Examining the Role of Nonverbal Signals in Prejudice Transmission

In a set of experiments, I propose to test the hypothesis that novel group prejudices can be spread to observers from exposure to biased nonverbal signals. Initial studies indicate that exposure to nonverbal bias in favor of one individual over another produce implicit bias against the target of negative nonverbal signals. The proposed experiments will test whether exposure to nonverbal bias in favor of one individual over another also leads to generalized group prejudices against the target of negative nonverbal signals’ group. This work has important implications for understanding how prejudice is formed and spread through social groups