What role do folk beliefs about human genetic variation play in racial categorization and evaluation? In two studies, the authors assessed or manipulated participants' estimates of the percentage of genetic material that human beings have in common and examined whether this variable would predict categorization (Study 1) and evaluation (Study 2) of faces that varied monotonically in Black-White racial composition. In both studies, participants with low (vs. high) genetic overlap beliefs implicitly perceived the boundary between races to be more discrete. These results remained significant even when controlling for such variables as Need for Cognition, political ideology, essentialist beliefs, and ''entity'' beliefs. These findings suggest that believing that all people possess similar (vs. different) genetic makeup may serve as a key assumption that shapes racial categorization.

Abstract. Compared to collocated interaction, videoconferencing disrupts the ability to use gaze and gestures to mediate interaction, direct reactions to specific people, and provide a sense of presence for the satellite (i.e., remote) participant. We developed a kinetic videoconferencing proxy with a swiveling display screen to indicate which direction that the satellite participant was looking. Our goal was to compare two alternative motion control conditions, in which the satellite participant directed the display screen's motion either explicitly (aiming the direction of the display with a mouse) or implicitly (with the screen following the satellite participant's head turns). We then explored the effectiveness of this prototype compared to a typical stationary video display in a lab study. We found that both motion conditions resulted in communication patterns that indicate higher engagement in conversation, more accurate responses to the satellite participant's deictic questions (i.e., "What do you think?"), and higher user rankings. We also discovered tradeoffs in attention and clarity between explicit versus implicit control, a tension in how motion toward one person can exclude other people, and ways that swiveling motion provides attention awareness, even without direct eye contact.

The present research capitalized on the prominence and multiracial heritage of U.S. 2008 presidential election candidate Barack Obama to examine whether individual differences in classifying him as Black or as multiracial corresponded to differences in implicit perception of race. This research used a newly developed task with digitally morphed mixed-race faces to assess implicit race perception. Participants completed this task four times before and one time after the election. We found that people who labeled Obama as Black implicitly perceived race as more categorical than those who labeled Obama as multiracial. This finding adds to the growing literature on multiracial perception by demonstrating a relationship between the explicit use of multiracial and monoracial race classification and implicit race perception. The results suggest potential implications for governmental, educational, and judiciary usage of racial categories.

No abstract