The influence of social factors and implicit racial bias on a generalized own‐race effect

The current study sought to determine whether the experimentally reported ‘own‐race effect’ is other‐race specific, or whether it is a generalized effect. The perceptual processing of own‐ versus two groups of other‐race faces was therefore explored in White and South Asian individuals. Participants completed a computer‐based discrimination task of White, South Asian and Black face‐morphs. Results showed a generalized own‐race effect for White and South Asian participants discriminating own‐ versus other‐race (White/South Asian and Black) faces, such that individuals demonstrated a perceptual discrimination advantage for own‐ versus other‐race faces in general. These findings were linked to implicit racial bias and other‐race individuating experience, demonstrating that social variables play an important role in the magnitude of the own‐race effect. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.