Black and Hispanic Men Perceived to Be Large Are at Increased Risk for Police Frisk, Search, and Force

Milner, Adrienne; George, Brandon; Allison, David B.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147158

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We also recognize the potential role of weight in perceptions of threat. Consistent with others' previous work (22,25), our stop-and-frisk analyses suggest that weight also plays a key role in judgments of suspicion. Because of accuracy concerns about the weight estimates, which may have been biased (22), and the relatively large effect size of height, we chose to focus on height; however, future work should further investigate how height and weight combine with categories such as race and gender to influence judgments.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

For Black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops

Hester

Gray

2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Height seems beneficial for men in terms of salaries and success; however, past research on height examines only White men. For Black men, height may be more costly than beneficial, primarily signaling threat rather than competence. Three studies reveal the downsides of height in Black men. Study 1 analyzes over 1 million New York Police Department stop-and-frisk encounters and finds that tall Black men are especially likely to receive unjustified attention from police. Then, studies 2 and 3 experimentally demonstrate a causal link between perceptions of height and perceptions of threat for Black men, particularly for perceivers who endorse stereotypes that Black people are more threatening than White people. Together, these data reveal that height is sometimes a liability for Black men, particularly in contexts in which threat is salient.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

For Black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops

Hester

Gray

2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This discrimination may include discrimination carried out by the correctional system and the police. Black males are disproportionately affected by police brutality, mass incarceration, and stop and frisk [ 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ]. Police may introduce new trainings to its system that reduce blunt reactions toward Black males, particularly toward those with larger body sizes and darker skin tones.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Darker Skin Tone Increases Perceived Discrimination among Male but Not Female Caribbean Black Youth

Assari

Caldwell

2017

Children

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Among most minority groups, males seem to report higher levels of exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination. Although darker skin tone may increase exposure to racial discrimination, it is yet unknown whether skin tone similarly influences perceived discrimination among male and female Caribbean Black youth. Objective: The current cross-sectional study tests the role of gender on the effects of skin tone on perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth. Methods: Data came from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), 2003–2004, which included 360 Caribbean Black youth (ages 13 to 17). Demographic factors (age and gender), socioeconomic status (SES; family income, income to needs ratio, and subjective SES), skin tone, and perceived everyday discrimination were measured. Linear regressions were used for data analysis. Results: In the pooled sample, darker skin tone was associated with higher levels of perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth (b = 0.48; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.07–0.89). A significant interaction was found between gender and skin tone (b = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.49–1.86), suggesting a larger effect of skin tone on perceived discrimination for males than females. In stratified models, darker skin tone was associated with more perceived discrimination for males (b = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.69–0.72) but not females (b = 0.06; 95% CI = −0.42–0.55). Conclusion: Similar to the literature documenting male gender as a vulnerability factor to the effects of racial discrimination, we found that male but not female Caribbean Black youth with darker skin tones perceive more discrimination.

show abstract

“…For example, we acknowledge it is possible that the “control” passage from the Bill of Rights that we used, in which participants read about the Fourth Amendment prohibiting unlawful search and seizure, did not have the intended neutral effect on participant responses. There has been considerable controversy, discussed in the popular media and in the courts (Bergner, ; Floyd v. City of New York, ), about the legitimacy of racial differences in which Blacks are stopped by police officers more than Whites (Milner, George, & Allison, ). To the extent that individuals higher in anti‐Black prejudice are more motivated to engage in system justification (Jost, Banaji, & Nosek, ) and thus may be more likely to believe that the higher rate at which Blacks are stopped by police is legitimate (Glaser, ), the passage about the Fourth Amendment may also have made race‐related justifications more salient for them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the salience of free speech rights increases differential perceived free speech protections for criminal acts against Black versus White targets

Roussos

Dovidio

2019

J Applied Social Pyschol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hate crime charges offer enhanced sentences for prejudice‐motivated acts in recognition of the injury that extends beyond the victim to other members of the targeted group. The present study builds upon and extends previous work illuminating how anti‐Black prejudice influences application of free speech protections to justify criminal acts against Black (vs. White) targets, which subsequently reduces support for hate crime charges for the act by investigating the potential effects of environmental cues that increase the salience of free speech rights. The present work tested the main and interactive effects of act target (Black vs. White), anti‐Black prejudice, and the salience of freedom of speech on perceived free speech protections for a prejudice‐motivated criminal act and the consequent influence on support for hate crime charges. Replicating previous findings, greater anti‐Black prejudice predicted more perceived free speech protections for Black‐targeted acts, which predicted less support for hate crime charges. Low‐bias participants viewed Black‐ versus White‐targeted acts as less protected by free speech rights and more deserving of hate crime charges; high‐bias participants viewed the two acts similarly. Making the right to free speech (compared to protections from search and seizure) salient amplified differential perceptions of free speech protections based on prejudice and target group, which predicted support for hate crime charges. This work holds implications for justification processes and highlights the importance of studying culture‐specific values.

show abstract

Black and Hispanic Men Perceived to Be Large Are at Increased Risk for Police Frisk, Search, and Force

Cited by 36 publications

References 28 publications

For Black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops

For Black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops

Darker Skin Tone Increases Perceived Discrimination among Male but Not Female Caribbean Black Youth

Enhancing the salience of free speech rights increases differential perceived free speech protections for criminal acts against Black versus White targets

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About