues for future research regarding technology's influence on the self.
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Liu WM. Places that Feel Racist: How the Built Environment Re/Creates White Racial Spaces and Time. COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/00110000221115685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In this 2022 Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship keynote, I discuss the importance of understanding how our built-environment and our physical spaces and structures are intertwined with my conceptualization of systemic racism. I describe the problems with how we study racism, systemic racism, and context, and the limitations of how we have adapted traditional psychotherapy theories. In this paper, I propose an examination of structural racism and the ways in which white spaces, white property, and white time work to displace, dispossess, and dislocate black and other non-black people of color. This constant racism within white spaces allows us to understand what may be creating the psychological and physiological stresses many people of color experience. In better understanding systemic racism, I hope we can focus our critical scholarship on centralizing the humanity of black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other people of color.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Ming Liu
- Department of Counseling, Higher Education, & Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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Spruill M, Lewis NA. Legal descriptions of police officers affect how citizens judge them. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Brown ND, Jacoby-Senghor DS, Raymundo I. If you rise, I fall: Equality is prevented by the misperception that it harms advantaged groups. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm2385. [PMID: 35522740 PMCID: PMC9075794 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm2385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Nine preregistered studies (n = 4197) demonstrate that advantaged group members misperceive equality as necessarily harming their access to resources and inequality as necessarily benefitting them. Only when equality is increased within their ingroup, instead of between groups, do advantaged group members accurately perceive it as unharmful. Misperceptions persist when equality-enhancing policies offer broad benefits to society or when resources, and resource access, are unlimited. A longitudinal survey of the 2020 U.S. voters reveals that harm perceptions predict voting against actual equality-enhancing policies, more so than voters' political and egalitarian beliefs. Finally two novel-groups experiments experiments reveal that advantaged participants' harm misperceptions predict voting for inequality-enhancing policies that financially hurt them and against equality-enhancing policies that financially benefit them. Misperceptions persist even after an intervention to improve decision-making. This misperception that equality is necessarily zero-sum may explain why inequality prevails even as it incurs societal costs that harm everyone.
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Meuris J. Can Racial Diversity Attenuate Racial Discrimination in Service Interactions? Evidence from Cite-and-Release Decisions within Police Departments. ORGANIZATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2021.1571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Despite the belief that racial diversity in organizations will attenuate racial discrimination in service interactions, the extant literature suggests that it may often exacerbate discrimination by generating intergroup conflict. In this paper, I propose that the influence of racial diversity on racial discrimination in service interactions will depend upon (a) the level of interdependence within an organization and (b) whether an increase in diversity consists of a larger representation of a minority’s own racial group. To test my predictions, I combine interaction-level data covering approximately 200,000 cite-and-release decisions where suspects are either given a summons to attend court at a later date or transported to jail following arrest with longitudinal organization-level data from 93 police departments across the United States. Consistent with prior research, I found that minority suspects were less likely to be cited and released for the same offense relative to White suspects. Racial diversity among sworn officers in a police department exacerbated discrimination in cite-and-release decisions unless officers’ work roles were highly interdependent due to the adoption of community-oriented policing. Focusing on Black and Hispanic suspects, I observed this pattern regardless of whether an increase in racial diversity in the department was characterized by a larger representation of a minority suspect’s own racial group or other minority racial groups. Taken together, the findings suggest that diverse organizations can mitigate the emergence of intergroup conflict that exacerbates racial discrimination in service interactions by fostering interdependencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jirs Meuris
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5184 Grainger Hall, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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