Unconscious Racial Stereotypes about Adolescent Offenders
Are Police Officers and Juvenile Probation Officers racially biased?
Siobhan L. Healy

July 1, 2014

Author Note
Summary of the article “Priming unconscious racial stereotypes about adolescent offenders” by Graham, Sandra, Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, US, shgraham@ucla.edu Lowery, Brian S., Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US, 2004, retrieved on July 1, 2014 from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/detail?vid=8&sid=607e6528-f5a4-4930-86e8-de2972012034%40sessionmgr198&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=pdh&AN=2004-20470-001.

Abstract This paper summarizes the main ideas of the article “Priming unconscious racial stereotypes about adolescent offenders” by Graham, Sandra, Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, US, shgraham@ucla.edu Lowery, Brian S., Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US. The main question asked is whether decision makers within the juvenile justice system harbor unconscious racial stereotyping. For this purpose, two studies were developed to examine the above question. Experiment 1 was performed on Police Officers and Experiment 2 involved Juvenile Probation Officers. Both groups were “subliminally exposed” to words either in the Black or Neutral Race category before being given tasks unrelated to the sublime race reference and without stating the hypothetical offender’s race in that task. The officers in each group were asked to rate the hypothetical offenders on traits, such as hostility and immaturity and to judge whether the offenders were guilty, likely to re-offend, and what the punishment should be. Furthermore, all respondents were asked to complete a “self-report measure of conscious attitudes about race” (Graham, Sandra, Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, US, shgraham@ucla.edu Lowery, Brian S., Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US, 2004).
Keywords: Awareness; Juvenile Delinquency; Juvenile Justice; Racial and Ethnic Attitudes; Stereotyped Attitudes; Priming

Hypothesis Unconscious racial stereotypes can affect how police officers and juvenile probation officers perceive and subsequently treat juvenile offenders (Graham et al., 2004). It was further hypothesized that officers who were subliminally and racially primed would give more “negative trait ratings, report greater culpability and expected recidivism, and endorse harsher treatment than officers in the neutral condition” (Graham et al., 2004).
Target Population and Reason for Selection The target populations for the Experimental Research Study were Police Officers and Juvenile Probation Officers. A prediction was made that racially primed officers would give more negative trait ratings, find the offenders more culpable, expect more repeat offenses, and encouraged harsher punishment than officers in the racially neutral category because previous research has argued “that unconscious stereotypes can affect judgment and behavior irrespective of the level of consciously reported prejudice” (Graham et al., 2004).
Many studies of cultural stereotypes had been performed over the years to find out why, for example, Black youths are three to five times more likely than Whites to be confined in the prison system and why respondents associate being a Black male with danger, violence, and aggression. Why are minorities, especially Black individuals treated much harsher in our juvenile justice system in particular, and in the justice system in general?

Conclusion The conclusion to the study in this particular article suggests that decision makers are racially biased and “may have negative stereotypes about African American adolescent offenders that can be activated outside of conscious awareness; that stereotypes evoke attributions about the causes of the offender’s behavior, and that particular kinds of attributions result in harsher treatment” (Graham et al., 2004).
Evaluation of this Research Design I like the approach of using subliminal, racial cues and references right before the actual test questions for the officers in both experiment groups. It is interesting to find out that racially biased officers who responded in a politically correct way during the self-assessment were identified as very racially biased after the unconscious and subliminal racial prime. In a way, this experiment can be deemed somewhat “deceptive” because it really plays with the subjects’ subconscious levels as in hypnosis. I found it to be very interesting and useful to realize that many of us are unconsciously biased about others in general.
Unfortunately, Blacks in our society (as well as globally) seem to be getting the short end of the stick in all matters. For example, when I studied Criminal Justice in Baltimore, MD. , statistics at that time showed that Blacks got an average sentence of 10 years prison time for possession of crack, while whites got an average sentence of 1 year prison time or probation for possession of powdered coke, which is the same substance as crack just in a different form (law makers found a loop hole to make crack a heftier offense than powdered cocaine because poor Black kids tended to use it in that particular form, while rich white kids used the powdered version).

Limitations of the study
One can argue that some subjects might have discovered the purpose of the initial sublime message and purposely responded in a racially non-biased manner, when they may very well have been racially biased. Furthermore, studies like this one depend on the location and demographics and questions asked. For example, there will be a difference in answers from the inner city of Detroit to the hills of Bel Air. The cultural and religious backgrounds of respondents may play a role as well.
How can professionals make use of this study?
I believe this study and similar experiments are very useful, not only in the criminal justice system, but also in schools. It can be used as training material for young Police, Correctional, and Probation Officers. Racial (and other) stereotyping is everywhere in our society and we must start teaching cultural diversity as early as pre-school. This study and the experiments would be great to uncover anybody’s unconscious prejudices so that we are aware of it early on and are able to eliminate it at the root. Unfortunately, for many biased officers and the entire criminal (in)justice system it is an ongoing problem and very difficult to address and eliminate.

Reference
Graham, Sandra, Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, US, shgraham@ucla.edu Lowery, Brian S., Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US, 2004, retrieved on July 1, 2014 from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/detail?vid=8&sid=607e6528-f5a4-4930-86e8-de2972012034%40sessionmgr198&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=pdh&AN=2004-20470-001.