Rapid social perception is flexible: approach and avoidance motivational states shape P100 responses to other-race faces

Abstract

Research on person categorization suggests that people automatically and inflexibly categorize others according to group memberships, such as race. Consistent with this view, research using electroencephalography (EEG) has found that White participants tend to show an early difference in processing Black versus White faces. Yet, new research has shown that these ostensibly automatic biases may not be as inevitable as once thought and that motivational influences may be able to eliminate these biases. It is unclear, however, whether motivational influences shape the initial biases or whether these biases can only be modulated by later, controlled processes. Using EEG to examine the time course of biased processing, we manipulated approach and avoidance motivational states by having participants pull or push a joystick, respectively, while viewing White or Black faces. Consistent with previous work on own-race bias, we observed a greater P100 response to White than Black faces; however, this racial bias was attenuated in the approach condition. These data suggest that rapid social perception may be flexible and can be modulated by motivational states.

Keywords: ERP; P100; approach; face perception; motivation; race; social perception.

Figure 1

(A) Localization of BESA Dipole modeling for latent variable. (B) LORETA source modeling result for latent variable.

Figure 2

Latent time courses for Black and White faces in the Pull and Push conditions. Because these values are projected from latent space, values on the y axis are scaled in arbitrary units with respect to underlying microvolts.

Figure 3

Mean amplitudes for the P100 for Black and White faces in the Pull and Push conditions.