Cameron, Wolf: The Psychological and Neurophysiological Basis behind Racial Bias and Prejudice

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Title: The Psychological and Neurophysiological Basis behind Racial Bias and Prejudice

Name: Cameron Wolf

Major: Psychology

School affiliation: Honors College, School of Arts and Sciences

Programs: Honors College Capstone

Other contributors: Stephen Kilianski and Anne Carr-Schmid

Abstract: “Race is a topic that has been the center of discussion in American society for centuries. From slavery to Reconstruction to the Jim Crow era, racial differences have been a major cause of tension amongst Americans, and these differences have considerable implications in our everyday lives. Often, we think of race as being a phenotypically obvious trait that an individual can determine by looking at another, but what is race really? How is it defined by a biologist, and does it have any biological basis? Are our prejudices and biases toward out-groups based on any inherent, naturally occurring neurological processes, or are our biases and racial groupings all socially constructed? This presentation will explore questions of racial prejudice, and the neurophysiological basis (if any) behind these prejudices.”