Camera Point-of-View Exacerbates Racial Bias in Viewers of Police Use of Force Videos

Abstract

The implementation of body-worn cameras (BWC) by policing agencies has received widespread support from many individuals, including citizens and police officers. Despite their increasing prevalence, little is known about how the point-of-view (POV) of these cameras affects perceptions of viewers. In this research, we investigate how POV interacts with skin color of citizens in police use of force videos to affect perceptions of procedural justice. In an experimental study, participants watched eight police use of force videos—half recorded from BWC and half from an onlooker’s perspective—in which skin tone of the citizen varied. Results indicate that POV interacts with citizen skin tone such that, compared to the onlooker perspective, the BWC exacerbated viewer racial bias against dark skin tone citizens. Furthermore, identification with the police officer fully mediated this relationship. Results are discussed in relation to media theory and practical implications.

Psychological perspectives on the presentation of video evidence: How perceivers weight what is seen and unseen

“…For example, in one study participants watched a series of police-civilian interactions either from the perspective provided by a body-worn camera (BWC) video (such cameras are usually placed on officers' chests and highlight only the civilian, providing few, if any, visual cues of the officer) or from a third-person perspective (displaying both civilian and officer); the civilian's skin tone was also manipulated to appear either dark or light. The BWC perspective exaggerated White viewers' racial biases: dark-skinned civilians were perceived more negatively relative to light-skinned civilians when BWC footage made them the object of primary focus; these biases in evaluations were mitigated for participants who watched the third-person perspective video (Bailey, et al, 2021). In another study, when participants narrowly focused their attention on an officer in a videotaped policecivilian interaction, prior identification with police predicted punishment decisions about the officerthose with weak police identification opted to punish the officer more while those with strong police identification opted to punish less.…”

Explicating How Skill Determines the Qualities of User-Avatar Bonds

“…Cognitive extension exists within a broader construct that conceptualizes cognition as embodied, embedded, and extended (see Clark, 2008 ). Communication researchers (e.g., Clayton et al, 2015 ; Bailey et al, 2021 ) ground cognitive extension in perspectives such as Gibson’s articulations of affordances and perception-action linkage ( Gibson, 1986 ), Belk’s extended-self theory (1988), and Clark’s notion of the negotiable body (2008).…”

“…The components that define the broader construct of cognitive extension are robust, complex, and paradigm-defining. With time and effort, people can come to view an object as part of themselves ( McClelland, 1951 ; Belk, 1988 ; Clayton et al, 2015 ; Bailey et al, 2021 ). For instance, smartphone users describe viewing the device as an extension of themselves that not only enhances their physical or intellectual capabilities (i.e., functional extensions), but one that has user-like characteristics (i.e., anthropomorphic extensions) and becomes difficult to uncouple from themselves (i.e., ontological extensions; Park and Kaye, 2019 ).…”

Interpreting Police Video: A Pilot Study

“…Research from a variety of disciplines has started to examine the use and interpretation of BWC footage as visual evidence (see, e.g., Bailey et al, 2021; Adams et al, 2020; Gates, 2020; Ristovska, 2020; Kalle & Hammock, 2019; Birck, 2018; Fan, 2017; Culhane et al, 2016; Boivin et al, 2016; Blanchette & Becker, 2018). Some of this research suggests the presence of bias in the interpretation of video evidence in a variety of contexts (Granot et al 2017), including with BWCs (Culhane et al, 2016) and videotaped police interrogations (see e.g., Lassiter & Irvine, 1986).…”