Towards a Multiple-Systems Understanding of Race-Related Biases in Human Memory
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Human memory is biased. In memory research, bias is often studied as a monolith, operationalized in a single behavioral measurement. However, memory behaviors are supported by a concert of interacting systems, and understanding our biases requires disentangling the unique contributions of each system and how each one is shaped by social dynamics around us. Here, we begin to isolate the contributions of perceptual and mnemonic race-related bias to episodic memory retrieval. To do so, we construct a novel stimulus set of face images capturing both naturalistic variation (including across subjectively classified racial categories) and low-level control and implement a multi-task behavioral experiment. Participants performed a 3-way concurrent face discrimination task, and subsequently a 2-alternative-forced-choice recognition memory test. Moreover, to test for race-related bias in the generalizability of memory representations, we tested participants on previously seen faces from both studied and unstudied viewpoints. We find evidence for canonical ingroup perceptual biases but (reverse-canonical) outgroup-favoring memory bias, with preliminary evidence that viewing time at encoding may explain some of this memory bias. Furthermore, we find no evidence for bias in participants’ memory generalizability to decisions on novel viewpoints. This work offers a more fine-grained understanding of how social biases (here, racial biases) shape different systems of human cognition and models new approaches to studying race-related biases with attention to the subjectivity of race perceptions, the social ramifications of race and racism, and the complexity of human cognition and behavior.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | [ca. September 1, 2020 - June 1, 2022] |
| Date modified | December 5, 2022 |
| Publication date | July 26, 2022; June 1, 2022 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Iyer, Christopher |
|---|---|
| Research team head | Wagner, Anthony |
| Contributor | Bonnen, Tyler |
Subjects
| Subject | Bias |
|---|---|
| Subject | Memory |
| Subject | Episodic memory |
| Subject | Psychology |
| Subject | Neurosciences |
| Subject | Behavioral neuroscience |
| Subject | Perception |
| Subject | Attention |
| Subject | Race |
| Subject | Racism |
| Subject | Cognitive science |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal license (CC0).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Iyer, C. (2022). Towards a Multiple-Systems Understanding of Race-Related Biases in Human Memory. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/ym602qk4242
Collection
Undergraduate Honors Theses, Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University
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