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The weapon focus effect is weaker with Black versus White male perpetrators
Authors:Kerri L Pickel  Danielle E Sneyd
Institution:1. Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA;2. Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
Abstract:We compared the influence of a weapon’s presence on eyewitnesses’ memory for a White versus a Black male perpetrator. Prior data indicate that unusual objects in visual scenes attract attention and that a weapon’s effect depends on how unusual it seems within the context in which it appears. Therefore, given the stereotype linking Black men and weapons, we predicted a weaker weapon focus effect with the Black perpetrator. The results of Experiment 1 supported this hypothesis using White and Black witnesses. Moreover, in Experiment 2 the weapon focus effect became nonsignificant when the Black perpetrator wore a style of clothing that is strongly associated with Black men. We propose that observing an armed Black perpetrator automatically activates a stereotype linking Black men with weapons and crime, which in turn reduces the perceived unusualness of the weapon and thus its ability to attract attention.
Keywords:Witnesses  attention  stereotyped attitudes  weapon focus effect  racial and ethnic attitudes
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